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Coordinates: 65°49′18″N 18°07′24″W / 65.82167°N 18.12333°W / 65.82167; -18.12333
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The '''Strýtan vent field''' is a hydrothermal vent field located in the northern [[Atlantic Ocean]] at a depth of {{convert|16-70|m|ft}}. It is located within [[Iceland|Iceland's]] northern fjord [[Eyjafjörður|Eyjafördur]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Twing |first1=Katrina I. |last2=Ward |first2=L. M. |last3=Kane |first3=Zachary K. |last4=Sanders |first4=Alexa |last5=Price |first5=Roy Edward |last6=Pendleton |first6=H. Lizethe |last7=Giovannelli |first7=Donato |last8=Brazelton |first8=William J. |last9=McGlynn |first9=Shawn E. |title=Microbial ecology of a shallow alkaline hydrothermal vent: Strýtan Hydrothermal Field, Eyjafördur, northern Iceland |journal=Frontiers in Microbiology |date=17 November 2022 |volume=13 |pages=960335 |doi=10.3389/fmicb.2022.960335 |pmid=36466646 |pmc=9713835 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It is a popular site for [[Scuba diving|divers]].
The '''Strýtan vent field''' is a hydrothermal vent field located in the northern [[Atlantic Ocean]] at a depth of {{convert|16-70|m|ft}}. It is located within [[Iceland|Iceland's]] northern fjord [[Eyjafjörður|Eyjafördur]] near [[Akureyri]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Twing |first1=Katrina I. |last2=Ward |first2=L. M. |last3=Kane |first3=Zachary K. |last4=Sanders |first4=Alexa |last5=Price |first5=Roy Edward |last6=Pendleton |first6=H. Lizethe |last7=Giovannelli |first7=Donato |last8=Brazelton |first8=William J. |last9=McGlynn |first9=Shawn E. |title=Microbial ecology of a shallow alkaline hydrothermal vent: Strýtan Hydrothermal Field, Eyjafördur, northern Iceland |journal=Frontiers in Microbiology |date=17 November 2022 |volume=13 |pages=960335 |doi=10.3389/fmicb.2022.960335 |pmid=36466646 |pmc=9713835 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It is a popular site for [[Scuba diving|divers]].


==History==
==History==


The oldest reports of the Strýtan vent field date back hundreds of years to fishermen using dive weights. However, the [[Icelandic Coast Guard]] did not detect the vent chimneys and declared them as non-existent in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |title=Strýtan |url=https://www.strytan.is/diving-place/strytan/ |website=Strytan Divecenter}}</ref> Only in 1997 was the Strýtan vent field reported by divers Erlendur Bogason and Árni Halldósson and identified as a real geologic feature.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Salvarezza |first1=Michael |last2=Weaver |first2=Christopher |title=Strýtan: Diving Iceland's Hydrothermal Vents {{!}} X-Ray Mag |url=https://xray-mag.com/content/strytan-diving-icelands-hydrothermal-vents |website=xray-mag.com |publisher=AquaScope Media ApS - Copenhagen |language=en}}</ref>
The oldest reports of the Strýtan vent field date back hundreds of years to fishermen using dive weights. However, the [[Icelandic Coast Guard]] did not detect the vent chimneys and declared them as non-existent in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |title=Strýtan |url=https://www.strytan.is/diving-place/strytan/ |website=Strytan Divecenter}}</ref> Only in 1997 was the Strýtan vent field reported by divers Erlendur Bogason and Árni Halldósson and identified as a real geologic feature.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Salvarezza |first1=Michael |last2=Weaver |first2=Christopher |title=Strýtan: Diving Iceland's Hydrothermal Vents {{!}} X-Ray Mag |url=https://xray-mag.com/content/strytan-diving-icelands-hydrothermal-vents |website=xray-mag.com |publisher=AquaScope Media ApS - Copenhagen |language=en}}</ref> It was also explored by [[GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel|GEOMAR]] in 1997 using the [[JAGO (German research submersible)|HOV ''JAGO'']].<ref name="Stoffers1997">{{cite journal |last1=Stoffers |first1=P. |last2=Botz |first2=R. |last3=Garbe-Schönberg |first3=Dieter |last4=Hannington |first4=Mark D. |last5=Hauzel |first5=B. |last6=Herzig |first6=Peter |last7=Hissmann |first7=Karen |last8=Huber |first8=R. |last9=Kristjansson |first9=J. K. |last10=Petursdottir |first10=S. K. |last11=Schauer |first11=Jürgen |last12=Schmitt |first12=M. |last13=Zimmerer |first13=M. |last14=Devey |first14=Colin |last15=Krienitz |first15=M. |last16=Lichowski |first16=F. |last17=Möller |first17=H. |last18=Pracht |first18=J. |title=Cruise Report Poseidon 229a/b Kolbeinsey Ridge, Akureyri - Reykjavik |date=1997 |doi=10.3289/CR_POS229}}</ref>


