Introduction to Korean Exploration and Research Programs on Seafloor hydrothermal vents

Abstract

Seafloor hydrothermal system is known as one of the fundamental processes controlling the transfer of energy and matter from the interior of the Earth to the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. After the first discovery of hydrothermal vent at the Galapagos rift in 1977, more than 550 sites of seafloor hydrothermal activity are identified from various geological settings. Korean research program by KIOST on hydrothermal vent started in late 90’s at the several known vent sites in the convergent margin of the Western Pacific. The research objectives of this initial stage focused on geological sampling at known venting sites and no biological sampling was available. With the scientific and technical know-how accumulated from the initial works, KIOST extended the targets of hydrothermal expeditions to discover new hydrothermal activities at the region of no previous works in Lau Basin, Tonga Arc, and Central Indian Ridge. However, biological study on the hydrothermal vents was still limited due to absence of application of ROV for sampling. From 2011 to present, KIOST performed several ROV surveys in Tonga Arc, Mariana Trough, and North Fiji Basin. With the high resolution dataand near bottom sampling equipment, various environmental studies including biological sampling were available. Especially, in 2016, the first Korean ROV Hemire performed successful dives at hydrothermal vents in Mariana Arc and back-arc re