Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Infobox seamount Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (previously known as Lōʻihi) is an active submarine volcano about Template:Cvt off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii.<ref name=NOAA /> The top of the seamount is about Template:Cvt below sea level. This seamount is on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest active subaerial shield volcano on Earth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Kamaʻehuakanaloa is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches about Template:Cvt northwest of Kamaʻehuakanaloa. Unlike most active volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean that make up the active plate margins on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kamaʻehuakanaloa and the other volcanoes of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain are hotspot volcanoes and formed well away from the nearest plate boundary. Volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands arise from the Hawaii hotspot, and as the youngest volcano in the chain, Kamaʻehuakanaloa is the only Hawaiian volcano in the deep submarine preshield stage of development.
Kamaʻehuakanaloa began forming around 400,000 years ago and is expected to begin emerging above sea level about 10,000–100,000 years from now. At its summit, Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount stands more than Template:Cvt above the seafloor, making it taller than Mount St. Helens was before its catastrophic 1980 eruption. A diverse microbial community resides around Kamaʻehuakanaloa many hydrothermal vents.
In the summer of 1996, a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes was recorded at Kamaʻehuakanaloa. At the time this was the most energetic earthquake swarm in Hawaii recorded history. The swarm altered Template:Cvt of the seamount's summit; one section, Pele's Vents, collapsed entirely upon itself and formed the renamed Pele's Pit. The volcano has remained relatively active since the 1996 swarm and is monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory (HUGO) provided real-time data on Kamaʻehuakanaloa between 1997 and 1998. Kamaʻehuakanaloa's last known eruption was in 1996, before the earthquake swarm of that summer.
NamingEdit
The name Kamaʻehuakanaloa is a Hawaiian language word for "glowing child of Kanaloa", the god of the ocean.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This name was found in two Hawaiian mele from the 19th and early twentieth centuries based on research at the Bishop Museum and was assigned by the Hawaiʻi Board on Geographic Names in 2021 and adopted by the U.S. Geological Survey.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 1955 to 2021 the seamount was called "Lōʻihi", the Hawaiian word for "long", describing its shape. The change to Kamaʻehuakanaloa was made in an effort to be more culturally appropriate given native Hawaiian traditions for naming.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CharacteristicsEdit
GeologyEdit
Kamaʻehuakanaloa is a seamount, or underwater volcano, on the flank of Mauna Loa, the Earth's tallest shield volcano. It is the newest volcano produced by the Hawaiʻi hotspot in the extensive Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. The distance between the summit of the older Mauna Loa and the summit of Kamaʻehuakanaloa is about Template:Cvt, which is, coincidentally, also the approximate diameter of the Hawaiʻi hotspot.<ref name=USGS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> Kamaʻehuakanaloa consists of a summit area with three pit craters, a Template:Cvt long rift zone extending north from the summit, and a Template:Cvt long rift zone extending south-southeast from the summit.<ref name=Malahoff-1987 />
The summit's pit craters are named West Pit, East Pit, and Pele's Pit.<ref name="Malahoff G3-2001"/> Pele's Pit is the youngest of this group and is located at the southern part of the summit. The walls of Pele's Pit stand Template:Cvt high and were formed in July 1996 when its predecessor, Pele's Vent, a hydrothermal field near Kamaʻehuakanaloa summit, collapsed into a large depression.<ref name=NOAA>Template:Cite FTP</ref> The thick crater walls of Pele's Pit – averaging Template:Cvt in width, unusually thick for Hawaiian volcanic craters – suggest its craters have filled with lava multiple times in the past.<ref name="Garcia et. al. 1988" />
Kamaʻehuakanaloa's north–south trending rift zones form a distinctive elongated shape, from which the volcano's earlier Hawaiian name "Lōʻihi," meaning "long", derives.<ref name="Dictionary"/> The north rift zone consists of a longer western portion and a shorter eastern rift zone. Observations show that both the north and south rift zones lack sediment cover, indicating recent activity. A bulge in the western part of the north rift zone contains three Template:Cvt cone-shaped prominences.<ref name="Garcia et. al. 1988">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Until 1970, Kamaʻehuakanaloa was thought to be an inactive volcano that had been transported to its current location by sea-floor spreading. The seafloor under Hawaii is Template:Nowrap years old and was produced at the East Pacific Rise, an oceanic spreading center where new sea floor forms from magma that erupts from the mantle. New oceanic crust moves away from the spreading center. Over a period of Template:Nowrap years, the sea floor under Hawaii moved from the East Pacific Rise to its present location Template:Cvt west, carrying ancient seamounts with it. When scientists investigated a series of earthquakes off Hawaii in 1970, they discovered that Kamaʻehuakanaloa was an active member of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain.