In 2001, Strýtan was designated as a protected Icelandic preserve.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dive Site Strýtan - DIVE.IS - Iceland |url=https://www.dive.is/dive-sites/strytan |website=www.dive.is |language=en}}</ref>
In 2001, Strýtan was designated as a protected Icelandic preserve.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dive Site Strýtan - DIVE.IS - Iceland |url=https://www.dive.is/dive-sites/strytan |website=www.dive.is |language=en}}</ref>


==Geology==
==Geology==

Strýtan is in the viscinity of the Dalvík Lineament, which connects to the Eyjafjarðaráll Rift which extends to the [[Kolbeinsey Ridge]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rögnvaldsson |first1=Sigurður T. |last2=Gudmundsson |first2=Agust |last3=Slunga |first3=Ragnar |title=Seismotectonic analysis of the Tjörnes Fracture Zone, an active transform fault in north Iceland |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=10 December 1998 |volume=103 |issue=B12 |pages=30117–30129 |doi=10.1029/98JB02789}}</ref>

Strýtan is among the shallowest vent fields known and is among the few coastal hydrothermal systems known. Venting fluids are moderate at a temperature of ~{{convert|76|C|F}} and are highly alkaline at a pH of about 10.2.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barge |first1=Laura M. |last2=Price |first2=Roy E. |title=Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=December 2022 |volume=15 |issue=12 |pages=976–981 |doi=10.1038/s41561-022-01067-1|bibcode=2022NatGe..15..976B |s2cid=253794485 }}</ref>
Strýtan is among the shallowest vent fields known and is among the few coastal hydrothermal systems known. Venting fluids are moderate at a temperature of ~{{convert|76|C|F}} and are highly alkaline at a pH of about 10.2.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barge |first1=Laura M. |last2=Price |first2=Roy E. |title=Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=December 2022 |volume=15 |issue=12 |pages=976–981 |doi=10.1038/s41561-022-01067-1|bibcode=2022NatGe..15..976B |s2cid=253794485 }}</ref>


The vent field is composed of three primary venting sites. '''Big Strýtan''', '''Arnarnesstrýtur''' (sometimes referred to as Little Strýtan), and '''Hrisey'''. Big Strýtan is composed prodominantly of [[saponite]], a polysilicate mineral.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Roy |title=The Strytan Hydrothermal Field (SHF), Eyjafjord, Iceland |url=https://you.stonybrook.edu/somas/2014/02/08/the-strytan-hydrothermal-field-shf-eyjafjord-iceland/ |website=SoMAS |date=9 February 2014}}</ref> Silica, magnesium, calcium, and oxygen are abundant in venting fluids and salinity is 0.5 - 14% of that of seawater. Samples from the site indicate an extensive series of mineral phases within the mounds with firbrous, crystalline minerals establishing pore spaces for fluids to travel through.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stanulla |first1=Richard |last2=Stanulla |first2=Christiane |last3=Bogason |first3=Erlendur |last4=Pohl |first4=Thomas |last5=Merkel |first5=Broder |title=Structural, geochemical, and mineralogical investigation of active hydrothermal fluid discharges at Strýtan hydrothermal chimney, Akureyri Bay, Eyjafjörður region, Iceland |journal=Geothermal Energy |date=December 2017 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=8 |doi=10.1186/s40517-017-0065-0|s2cid=34408874 }}</ref>
The vent field is composed of three primary venting sites. '''Big Strýtan''', '''Arnarnesstrýtur''' (sometimes referred to as Little Strýtan), and '''Hrisey'''. Big Strýtan is composed prodominantly of [[anhydrite]] and [[saponite]].<ref name=Stoffers1997 /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Roy |title=The Strytan Hydrothermal Field (SHF), Eyjafjord, Iceland |url=https://you.stonybrook.edu/somas/2014/02/08/the-strytan-hydrothermal-field-shf-eyjafjord-iceland/ |website=SoMAS |date=9 February 2014}}</ref> Silica, magnesium, calcium, and oxygen are abundant in venting fluids and salinity is 0.5 - 14% of that of seawater. Samples from the site indicate an extensive series of mineral phases within the mounds with firbrous, crystalline minerals establishing pore spaces for fluids to travel through.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stanulla |first1=Richard |last2=Stanulla |first2=Christiane |last3=Bogason |first3=Erlendur |last4=Pohl |first4=Thomas |last5=Merkel |first5=Broder |title=Structural, geochemical, and mineralogical investigation of active hydrothermal fluid discharges at Strýtan hydrothermal chimney, Akureyri Bay, Eyjafjörður region, Iceland |journal=Geothermal Energy |date=December 2017 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=8 |doi=10.1186/s40517-017-0065-0|s2cid=34408874 }}</ref>


