New instrument platform tested at Mid‐Atlantic Ridge

Abstract

BRIDGET, a deep‐towed instrument platform for water column studies in the deep ocean, was deployed for the first time at a recently discovered hydrothermally active vent site in the axial valley of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge. Its ability to tow and to closely control sampling devices and sensors should lead to more detailed plume mapping and better sampling of the water column above active hydrothermal sites.In September 1994 BRIDGET was deployed at the Rainbow vent site, which is located [German et al., 1994] south of the Azores at 36°;15′N. The hydrothermal activity is located at Rainbow Ridge, a topographic high that rises to 2000 m depth from the valley floor at >3000 m depth (Figure 1). Preliminary interpretation of side‐scan sonar data [Parson et al., 1994] suggests that Rainbow does not appear to be part of a currently active axial volcanic ridge.