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Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 43 (2016): 6205–6211, doi:10.1002/2016GL069430., High-resolution geophysical data have been collected using the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sentry over the ASHES (Axial Seamount Hydrothermal Emission Study) high-temperature (~348°C) vent field at Axial Seamount, on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Multiple surveys were performed on a 3-D grid at different altitudes above the seafloor, providing an unprecedented view of magnetic data resolution as a function of altitude above the seafloor. Magnetic data derived near the seafloor show that the ASHES field is characterized by a zone of low magnetization, which can be explained by hydrothermal alteration of the host volcanic rocks. Surface manifestations of hydrothermal activity at the ASHES vent field are likely controlled by a combination of local faults and fractures and different lava morphologies near the seafloor. Three-dimensional inversion of the magnetic data provides evidence of a vertical, pipe-like upflow zone of the hydrothermal fluids with a vertical extent of ~100 m., Royal Society of New Zealand Grant Number: GNS1003; New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Grant Numbers: OCE-1131455, OCE-1337473, OCE-1131772; NSF, 2016-12-24

High-resolution geophysical data have been collected using the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sentry over the ASHES (Axial Seamount Hydrothermal Emission Study) high-temperature (~348°C) vent field at Axial Seamount, on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Multiple surveys were performed on a 3-D grid at different altitudes above the seafloor, providing an unprecedented view of magnetic data resolution as a function of altitude above the seafloor. Magnetic data derived near the seafloor show that the ASHES field is characterized by a zone of low magnetization, which can be explained by hydrothermal alteration of the host volcanic rocks. Surface manifestations of hydrothermal activity at the ASHES vent field are likely controlled by a combination of local faults and fractures and different lava morphologies near the seafloor. Three-dimensional inversion of the magnetic data provides evidence of a vertical, pipe-like upflow zone of the hydrothermal fluids with a vertical extent of ~100 m.

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 43 (2016): 6205–6211, doi:10.1002/2016GL069430., High-resolution geophysical data have been collected using the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Sentry over the ASHES (Axial Seamount Hydrothermal Emission Study) high-temperature (~348°C) vent field at Axial Seamount, on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Multiple surveys were performed on a 3-D grid at different altitudes above the seafloor, providing an unprecedented view of magnetic data resolution as a function of altitude above the seafloor. Magnetic data derived near the seafloor show that the ASHES field is characterized by a zone of low magnetization, which can be explained by hydrothermal alteration of the host volcanic rocks. Surface manifestations of hydrothermal activity at the ASHES vent field are likely controlled by a combination of local faults and fractures and different lava morphologies near the seafloor. Three-dimensional inversion of the magnetic data provides evidence of a vertical, pipe-like upflow zone of the hydrothermal fluids with a vertical extent of ~100 m., Royal Society of New Zealand Grant Number: GNS1003; New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Grant Numbers: OCE-1131455, OCE-1337473, OCE-1131772; NSF, 2016-12-24