Unlike [[Lost City Hydrothermal Field|Lost City]], another alkaline field to the south in the Atlantic, Strýtan is hosted on 6-12 MA basalts and most geochemistry is attributed to freshwater contributions of terrestrial origin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marteinsson |first1=Viggó Thór |last2=Kristjánsson |first2=Jakob K. |last3=Kristmannsdóttir |first3=Hrefna |last4=Dahlkvist |first4=Maria |last5=Sæmundsson |first5=Kristján |last6=Hannington |first6=Mark |last7=Pétursdóttir |first7=Sólveig K. |last8=Geptner |first8=Alfred |last9=Stoffers |first9=Peter |title=Discovery and Description of Giant Submarine Smectite Cones on the Seafloor in Eyjafjordur, Northern Iceland, and a Novel Thermal Microbial Habitat |journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology |date=February 2001 |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=827–833 |doi=10.1128/AEM.67.2.827-833.2001|pmid=11157250 |pmc=92654 |bibcode=2001ApEnM..67..827M }}</ref>
Unlike [[Lost City Hydrothermal Field|Lost City]], another alkaline field to the south in the Atlantic, Strýtan is hosted on 6-12 MA basalts and most geochemistry is attributed to freshwater contributions of terrestrial origin.<ref name=Marteinsson>{{cite journal |last1=Marteinsson |first1=Viggó Thór |last2=Kristjánsson |first2=Jakob K. |last3=Kristmannsdóttir |first3=Hrefna |last4=Dahlkvist |first4=Maria |last5=Sæmundsson |first5=Kristján |last6=Hannington |first6=Mark |last7=Pétursdóttir |first7=Sólveig K. |last8=Geptner |first8=Alfred |last9=Stoffers |first9=Peter |title=Discovery and Description of Giant Submarine Smectite Cones on the Seafloor in Eyjafjordur, Northern Iceland, and a Novel Thermal Microbial Habitat |journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology |date=February 2001 |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=827–833 |doi=10.1128/AEM.67.2.827-833.2001|pmid=11157250 |pmc=92654 |bibcode=2001ApEnM..67..827M }}</ref>


==Biology==
==Biology==

Revision as of 19:14, 30 April 2023

Strýtan Vent Field
Map showing the location of Strýtan Vent Field
Map showing the location of Strýtan Vent Field
LocationAtlantic Ocean
Coordinates65°49′18″N 18°07′24″W / 65.82167°N 18.12333°W / 65.82167; -18.12333
Max. elevation−70 metres (−230 ft)
Min. elevation−16 metres (−52 ft)

The Strýtan vent field is a hydrothermal vent field located in the northern Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 16–70 metres (52–230 ft). It is located within Iceland's northern fjord Eyjafördur near Akureyri.[1] It is a popular site for divers.

History

The oldest reports of the Strýtan vent field date back hundreds of years to fishermen using dive weights. However, the Icelandic Coast Guard did not detect the vent chimneys and declared them as non-existent in 1987.[2] Only in 1997 was the Strýtan vent field reported by divers Erlendur Bogason and Árni Halldósson and identified as a real geologic feature.[3] It was also explored by GEOMAR in 1997 using the HOV JAGO.[4]

In 2001, Strýtan was designated as a protected Icelandic preserve.[5]

Geology

Strýtan is in the viscinity of the Dalvík Lineament, which connects to the Eyjafjarðaráll Rift which extends to the Kolbeinsey Ridge.[6]

Strýtan is among the shallowest vent fields known and is among the few coastal hydrothermal systems known. Venting fluids are moderate at a temperature of ~76 °C (169 °F) and are highly alkaline at a pH of about 10.2.[7]

