Bathymetry map of the East Pacific Rise. Data from the Ridge data portal.

6. DOCUMENTATION OF IMPACTS OF FIRST PHASE

R2K is both a coordinating program and a project funding source. As a result, its impacts arise not only from funded research, but also through community planning. In some cases, it is not straightforward to isolate contributions due to R2K, alone, when support from other sources provided important data/collaborations/ship time during the course of the first phase of the Program. We have tried to specify where non-R2K projects have contributed significantly to work by scientists that are an integral part of the R2K community.

6.1. Publications

Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals are perhaps the best direct measure of the impact of the scientific work conducted by the R2K Program. The first phase of R2K has produced many publications in such journals. These papers have spanned the range of disciplines covered by R2K and several recent papers integrate between disciplines as well.

In addition to journal articles, several books and/or special volumes have resulted from R2K research projects and workshops (See Appendix 1 for the Tables of Contents of these volumes)

  • AGU
    • The Subseafloor Biosphere at Mid-ocean Ridges, W. S. D. Wilcock, E. F. DeLong, D. S. Kelley, J. A. Baross, S. C. Cary, Eds., AGU Geophysical Monograph 144, 2004
    • Mid-ocean Ridges, Hydrothermal Interactions between the Lithosphere and Oceans, C. R. German, J. Lin, L. M. Parson, Eds., AGU Geophysical Monograph 148, 2004
    • Back-Arc Spreading Systems: Geological, Biological, Chemical, and Physical Interactions, D. M. Christie, C. R. Fisher, S.-M. Lee, S. Givens, Eds., AGU Geophysical Monograph 166. 2006
    • Modeling Hydrothermal Processes at Oceanic Spreading Centers: Magma to Microbe, R. Lowell, J. Seewald, M. Perfit, A. Metaxas Eds., AGU Geophysical Monograph, almost in press as of Dec 10, 2007.
  • G-cubed special edition forthcoming on EPR eruption
  • Oceanography Magazine special InterRidge edition, March, 2007

A full list of R2K-related publications is in Appendix 1. Here we breakdown by topic/area to illustrate the reach of various parts of the program during the first phase.

Total R2K journal publications (through October, 2007): 98
EPR (includes TCS): 34
Lau: 11
Endeavour (includes TCS): 38
Modeling/Experimental Studies: 17

Interdisciplinary publications on research at the Endeavour and EPR ISS exceed the number of single-discipline papers, 63% and 52%, respectively. At the Lau ISS, where the community is just emerging from the reconnaissance stage of research, interdisciplinary papers make up 36% of the current total publication list. Table 5 illustrates the general topic areas of ISS publications (this count includes indication of each sub-discipline for a given paper as well as in any applicable interdisciplinary indications).

Table 5. Categories of R2K Publications for Integrated Studies Sites

TOPIC(S) END EPR LAU
synthesis 2    
microbiology 2 4 2
macrobiology 1 2 1
chemistry 15 1  
hydrothermal flow 19 1  
plumes 8   3
oceanography      
crustal structure 6 10 3
crustal processes 6 7 1
mantle   4 3
discovery 2   2
oceanography/macrobiology      
crustal processes/hydrothermal vents 4 3 1
crustal processes/oceanography   1  
crustal structure/crustal processes 1 1 1
microbiology/chemistry 2 3  
hydrothermal flow/chemistry 10 3  
crustal structure/mantle   3 1
crustal structure/hydrothermal flow 2 2 1
microbiology/chemistry/hydrothermal flow 1 1  
macrobiology/chemistry/hydrothermal flow   1  
plumes/oceanography 2    
plumes/chemistry/biology 1    
plumes/oceanography/macrobiology 1    

6.2 R2K Data Portal Impacts

The impacts of the R2K Data Portal include the long-term scientific benefits of ensuring preservation of R2K data as part of the legacy of the program, as well as facilitating wider exchange of information and data from R2K programs at present. Site visits and data downloads have been tracked since winter 2004 with monthly summaries provided online (http://www.marine-geo.org/statistics/index.html). Logs of user domains, number of files, and volume downloaded are maintained as well as records of actual files downloaded (Table 6). These statistics show that the most frequently downloaded files are cruise reports with almost 2500 downloads logged of the cruise report for the EPR eruption rapid response cruise TCS06NH lead by Jim Cowen, followed by ~2000 downloads logged of the Lau Basin KM0417 cruise report lead by Charlie Langmuir (Table 6). The single cruise with the most data files downloaded is the EPR eruption response cruise (over 1500 files downloaded, mostly TowCam photographic images), reflecting the considerable interest generated within the community by the eruption event. The most frequently downloaded files are sonar grids and images, and photographic images. These download statistics indicate that the Portal is being used by the community both as a resource for information about cruises and for data access.

The development and operation of the R2K Data Portal has also lead to improvements in data quality. Quality assessment of data descriptions (metadata) and navigation information for each data set is conducted as part of the data archiving process, and has revealed omissions and errors that require active exchange with contributing scientists to resolve. These issues would be more difficult to identify and correct for data submitted to an archive long after the data were collected and analyzed, as has been the case with, for example, data submitted to NGDC. The ability to readily co-locate data collected during multiple near bottom programs has also made clear the need for improved procedures for near bottom navigation so that, for example, high resolution sonar collected on different cruises can be confidently co-registered in order to assess change. This need has led to the deployment of dedicated benchmarks at the EPR site during the 2006-2007 field season along with prescribed procedures for use which can be adopted during other ISS operations.

