Quantitative observations of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume using an acoustic imaging sonar.

摘要

The Cabled Observatory Vent Imaging Sonar (COVIS) is used to quantitatively monitor the hydrothermal discharge from the Grotto mound, a venting sulfide structure on the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Since its deployment in September 2010, COVIS has recorded a multi-year long, near-continuous acoustic backscatter dataset. Further analysis of this dataset sheds light on the backscattering mechanisms within the buoyant plumes above Grotto and yields quantitative information on the influences of oceanic, atmospheric, and geological processes on the dynamics and heat source of the plumes.;An investigation of the acoustic scattering mechanisms within the buoyant plumes issuing from Grotto suggests the dominant scattering mechanism within the plumes is the temperature fluctuations caused by the turbulent mixing of the buoyant plumes with the ambient seawater. In comparison, the backscatter from plume particles is negligible at lower levels of the plume but can potentially be significant at higher levels. Furthermore, this finding demonstrates the potential of inverting the acoustic backsatter to estimate the temperature fluctuations within the plumes.;Processing the backscatter dataset recorded by COVIS yields time-series measurements of the vertical flow rate, volume transport, expansion rate of the largest buoyant plume above Grotto. Further analysis of those time-series measurements suggests the rate at which the ambient seawater is entrained into the plume increases with the magnitude of the ambient ocean currents---the current-driven entrainment. Furthermore, the oscillations in the ambient ocean currents that are driven by tidal and atmospheric forcing are introduced into the flow field within the plume through the current-driven entrainment.;An inverse method has been developed to estimate the source heat transport driving the largest plume above Grotto from its volume transport estimates. The result suggests the heat transport driving the plume was steady over the 41-month period between October 2011 and February 2015. Comparing the current and historical heat transport measurements with contemporaneous seismic data suggests the evolution of the heat transport since 1988 correlates with the rate of local seismicity with a short episode of increased heat transport following pronounced seismic events and reduced steady heat transport during time periods of quiescent seismicity.