Kamaʻehuakanaloa is built on the seafloor with a slope of about five degrees. Its northern base on the flank of Mauna Loa is Template:Cvt below sea level, but its southern base is a more substantial Template:Cvt below the surface. Thus, the summit is Template:Cvt above the seafloor as measured from the base of its north flank, but Template:Cvt high when measured from the base of its southern flank.<ref name=USGS /> Kamaʻehuakanaloa is following the pattern of development that is characteristic of all Hawaiian volcanoes. Geochemical evidence from Kamaʻehuakanaloa's lavas indicates that Kamaʻehuakanaloa is in transition between the preshield and shield volcano stage, providing valuable clues to the early development of Hawaiian volcanoes. In the preshield stage, Hawaiian volcanoes have steeper sides and a lower level of activity, producing an alkali basalt lava.<ref name=Best>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="USGS - Evolution">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Continued volcanism is expected to eventually give birth to an island at Kamaʻehuakanaloa. It experiences frequent landslides; the growth of the volcano has destabilized its slopes, and extensive areas of debris inhabit the steep southeastern face. Similar deposits from other Hawaiian volcanoes indicate that landslide debris is an important product of the early development of Hawaiian volcanoes.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> Kamaʻehuakanaloa is predicted to rise above the surface in 10,000 to 100,000 years.<ref name=GVP-Summary />
Age and growthEdit
Radiometric dating was used to determine the age of rock samples from Kamaʻehuakanaloa. The Hawaii Center for Volcanology tested samples recovered by various expeditions, notably the 1978 expedition, which provided 17 dredge samples. Most of the samples were found to be of recent origin; the oldest dated rock is around 300,000 years old. Following the 1996 event, some young breccia was also collected. Based on the samples, scientists estimate Kamaʻehuakanaloa is about 400,000 years old. The rock accumulates at an average rate of Template:Cvt per year near the base, and Template:Cvt near the summit. If the data model from other volcanoes such as Kīlauea holds true for Kamaʻehuakanaloa, 40% of the volcano's mass formed within the last 100,000 years. Assuming a linear growth rate, Kamaʻehuakanaloa is 250,000 years old. However, as with all hotspot volcanoes, Kamaʻehuakanaloa's level of activity has increased with time; therefore, it would take at least 400,000 years for such a volcano to reach Kamaʻehuakanaloa's mass.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> As Hawaiian volcanoes drift northwest at a rate of about Template:Cvt a year, Kamaʻehuakanaloa was Template:Cvt southeast of its current position at the time of its initial eruption.<ref name="Litho">Template:Cite journal</ref>
ActivityEdit
Kamaʻehuakanaloa is a young and fairly active volcano, although less active than nearby Kīlauea. In the past few decades, several earthquake swarms have been attributed to Kamaʻehuakanaloa, the largest of which are summarized in the table below.<ref name=HCV-Updates>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The volcano's activity is now known to predate scientific record keeping of its activity, which commenced in 1959.<ref name="HCV-Seismicity">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most earthquake swarms at Kamaʻehuakanaloa have lasted less than two days; the two exceptions are the 1990-1991 earthquake, lasting several months, and the 1996 event, which was shorter but much more pronounced. The 1996 event was directly observed by an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS), allowing scientists to calculate the depth of the earthquakes as Template:Cvt to Template:Cvt below the summit, approximating to the position of Kamaʻehuakanaloa's extremely shallow magma chamber.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> This is evidence that Kamaʻehuakanaloa's seismicity is volcanic in origin.<ref name="Malahoff G3-2001">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The low-level seismic activity documented on Kamaʻehuakanaloa since 1959 has shown that between two and ten earthquakes per month are traceable to the summit.<ref name=HCV-Seismicity /> Earthquake swarm data have been used to analyze how well Kamaʻehuakanaloa's rocks propagate seismic waves and to investigate the relationship between earthquakes and eruptions. This low level activity is periodically punctuated by large swarms of earthquakes, each swarm composed of up to hundreds of earthquakes. The majority of the earthquakes are not distributed close to the summit, though they follow a north–south trend. Rather, most of the earthquakes occur in the southwest portion of Kamaʻehuakanaloa.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> The largest recorded swarms took place on Kamaʻehuakanaloa in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1991–92 and 1996. The nearest seismic station is around Template:Cvt from Kamaʻehuakanaloa, on the south coast of Hawaii. Seismic events that have a magnitude under 2 are recorded often, but their location cannot be determined as precisely as it can for larger events.<ref name=GVP-Reports /> In fact, HUGO (Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory), positioned on Kamaʻehuakanaloa's flank, detected ten times as many earthquakes as were recorded by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) seismic network.<ref name=Garcia-2005 />
