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SO278

RV SONNE - Expedition SO278

Emden - Emden
12 Oct. - 1 Dec. 2020

 

F R I N G E

Fluid-rock interaction at the backstop to the Mediterranean Ridge Accretionary Complex South of Crete

Logo der Expedition SO278
Research areas of SO278 expedition
Planned working areas of SONNE cruise SO278 within the EEZ of Greece and Italy.

The "FRINGE" expedition to the Hellenic and Calabrian arc of the Mediterranean subduction zone with research ship SONNE (SO278) is part of the Bremen Cluster of Excellence at MARUM "The Ocean Floor – Earth’s uncharted Interface". The fluid and rock investigations of specific fluid and gas discharge areas at the sea floor of the Mediterranean Sea are part of the research area REACTOR, whereby Theme 1 (seawater crust interactions) and Theme 3 (processes and dynamics of vents and seeps) are directly affected.

The greater part of expedition SO278 will be carried out in the Hellenic arc, the so-called Mediterranean ridge (Figs. 1-2) South of Crete in Greece. There, fluid discharge areas are explored using hydro-acoustic methods, measured with high resolution and examined with several core devices (gravity corer, multicorer, minicorer) and temperature measurements. The smaller part of the investigations is carried out on mud volcanoes in the Calabrian accretionary complex in Italy.

In addition to the station work in the Hellenic arc, we are planning to perform station work in the Calabrian arc within the EEZ of Italy. The goal is to better understand dynamic processes of Sartori and Cetus mud volcanoes. Here, the mass balances of the chimney structures, as well as the temporal / spatial distributions of mud flows and their interaction of geological, physical and chemical processes are in the focus of research. The evaluations within the DFG project so far have shown that the data collection and sampling would provide significant new insights into the understanding of both mud volcanoes.