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Exploring the mysteries of the deep

5 March 2007

The RRS James Cook begins its maiden voyage today, to explore the mysterious world beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship is carrying a team of scientists to the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a massive underwater volcanic mountain range, where they will spend the next six weeks taking measurements and samples using innovative, purpose-built instruments and robotic submarine vehicles.

Led by Professor Roger Searle from Durham University, the team will try to discover why a huge 'wound' has appeared in the Earth's crust in a region of the ridge known as the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone (FTFZ).

Tectonic plates move away from each other at the Mid Atlantic Ridge and usually the gap that is left fills with hot, molten rock rising from the Earth's mantle beneath. For some reason it seems the Earth is not repairing itself and a gaping hole remains.

Dr Chris MacLeod from Cardiff University is one of the scientists aboard the ship. He says, "It doesn't quite fit the generally accepted model of plate tectonics. We hope to get a direct insight into the processes that go on in the Earth."

Professor Searle commented, "This is probably the first area where the mantle has been observed extensively on the seafloor. It gives us a unique opportunity to study this enigmatic part of the Earth in detail."

The scientists expect that their work will help to answer some of the uncertainties over how the Earth's crust forms, and whether the ocean crust along the Mid Atlantic Ridge was first developed and then ripped away by huge geological faults, or whether it did not develop in the first place.

The RRS James Cook is one of the most advanced scientific research ships in the world and is able to maintain a stable position above the mountainous ridge. This will allow the scientists to take precise measurements, extract core samples using a state-of-the-art- rock drill, and easily deploy and recover the robotic vehicle which will be collecting samples from the seabed more than 16,000 feet below the surface of the ocean.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Kim Marshall-Brown
Press Officer
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Tel: 023 8059 6170

Notes

1. The expedition is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under the UK Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.

2. The three lead scientists are: Professor Roger Searle, University of Durham, Dr Bramley Murton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, and Dr Chris MacLeod, Cardiff University. 

3. The RRS James Cook is owned by the Natural Environment Research Council and managed by its National Marine Facilities Division, based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

Briefing note: 05/07

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