1996 earthquake swarmEdit
| Year(s) | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Evidence of eruption in early 1996, and large, well-recorded earthquake swarm in the summer. Started on February 25, 1996, and lasted until August 9, 1996.<ref name=GVP-Reports /><ref name=GVP-History /> | |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | An Ocean Bottom Observatory (OBO) device positioned on the seamount to track a recent earthquake swarm collected evidence of deflation, possibly due to magma withdrawal.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Possible eruption, occurred on September 20, 1986 (one day).<ref name=GVP-History /> | |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Nine events of magnitude 3 or greater, measuring between 3.0 and 4.2, were recorded from November 11, 1984, to January 21, 1985.<ref name=GVP-Reports>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> Eruption possible, but uncertain.<ref name=GVP-History /> |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Prominent earthquake swarm from August 24, 1975, to November 1975.<ref name=GVP-History /> | |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | citation | CitationClass=web
}} Dates for older eruptions retrieved through Isotope dating.</ref> Eruption uncertain. |
| check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | An earthquake swarm on Kamaʻehuakanaloa in 1952 was the event that first brought attention to the volcano, previously thought extinct.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
50 BC {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
± 1000 |
Confirmed ancient eruption<ref name=GVP-History /> | |
5050 BC {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
± 1000 |
Confirmed ancient eruption<ref name=GVP-History /> | |
7050 BC {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
± 1000 |
Confirmed ancient eruption, most likely on the east flank<ref name=GVP-Reports /> | |
| This table indexes only possible volcanic eruptions and major events. Kamaʻehuakanaloa has also been the site of multiple earthquake swarms occurring on a nearly semi-annual basis. | ||
The largest amount of activity recorded for the Kamaʻehuakanaloa seamount was a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes between July 16 and August 9, 1996.<ref name=USGS /> This series of earthquakes was the largest recorded for any Hawaiian volcano to date in both amount and intensity. Most of the earthquakes had moment magnitudes of less than 3.0. "Several hundred" had a magnitude greater than 3.0, including more than 40 greater than 4.0 and a 5.0 tremor.<ref name=GVP-Reports /><ref name=HCV-1996-Eruption>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The final two weeks of the earthquake swarm were observed by a rapid response cruise launched in August 1996. The National Science Foundation funded an expedition by University of Hawaiʻi scientists, led by Frederick Duennebier, that began investigating the swarm and its origin in August 1996. The scientists' assessment laid the groundwork for many of the expeditions that followed.<ref name=HURL-1999>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Follow-up expeditions to Kamaʻehuakanaloa took place, including a series of crewed submersible dives in August and September. These were supplemented by a great deal of shore-based research.<ref name=HCV-1996-Eruption /> Fresh rock collected during the expedition revealed that an eruption occurred before the earthquake swarm.<ref name="Garcia et. al. 1998a">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Submersible dives in August were followed by NOAA-funded research in September and October 1996. These more detailed studies showed the southern portion of Kamaʻehuakanaloa's summit had collapsed, a result of a swarm of earthquakes and the rapid withdrawal of magma from the volcano. A crater Template:Cvt across and Template:Cvt deep formed out of the rubble. The event involved the movement of Template:Nowrap cubic meters of volcanic material. A region of Template:Cvt of the summit was altered and populated by bus-sized pillow lava blocks, precariously perched along the outer rim of the newly formed crater. "Pele's Vents", an area on the southern side, previously considered stable, collapsed completely into a giant pit, renamed "Pele's Pit". Strong currents make submersible diving hazardous in the region.<ref name=HURL-1999 />
The researchers were continually met by clouds of sulfide and sulfate. The sudden collapse of Pele's Vents caused a large discharge of hydrothermal material. The presence of certain indicator minerals in the mixture suggested temperatures exceeded Template:Cvt, a record for an underwater volcano. The composition of the materials was similar to that of black smokers, the hydrothermal vent plumes located along mid-ocean ridges. Samples from mounds built by discharges from the hydrothermal plumes resembled white smokers.<ref name=Davis-2003 />