In addition to these scientific benefits, other impacts are more cultural in nature and include the growing awareness within the R2K community of the need for adequate data documentation and preservation and their increasing willingness to contribute data. For almost all cruises conducted in 2006, full cruise documentation in standardized format, along with some field data were submitted by scientists within days to a few weeks of PIs returning from sea. The level of documentation and data contribution provided by many scientists represents a considerable departure from their previous practices and will be of wider benefit in terms of training younger scientists with an awareness of their role as custodians rather than exclusive owners of the data they collect.

6.3 Entrainment and training of new, interdisciplinary scientists

Throughout the first phase of R2K, the Program has worked to entrain new scientists through research/cruise collaborations and hosting open community meetings. Students make up a significant portion of the community and the major group of new scientists being entrained in R2K science. Development of collaborations (eg. among chemists, geologists, and biologists, or between physical oceanographers and biologists) is opening new avenues of inquiry into long-standing, unanswered questions. As of Summer 2007, the number of new funded PIs (someone not funded by NSF to work at the site in the ~10 yrs prior to the start of R2K) at each ISS are: EPR- 11; Endeavour- 7; Lau- 12.

Thus far, R2K has supported 9 postdoctoral fellows, all of whom have become active members of the community by attending and presenting their work at R2K meetings, participating in R2K cruises, and collaborating with current R2K scientists.

Many graduate students receive training from R2K scientists. These students are commonly active members of the R2K community, thereby developing an appreciation for interdisciplinary research. This is a departure from typical graduate training, which tends to focus students rather narrowly within their subdiscipline. As reported by R2K-funded principal investigators, the Program has thus far supported the education of over 70 graduate and undergraduate students (Appendix 2). The Program has also supported over 30 postdoctoral researchers (Appendix 2), including the 9 R2K postdoctoral fellows.

6.4 New seafloor capabilities and instrumentation

The R2K community is at the cutting edge of development and utilization of new, innovative oceanographic sensor instrumentation and methods. This community is one of the primary users of deep-submergence technology including manned submersibles such as Alvin and remotely operated and autonomous vehicles such as Jason II and ABE. R2K researchers are also at the forefront of development of in-situ sensors for monitoring a suite of variables at hydrothermal vent systems including biological succession and evolution, vent fluid chemistry and temperature, microbiological community make-up, larval dispersal, water column processes, bottom photography, microseismicity, and more. Because of the interdisciplinary nature and site-specific focus of the Ridge 2000 Program, R2K researchers are for the first time co-locating instrument deployments in both space and time, allowing for new understanding of ridge systems as a whole. Observational scientists are working with experimental and theoretical scientists to develop more realistic models of hydrothermal circulation at ridges in an effort to understand the system "from mantle to microbe".

The Ridge 2000 Program has catalyzed other new capabilities. These include improved navigation of submersible dives and sample collections combined with accurate seafloor mapping. Accurate navigation is essential for studies of the links between different disciplinary data sets and ensuring it at water depths in excess of 2000 meters is not a trivial task. The Program has also made collaborative, multi-disciplinary work and communication the standard in this community. Researchers are finding new ways to analyze and visualize their data sets, including using 3-D computer visualization techniques to combine multiple data sets into one scene (http://ridge2000.org/science/visualization/index.php). These types of collaborations are yielding new insights into whole system processes. Through an active education and outreach program, this cutting edge work is being shared with students in the classroom and the general public, as well as the larger scientific community.

Development of in-situ sensors and incubation instruments supports monitoring and process-oriented studies. Establishment/advancement in the use of quantitative experimental manipulations allows the regulatory factors of the macrofaunal assemblages to be addressed.

New Seafloor Capabilities supported by R2K grants:

  • Real time plume monitoring from 120KHz side scan sonar
  • in-situ microbial incubators (Kelley, Barross, Girguis and Wheat)
  • in situ chemical sensors (Seyfried and Ding, Luther, Lilley, Le Bris)
  • genetic identification/testing of microbes. (Sievert, Edwards, Girguis, Baross)
  • high-resolution seafloor mapping, advances in navigation/re-navigation (Fornari, Soule, Ferrini)
  • high-resolution photo mosaics of seafloor (Fornari- TowCam, Ferrini- microbathymetry and Jason2 video imager, Kim- biological communities)
  • hydrothermal vent system modeling capabilities (Lowell, et al., Fontaine & Wilcock)
  • Dating of very young lavas (K. Sims, K Rubin)
  • multi-data set visualization capabilities (Kent, Jacobs)
Current chemical sensor capabilities: H2, H2S, pH, T, Cl, S,Eh
Sensors coming on line:
Dissolved CO2 (ATR=attenuated reflection) similar to Raman
OTIS Optical Tracer Injection System (flow 0.1 to > 500m.yr)
In situ mass spectrometer (Girguis)
Gas Chromatograph (Lilley)
Environmental Sample Processor (Scholin)
Plume imaging
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