Hot Vents Beneath an Icy Ocean: The Aurora Vent Field, Gakkel Ridge, Revealed

Ramírez-Llodra, Eva; Argentino, Claudio; Baker, Maria; Boetius, Antje; Costa, Carolina Cabral Pereira da; Dahle, H.; Denny, Emily St; Dessandier, Pierre-Antoine; Eilertsen, Mari Heggernes; Férré, Bénédicte; German, Christopher R.; Hand, K. P.; Hilario, Ana Belén Ríos; Hislop, Lawrence; Jamieson, John; Kalnitchenko, Dimitri; Mall, Achim; Panieri, Giuliana; Purser, Autun; Ramalho, Sofia; Reeves, Eoghan P.; Rolley, Leighton; Pereira, Samuel Santos; Ribeiro, Pedro; Sert, Muhammed Fatih; Steen, Ida Helene; Stetzler, Marie; Stokke, Runar; Victorero, Lissette; Vulcano, Francesca; Vågenes, Stig; Waghorn, Kate Alyse; Buenz, S.

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2023.103

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, there is some genetic differentiation between these very distant populations, and it is unclear to which degree there is present-day geneflow between them 34 . Preliminary data on the faunal community of the Aurora vent field on the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean indicates some similarities with the fauna of LCVF (rissoid and skeneid gastropods, and melitid amphipods) 23 , but also revealed a recently described species of cocculinid gastropod 55 , which is not known from LCVF. However, species level identification of the fauna from Aurora is needed to assess the similarity between the faunal communities of these two Arctic vent sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The fauna of hydrothermal vents globally forms distinct bioregions with a very high degree of endemicity (up to 95%) within each region 22 . Preliminary data from LCVF and the Aurora Vent Field on the Gakkel Ridge (3800 m) 23 , indicate that the Arctic vent fauna is very different from other ocean regions, but a more comprehensive dataset with high taxonomic resolution is needed to test whether the Arctic might form a distinct bioregion for vent fauna.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Diversity, habitat endemicity and trophic ecology of the fauna of Loki’s Castle vent field on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Eilertsen,

Kongsrud,

Tandberg

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Loki’s Castle Vent Field (LCVF, 2300 m) was discovered in 2008 and represents the first black-smoker vent field discovered on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge (AMOR). However, a comprehensive faunal inventory of the LCVF has not yet been published, hindering the inclusion of the Arctic in biogeographic analyses of vent fauna. There is an urgent need to understand the diversity, spatial distribution and ecosystem function of the biological communities along the AMOR, which will inform environmental impact assesments of future deep-sea mining activities in the region. Therefore, our aim with this paper is to provide a comprehensive inventory of the fauna at LCVF and present a first insight into the food web of the vent community. The fauna of LCVF has a high degree of novelty, with five new species previously described and another ten new species awaiting formal description. Most of the new species from LCVF are either hydrothermal vent specialists or have been reported from other chemosynthesis-based ecosystems. The highest taxon richness is found in the diffuse venting areas and may be promoted by the biogenic habitat generated by the foundation species Sclerolinum contortum. The isotopic signatures of the vent community of LCVF show a clear influence of chemosynthetic primary production on the foodweb. Considering the novel and specialised fauna documented in this paper, hydrothermal vents on the AMOR should be regarded as vulnerable marine ecosystems and protective measures must therefore be implemented, especially considering the potential threat from resource exploration and exploitation activities in the near future.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity, habitat endemicity and trophic ecology of the fauna of Loki’s Castle vent field on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Eilertsen,

Kongsrud,

Tandberg

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean is a field site containing black smokers in the Aurora Vent Field (AVF) growing off a bedrock of pillow basalts and was first dived to by an ROV in 2021 [ 135 ]. Black smokers (and white smokers) are acidic high temperature vents; these are influenced by magma, unlike lower temperature alkaline vents produced by water–rock interactions.…”