The studies demonstrated that the most volcanically and hydrothermally active area was along the southern rift. Dives on the less active northern rim indicated that the terrain was more stable there, and high lava columns were still standing upright.<ref name=HURL-1999 /> A new hydrothermal vent field (Naha Vents) was located in the upper-south rift zone, at a depth of Template:Cvt.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /><ref name=HCV-Vent-Plume />
Recent activityEdit
Kamaʻehuakanaloa has remained largely quiet since the 1996 event; no activity was recorded from 2002 to 2004. The seamount showed signs of unrest again in 2005 by generating an earthquake bigger than any previously recorded there. USGS-ANSS (Advanced National Seismic System) reported two earthquakes, magnitudes 5.1 and 5.4, on May 13 and July 17. Both originated from a depth of Template:Cvt. On April 23, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded at a depth of approximately Template:Cvt. Between December 7, 2005, and January 18, 2006, a swarm of around 100 earthquakes occurred, the largest measuring 4 on the Moment magnitude scale and Template:Cvt deep. Another earthquake measuring 4.7 was later recorded approximately midway between Kamaʻehuakanaloa and Pāhala (on the south coast of the island of Hawaii).<ref name=HCV-Updates />
ExplorationEdit
Early workEdit
| Date | Study (most on R/V Kaʻimikai-o-Kanaloa and with Pisces V) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Kamaʻehuakanaloa's first depiction on a map was on Survey Chart 4115, compiled by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1940.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
| 1978 | An expedition formed to study intense seismic activity in the region at the time. Data collected was the first solid evidence of the volcano being active.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
| 1979 | More extensive sampling (17 dredgehauls) from this expedition seemed to confirm the 1970 results.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
| 1980 | Extensive hydrothermal fields found, yielding more evidence. First high-resolution bathymetric mapping.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> | |
| 1987 | Marking and study of several hydrothermic fields<ref name=HCV-Vent-Plume /> | |
| August 1996 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Early Sept. 1997 | Studies of hydrothermal vents (Batiza and McMurtry, Chief Scientists)<ref name="HCV-Time" /> | |
| Late August 1997 | Geological studies of recent eruptions at Kamaʻehuakanaloa (Garcia and Kadko, Chief Scientists)<ref name="HCV-Time" /> | |
| October 1997 | HUGO deployment (Frederick Duennebier, Chief Scientist)<ref name="HCV-Time" /> | |
| September–October 1998 | Series of dives by multiple science parties to visit New Pit, Summit Area and HUGO.<ref name="HCV-Time" /> | |
| January 1998 | HUGO revisit (Frederick Duennebier, Chief Scientist)<ref name="HCV-Time" /> | |
| October 2002 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| October 2006 October 2007 October 2008 October 2009 |
FeMO (Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory) cruises to investigate iron-oxidizing microbes at Kamaʻehuakanaloa. Much is learned about Kamaʻehuakanaloa's microbial community.<ref name=FeMO-Intro /> |
Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount's first depiction on a map was on Survey Chart 4115, a bathymetric rendering of part of Hawaiʻi compiled by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1940. At the time, the seamount was non-notable, being one of many in the region. A large earthquake swarm first brought attention to it in 1952. That same year, geologist Gordon A. Macdonald hypothesized that the seamount was actually an active submarine shield volcano, similar to the two active Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kīlauea. Macdonald's hypothesis placed the seamount as the newest volcano in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, created by the Hawaiʻi hotspot. However, because the earthquakes were oriented east–west (the direction of the volcanic fault) and there was no volcanic tremor in seismometers distant from the seamount, Macdonald attributed the earthquake to faulting rather than a volcanic eruption.<ref name="Garcia-2005">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Geologists suspected the seamount could be an active undersea volcano, but without evidence the idea remained speculative. The volcano was largely ignored after the 1952 event, and was often mislabeled as an "older volcanic feature" in subsequent charts.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> Geologist Kenneth O. Emery is credited with naming the seamount in 1955, describing the long and narrow shape of the volcano as Kamaʻehuakanaloa.<ref name=Malahoff-1987>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Dictionary">Lōʻihi, meaning "length, height, distance; long". See: Template:Cite book</ref> In 1978, an expedition studied intense, repeated seismic activity known as earthquake swarms in and around the Kamaʻehuakanaloa area. Rather than finding an old, extinct seamount, data collected revealed Kamaʻehuakanaloa to be a young, possibly active volcano. Observations showed the volcano to be encrusted with young and old lava flows. Fluids erupting from active hydrothermal vents were also found.