A team of Chinese researchers explored the eastern section of Gakkel mid-ocean ridgean underwater mountain range approximately 1800 km long in the’Arctic Oceannever visited before as it is one of the most difficult areas on Earth to reach. The mission, which ended in October, used one icebreaker ship and of submarine Fendouzhewhich also hosted a crew. Over 40 dives have reached depths even of 5277 m below sea level. The exploration results have yet to be processed, but are believed to reveal a extreme environment similar to that of the western part of the ridge, already explored in the past: a complex of hydrothermal springs of hot water they host rich ecosystems with life forms similar to those hypothesized to be found on Jupiter’s moons.
What is the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean: a unique geological system
The expedition, organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, took place for weeks in a remote area of the planet, covered by sea ice. Here, under the waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Gakkel dorsalan underwater mountain range approximately 1800 km long. It is the extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the North American plate from that Eurasiancharacterized by intense volcanic activity.
Its western section had already been explored in the 2000s, while the eastern one, more difficult to reach, had so far remained unexplored. To reach it, the researchers used a icebreaker ship and the Fendouzhe submarinewhich among its dives boasts one in the deepest ocean trench on the planet, the Mariana Trench. The dives to reach the Gakkel ridge were numerous and involved one maximum depth of 5277 m.
In one of these the submarine, which was able to dive thanks to openings in the ice created by the ship, it also hosted a crew. The choice of sites to visit fell on the most geologically interesting ones, for example underwater mountains.
Why the Gakkel Ridge is so interesting
The Gakkel ridge arouses great interest in the scientific community for various reasons. For example, it is the stretch of the planet’s mid-ocean ridge along which the plates move apart from each other lowest rate, between 0.6 and 1.5 cm per year. One of its most interesting features is that it hosts a vast hydrothermal field, consisting of hydrothermal ventsalso called black smokestacks (or black smokers), tall structures made up of polymetallic sulfidesrich in iron, copper, manganese and zinc. These metals deposit from the waters circulating in the crust when these, heated by the magma, cool abruptly, escaping from the fractures on the seabed. The black smokestacks constitute a habitat that hosts a remarkable biodiversitywith organisms capable of surviving in extreme conditions. Hydrothermal vents were discovered in 2001 in the western part of the Gakkel Ridge and may also be found in the newly explored eastern one, although researchers have not yet provided data on this. The analyzes of the collected samples are still ongoing, but could reveal something valuable information from a geological and biological point of view. They could also be useful in understanding how life can originate and evolve in the frozen oceans of Jupiter’s moons. As this expedition testifies, the China’s role in the exploration of extreme polar environments it is becoming increasingly significant, also thanks to the use of very advanced technologies.