The vent field is composed of three primary venting sites. Big Strýtan, Arnarnesstrýtur (sometimes referred to as Little Strýtan), and Hrisey. Big Strýtan is composed prodominantly of anhydrite and saponite.[4][8] Silica, magnesium, calcium, and oxygen are abundant in venting fluids and salinity is 0.5 - 14% of that of seawater. Samples from the site indicate an extensive series of mineral phases within the mounds with firbrous, crystalline minerals establishing pore spaces for fluids to travel through.[9]

Unlike Lost City, another alkaline field to the south in the Atlantic, Strýtan is hosted on 6-12 MA basalts and most geochemistry is attributed to freshwater contributions of terrestrial origin.[10]

Biology

Sea spider grazing on a hydroid in a Norwegian fjord.

Strýtan has an abundance of mussels, bryozoans, sponges, hydroids, brittlestars, and polychete worms. Metridium anemones, nudibranchs, and sea spiders have also been reported.[11]

References

  1. ^ Twing, Katrina I.; Ward, L. M.; Kane, Zachary K.; Sanders, Alexa; Price, Roy Edward; Pendleton, H. Lizethe; Giovannelli, Donato; Brazelton, William J.; McGlynn, Shawn E. (17 November 2022). "Microbial ecology of a shallow alkaline hydrothermal vent: Strýtan Hydrothermal Field, Eyjafördur, northern Iceland". Frontiers in Microbiology. 13: 960335. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.960335. PMC 9713835. PMID 36466646.
  2. ^ "Strýtan". Strytan Divecenter.
  3. ^ Salvarezza, Michael; Weaver, Christopher. "Strýtan: Diving Iceland's Hydrothermal Vents | X-Ray Mag". xray-mag.com. AquaScope Media ApS - Copenhagen.
  4. ^ a b Stoffers, P.; Botz, R.; Garbe-Schönberg, Dieter; Hannington, Mark D.; Hauzel, B.; Herzig, Peter; Hissmann, Karen; Huber, R.; Kristjansson, J. K.; Petursdottir, S. K.; Schauer, Jürgen; Schmitt, M.; Zimmerer, M.; Devey, Colin; Krienitz, M.; Lichowski, F.; Möller, H.; Pracht, J. (1997). "Cruise Report Poseidon 229a/b Kolbeinsey Ridge, Akureyri - Reykjavik". doi:10.3289/CR_POS229. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Dive Site Strýtan - DIVE.IS - Iceland". www.dive.is.
  6. ^ Rögnvaldsson, Sigurður T.; Gudmundsson, Agust; Slunga, Ragnar (10 December 1998). "Seismotectonic analysis of the Tjörnes Fracture Zone, an active transform fault in north Iceland". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 103 (B12): 30117–30129. doi:10.1029/98JB02789.
  7. ^ Barge, Laura M.; Price, Roy E. (December 2022). "Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents". Nature Geoscience. 15 (12): 976–981. Bibcode:2022NatGe..15..976B. doi:10.1038/s41561-022-01067-1. S2CID 253794485.
  8. ^ Price, Roy (9 February 2014). "The Strytan Hydrothermal Field (SHF), Eyjafjord, Iceland". SoMAS.
  9. ^ Stanulla, Richard; Stanulla, Christiane; Bogason, Erlendur; Pohl, Thomas; Merkel, Broder (December 2017). "Structural, geochemical, and mineralogical investigation of active hydrothermal fluid discharges at Strýtan hydrothermal chimney, Akureyri Bay, Eyjafjörður region, Iceland". Geothermal Energy. 5 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/s40517-017-0065-0. S2CID 34408874.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  10. ^ Marteinsson, Viggó Thór; Kristjánsson, Jakob K.; Kristmannsdóttir, Hrefna; Dahlkvist, Maria; Sæmundsson, Kristján; Hannington, Mark; Pétursdóttir, Sólveig K.; Geptner, Alfred; Stoffers, Peter (February 2001). "Discovery and Description of Giant Submarine Smectite Cones on the Seafloor in Eyjafjordur, Northern Iceland, and a Novel Thermal Microbial Habitat". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 67 (2): 827–833. Bibcode:2001ApEnM..67..827M. doi:10.1128/AEM.67.2.827-833.2001. PMC 92654. PMID 11157250.
  11. ^ GEORGIEVA, MAGDALENA. "Field Notes: Iceland's Shallow Hydrothermal Vents". fieldnotes.nationalgeographic.org.

See also