<ref name="HCV-Main">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1978, a US Geological Survey research ship collected dredge samples and photographed Kamaʻehuakanaloa's summit with the goal of studying whether Kamaʻehuakanaloa is active. Analysis of the photos and testing of pillow lava rock samples appeared to show that the material was "fresh", yielding more evidence that Kamaʻehuakanaloa is still active. An expedition from October 1980 to January 1981 collected further dredge samples and photographs, providing additional confirmation.<ref name="Macdonald-1983">Template:Cite book</ref> Studies indicated that the eruptions came from the southern part of the rift crater. This area is closest to the Hawaiʻi hotspot, which supplies Kamaʻehuakanaloa with magma.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> Following a 1986 seismic event, a network of five ocean bottom observatories (OBOs) were deployed on Kamaʻehuakanaloa for a month. Kamaʻehuakanaloa's frequent seismicity makes it an ideal candidate for seismic study through OBOs.<ref name=Garcia-2005 /> In 1987, the submersible DSV Alvin was used to survey Kamaʻehuakanaloa<ref name="Alvin-1993">Template:Cite journal</ref> Another autonomous observatory was positioned on Kamaʻehuakanaloa in 1991 to track earthquake swarms.<ref name=Garcia-2005 />
1996 to presentEdit
The bulk of information about Kamaʻehuakanaloa comes from dives made in response to the 1996 eruption. In a dive conducted almost immediately after seismic activity was reported, visibility was greatly reduced by high concentrations of displaced minerals and large floating mats of bacteria in the water. The bacteria that feed on the dissolved nutrients had already begun colonizing the new hydrothermal vents at Pele's Pit (formed from the collapse of the old ones), and may be indicators of the kinds of material ejected from the newly formed vents. They were carefully sampled for further analysis in a laboratory.<ref name=HURL-1999 /> An OBO briefly sat on the summit before a more permanent probe could be installed.<ref name="Seismic Readings-1995">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Repeated multibeam bathymetric mapping was used to measure the changes in the summit following the 1996 collapse. Hydrothermal plume surveys confirmed changes in the energy, and dissolved minerals emanating from Kamaʻehuakanaloa. Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory, HURL's Template:Cvt submersible Pisces V allowed scientists to sample the vent waters, microorganisms and hydrothermal mineral deposits.<ref name=NOAA />
Since 2006, the Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory (FeMO), funded by the National Science Foundation and Microbial Observatory Program, has led cruises to Kamaʻehuakanaloa investigate its microbiology every October. The first cruise, on the ship R/V Melville and exploiting the submersible JASON2, lasted from September 22 to October 9. These cruises study the large number of Fe-oxidizing bacteria that have colonized Kamaʻehuakanaloa. Kamaʻehuakanaloa's extensive vent system is characterized by a high concentration of CO2 and iron, while being low in sulfide. These characteristics make a perfect environment for iron-oxidizing bacteria, called FeOB, to thrive in.<ref name=FeMO-Intro />
HUGO (Hawaii Undersea Geological Observatory)Edit
In 1997, scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi installed an ocean bottom observatory on the summit of Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount.<ref name=HCV-Updates /> The submarine observatory was nicknamed HUGO (Hawaiʻi Undersea Geological Observatory). HUGO was connected to the shore, Template:Cvt away, by a fiber optic cable. It was designed to give scientists real-time seismic, chemical and visual data about the state of Kamaʻehuakanaloa, which had by then become an international laboratory for the study of undersea volcanism.<ref name=HURL-1999 /> The cable that provided HUGO with power and communications broke in April 1998, effectively shutting it down. The observatory was recovered from the seafloor in 2002.<ref name="SOEST-HUGO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EcologyEdit
Hydrothermal vent geochemistryEdit
| Vent<ref name=HCV-Vent-Plume /> | Depth | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pele's | Template:Convert | Summit | Destroyed 1996 |
| Kapo's | Template:Convert | Upper South rift | No longer venting |
| Forbidden | Template:Convert | Pele's Pit | over Template:Cvt |
| Lohiau ("slow") | Template:Convert<ref name="Malahoff G3-2001"/> | Pele's Pit | Template:Cvt |
| Pahaku ("rocky") | Template:Convert | South rift zone | Template:Cvt |
| Ula ("red") | Template:Convert | South summit | Diffuse venting |
| Maximilian | Template:Convert | West summit flank | Diffuse venting |
| Naha | Template:Convert | South rift | Template:Cvt |
