ABE Deployment - ABE was deployed following a one hour transit back to the Flow Area. The deployment went exceptionally well, with ABE flying a detailed near-bottom survey pattern and collecting CTD and magnetics data. ABE is an ideal platform for these tasks; it has virtually no magnetic signature and can fly precise contour-following patterns.
Jason Re-deployment - After repairs to a faulty connector on Jason's magnetometer, the ROV was re-deployed in the Floc Area. The thermal blanket was used to make two more heat flow measurements, and provided both the scientists and Jason crew with a break from the monotony of imagenex profiling. A detailed magnetic survey was also performed. Integration of the imagenex, magnetic, heat-flow, and chemical data will lead to a better understanding of the seafloor processes in the Floc Area; it is hypothesized that a dike carrying magma to the Flow Area passed through the region. Large fissures, cracks, grabens, and diffuse hydrothermal flow throughout the Floc Area may be the surficial expression of this dike, while magnetic and heat flow anomalies may allow the scientists to "see" below the seafloor and estimate the age, length, and width of the dike.
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