New discovery of seafloor hydrothermal activity on the Indian Ocean Carlsberg Ridge and Southern North Atlantic Ridge—progress during the 26th Chinese COMRA cruise

Abstract

The 26th Chinese COMRA (China Ocean Mineral Resources Research & Development Association) cruise was an important cruise. The Carlsberg Ridge (CR) of the Northwest Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic Ridge (NAR), in which less investigation has been carried out for hydrothermal activities, were investigated and studied during the first two legs of the 26th COMRA cruise. During the first leg, we found one hydrothermal activity field located in the CR at 3.5°–3.8°N on the Northwest Indian Ocean Ridge (NWIR), and sampled seafloor polymetallic sulfide deposits where only abnormalities were found before. During the second leg, we found a new hydrothermal anomaly field located in the NAR at 4°–7°N. The discovery of two hydrothermal and anomaly fields filled in the gap of hydrothermal investigation and study in the corresponding regions for China.