Kamaʻehuakanaloa's mid-Pacific location and its well-sustained hydrothermal system contribute to a rich oasis for a microbial ecosystem. Areas of extensive hydrothermal venting are found on Kamaʻehuakanaloa's crater floor and north slope,<ref name=NOAA /> and along the summit of Kamaʻehuakanaloa itself. Active hydrothermal vents were first discovered at Kamaʻehuakanaloa in the late 1980s. These vents are remarkably similar to those found at the mid-ocean ridges, with similar composition and thermal differences. The two most prominent vent fields are at the summit: Pele's Pit (formally Pele's Vents) and Kapo's Vents. They are named after the Hawaiian deity Pele and her sister Kapo. These vents were considered "low temperature vents" because their waters were only about Template:Cvt. The volcanic eruption of 1996 and the creation of Pele's Pit changed this, and initiated high temperature venting; exit temperatures were measured at Template:Cvt in 1996.<ref name=HCV-Vent-Plume>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MicroorganismsEdit
The vents lie Template:Cvt below the surface, and range in temperature from 10 to over Template:Cvt.<ref name=HCV-Vent-Plume /><ref name="Emerson2009">Template:Cite journal</ref> The vent fluids are characterized by a high concentration of Template:Chem (up to 17 mM) and Fe (Iron), but low in sulfide. Low oxygen and pH levels are important factors in supporting the high amounts of Fe (iron), one of the hallmark features of Kamaʻehuakanaloa. These characteristics make a perfect environment for iron-oxidizing bacteria, called FeOB, to thrive in.<ref name=FeMO-Intro>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An example of these species is Mariprofundus ferrooxydans, sole member of the class Zetaproteobacteria.<ref name=emerson>Template:Cite journal</ref> The composition of the materials was similar to that of black smokers, that are a habitat of archaea extremophiles. Dissolution and oxidation of the mineral observed over the next two years suggests the sulfate is not easily preserved.<ref name=Davis-2003>Template:Cite journal</ref>
A diverse community of microbial mats surround the vents and virtually cover Pele's Pit. The Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), NOAA's Research Center for Hawaiʻi and the Western Pacific, monitors and researches the hydrothermal systems and studies the local community.<ref name=NOAA /> The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded an extremophile sampling expedition to Kamaʻehuakanaloa in 1999. Microbial mats surrounded the Template:Cvt vents, and included a novel jelly-like organism. Samples were collected for study at NSF's Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC).<ref name=NOAA /> In 2001, Pisces V collected samples of the organisms and brought them to the surface for study.<ref name=HURL-1999 />
NOAA's National Undersea Research Center and NSF's Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center are cooperating to sample and research the local bacteria and archaea extremophiles.<ref name=NOAA /> The fourth FeMO (Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory) cruise occurred during October 2009.<ref name="FeMO4 Cruise">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MacroorganismsEdit
Marine life inhabiting the waters around Kamaʻehuakanaloa is not as diverse as life at other, less active seamounts. Fish found living near Kamaʻehuakanaloa include the Celebes monkfish (Sladenia remiger), and members of the cutthroat eel family, Synaphobranchidae.<ref name="Hawaii-Volcanology-Slideshow">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Invertebrates identified in the area include two species endemic to the hydrothermal vents, a bresiliid shrimp (Opaepele loihi) of the family Alvinocarididae (described in 1995), and a tube or pogonophoran worm. Dives conducted after the 1996 earthquake swarms were unable to find either the shrimp or the worm, and it is not known if there are lasting effects on these species.<ref name=HCV-Event-summary>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
From 1982 to 1992, researchers in Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory submersibles photographed the fish of Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount, Johnston Atoll, and Cross Seamount at depths between Template:Cvt.<ref name=Chave1994>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Observation Data-CenSeam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A small number of species identified at Kamaʻehuakanaloa were newly recorded sightings in Hawaiʻi, including the tasseled coffinfish (Chaunax fimbriatus), and the Celebes monkfish.<ref name=Chave1994 />
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
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- Scripps Institution of Oceanography. (2002). Benthic Invertebrate Collection Database.
External linksEdit
- Hawaii Center for Volcanology, University of Hawaiʻi.
- Kamaʻehuakanaloa SeamountTemplate:SndUSGS website.
- Loihi Submarine Volcano: A unique, natural extremophile laboratoryTemplate:SndNOAA research site.
- HURL Current Research – Loihi after the July–August event, on the 1996 Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount Exploration
- Recent volcanic activity at Loihi – University of Hawaiʻi
- Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory Project (FeMO) Webpage – Earthref.org