Diversity of Hydrothermal Systems on Slow Spreading Ocean Ridges

Abstract

P. A. Rona, C. W. Devey, J. Dyment , and B. Murton , editors. Pp. 440. 2010. American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph Series, vol. 188. ISBN 978-0-87590-478-8. Price $129. This book arrived in my mailbox about one month ago, and I immediately began using it for my own research. I referred to it frequently while preparing several review papers. I was so immersed in the book that I completely forgot how I came to own it. Then I received a gentle reminder from the editor that I was overdue with the review. The fact that I had forgotten how the book ended up on my desk, because I was too busy reading it, is probably a better endorsement than any review I can provide here. This is a book for specialists in sea-floor hydrothermal systems. It is part of a superb collection of volumes in the AGU Geophysical Monograph Series that track the history of research in this field. The series has its beginnings in the 1995 introductory volume, Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems (Monograph 91), which was followed by Faulting and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges (Monograph 106), The Subseafloor Biosphere at Mid-Ocean Ridges (Monograph 144), Mid-Ocean Ridges: Hydrothermal Interactions Between the Lithosphere and Oceans (Monograph 148), Back-Arc Spreading Systems (Monograph 166), and Magma to Microbe: Modeling Hydrothermal Processes at Ocean Spreading Centers (Monograph 178). Together with a number of similar volumes published by the Geological Society of London, the Geophysical Monographs represent our most important encyclopedia of submarine hydrothermal systems, covering the development of thought since the discovery of the first black smokers on the East Pacific Rise. With these volumes in your library, you can be assured of having at your fingertips the most complete record of knowledge in the field, written as compelling reviews that provide both the historical context of the research and its relevance for future exploration. …