In Search of Hydrothermal Lost Cities

Susan Lang, U. of S.C. / NSF / ROV Jason / 2018 © WHOI

Expedition dates: March 3 – April 11, 2023
On its inaugural expedition,
Falkor (too) will head to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with Chief Scientist Dr. David Butterfield from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory – University of Washington, and his team to search for hydrothermal lost cities. In 2000, scientists found a hydrothermal vent system on the Atlantis Massif unlike any seen before. Ghostly towers made of limestone sprang from the seafloor, spewing clear liquid, and very few creatures dwelled among the vents. When the scientists sampled the chemistry, they found it vastly different from black smoker vents on the nearby Mid-Atlantic Ridge volcanoes. The scientists named the new, alkaline vent system, “Lost City.” They determined the reaction creating this new type of vent occurs on a geologic formation known as an oceanic core complex, where mantle rock is exposed to cold seawater. These carbonate vents form when the seawater and mantle rock react in a process known as serpentinization. 

Since 2000, scientists have discovered only a few other vents like Lost City, and none that rival the size of the original. During this expedition, Butterfield and his team will search for more vent fields like Lost  City— alkaline vents created by serpentinization. Finding them is imperative to science, as their chemical makeup is suspected to be closest to the conditions that facilitated life’s origin on our planet. The microbes living in these depths may provide insight into the circumstances that facilitated the beginning of life on Earth—and possibly other planets.

noaa-pacific-marine-environmental-laboratory
NOAA Ocean Exploration Logo
MBARI2
university-of-washington
Oregon State University; College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Victoria
Dalhousie
Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute

Data & Publications

The list of rock samples, metadata, and their International Geosample Numbers (IGSN) can be accessed here.

Metadata from the gas-tight samples can be accessed here.

Environmental sensor data, collected by the sensors embedded in R/V Falkor (too) is archived at Rolling Deck to Repository.

ADCP data, curated by University of Hawaii can be accessed here.

In the News

Scientists make deep sea discovery

WAtoday • May 1, 2023

Scientists make deep sea discovery

The Age • May 1, 2023

Scientists make deep sea discovery

world newz 4u • May 1, 2023

Scientists make deep sea discovery

Brisbane Times • May 1, 2023

Scientists make deep sea discovery

The Sydney Morning Herald • May 1, 2023

Scientists Discover Three New Hydrothermal Vent Fields on Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies • April 21, 2023

Scientists Discover Three New Hydrothermal Vent Fields on Mid-Atlantic Ridge

ECO (Environment Coastal Offshore) Magazine • April 20, 2023

Hydrothermal Activity Discovered Along the Puy de Folles Vent Field

Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies • April 19, 2023