Section: Proposed Metabolismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black smokers (and white smokers) are acidic high temperature vents; these are influenced by magma, unlike lower temperature alkaline vents produced by water–rock interactions. The Gakkel Ridge is significant as the hydrothermal vents are the first beneath permanent ice cover [ 135 ]. The physicochemical and microbiological characterization of the potential vent plume showed evidence for methane and possibly hydrogen-enriched vent fluids, providing enough energy to support large amounts of microbial activity in the plume [ 136 ].…”

Section: Proposed Metabolismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Hypothesized Metabolic Pathways on Europa and Enceladus: Space-Flight Detection Considerations

Weber

Marlin

Prakash

et al. 2023

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Enceladus and Europa, icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter, respectively, are believed to be habitable with liquid water oceans and therefore are of interest for future life detection missions and mission concepts. With the limited data from missions to these moons, many studies have sought to better constrain these conditions. With these constraints, researchers have, based on modeling and experimental studies, hypothesized a number of possible metabolisms that could exist on Europa and Enceladus if these worlds host life. The most often hypothesized metabolisms are methanogenesis for Enceladus and methane oxidation/sulfate reduction on Europa. Here, we outline, review, and compare the best estimated conditions of each moon’s ocean. We then discuss the hypothetical metabolisms that have been suggested to be present on these moons, based on laboratory studies and Earth analogs. We also detail different detection methods that could be used to detect these hypothetical metabolic reactions and make recommendations for future research and considerations for future missions.

show abstract

“…the deep sea; Glover et al, 2018;Hughes et al, 2021; or polar marine ecosystems; e.g. Brandt et al, 2007;Verhaegen et al, 2021;Ramirez-Llodra et al, 2022). Only small fractions of many deep-sea ecosystems have been explored by biologists (Ramirez-Llodra et al, 2011;Rogers, 2015); with the deep pelagic being a particular challenge (Webb et al, 2010) because of its size, remoteness and the fragile nature of the organisms that inhabit it making them difficult to sample (e.g.…”

Section: Expeditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating ocean species discovery and laying the foundations for the future of marine biodiversity research and monitoring

Rogers,

Appiah-Madson,

Ardron

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ocean Census is a new Large-Scale Strategic Science Mission aimed at accelerating the discovery and description of marine species. This mission addresses the knowledge gap of the diversity and distribution of marine life whereby of an estimated 1 million to 2 million species of marine life between 75% to 90% remain undescribed to date. Without improved knowledge of marine biodiversity, tackling the decline and eventual extinction of many marine species will not be possible. The marine biota has evolved over 4 billion years and includes many branches of the tree of life that do not exist on land or in freshwater. Understanding what is in the ocean and where it lives is fundamental science, which is required to understand how the ocean works, the direct and indirect benefits it provides to society and how human impacts can be reduced and managed to ensure marine ecosystems remain healthy. We describe a strategy to accelerate the rate of ocean species discovery by: 1) employing consistent standards for digitisation of species data to broaden access to biodiversity knowledge and enabling cybertaxonomy; 2) establishing new working practices and adopting advanced technologies to accelerate taxonomy; 3) building the capacity of stakeholders to undertake taxonomic and biodiversity research and capacity development, especially targeted at low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) so they can better assess and manage life in their waters and contribute to global biodiversity knowledge; and 4) increasing observational coverage on dedicated expeditions. Ocean Census, is conceived as a global open network of scientists anchored by Biodiversity Centres in developed countries and LMICs. Through a collaborative approach, including co-production of science with LMICs, and by working with funding partners, Ocean Census will focus and grow current efforts to discover ocean life globally, and permanently transform our ability to document, describe and safeguard marine species.

show abstract

Hot Vents Beneath an Icy Ocean: The Aurora Vent Field, Gakkel Ridge, Revealed

Cited by 6 publications

References 47 publications

Diversity, habitat endemicity and trophic ecology of the fauna of Loki’s Castle vent field on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Diversity, habitat endemicity and trophic ecology of the fauna of Loki’s Castle vent field on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

A Review on Hypothesized Metabolic Pathways on Europa and Enceladus: Space-Flight Detection Considerations

Accelerating ocean species discovery and laying the foundations for the future of marine biodiversity research and monitoring

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About