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Marsili
Name Alias(es):
Marsili volcanic complex
Marsili Seamount
Activity:
Max Temperature Category:
Latitude:
39.2600
Longitude:
14.3780
Location on map:
Ocean:
National Jurisdiction:
Maximum or Single Reported Depth (mbsl):
800
Minimum Depth (mbsl):
400
Tectonic setting:
Full Spreading Rate (mm/a):
35.0
Volcano Number (if applicable):
Host Rock:
calc-alkaline basalt, high-K andesite
Deposit Type:
NotProvided
Notes on Vent Field Description:
Uchupi & Ballard (1989): "we did not encounter any evidence of active hydrothermal activity (smokers) during our survey [Argo video system]. Shimmering water indicative of active hydrothermal activity was noted during a cruise to the area in 1989 aboard R.V. Star Hercules.... The two north-south passes that we made across the shallow peak at the northeast end of Marsili Seamount suggest that most of the peak may be mantled by hydrothermal deposits."; email from Sven Petersen that included image from ROV Cherokee in 2006: "We have certainly seen low-temperature diffuse outflow at Marsili based on the occurrence of Fe-oxyhydroxide chimneys capped by bacterial mats."; no value for spreading rate provided near this location in Bird (2003), therefore used the value for recent spreading (1.5-2.0 cm/yr half spreading rate) cited in Nicolosi et al. (2006)
Notes Relevant to Biology:
bacterial mats
Year and How Discovered (if active, visual confirmation is listed first):
2006 ROV Cherokee; 1989 shimmering water but did not confirm activity
Discovery References (text):
Petersen et al. (2008) Drilling submarine hydrothermal systems in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. InterRidge News 17: 21-23.
Uchupi & Ballard (1989) Evidence of hydrothermal activity on Marsili Seamount, Tyrrhenian Basin. Deep Sea Research Part A 36: 1443-1448.
[Savelli, 1992, Il rifting del vulcano Marsili (Mar Tirreno): aspetti morfo-tettonici osservati da bordo del sottomarino ‘MIR 2’, G. Geol. 54 (1992), pp. 215–227.]
Other References (text):
Dando et al. (1999) Hydrothermalism in the Mediterranean Sea. Progr. Oceanogr. 44: 333-367
Dekov, V. M. and C. Savelli (2004) Hydrothermal activity in the SE Tyrrhenian Sea: an overview of 30 years of research. Marine Geology 204: 161-185, doi:10.1016/S0025-3227(03)00355-4
Nicolosi et al. (2006) Ultrafast oceanic spreading of the Marsili Basin, southern Tyrrhenian Sea: Evidence from magnetic anomaly analysis. Geology 34: 717-720, DOI: 10.1130/G22555.1
Lupton, J. et al. (2008) Submarine Hydrothermal Activity on the Aeolian Arc: New Evidence from Helium Isotopes. Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V11A-2001.
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