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In the Middle of the Atlantic : A Mission to the Deep
This summer, PhD student Paula Dörfler has swapped her Grenoble lab for a truly unusual setting : the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. She is currently on board the MoMARSAT mission, which revisits the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent site every year to maintain long-term monitoring stations and conduct new experiments.
Lucky Strike is a remarkable place. Volcanic gases there feed an ecosystem that harbours unique life forms, many of which science has only just begun to explore. Since 2010, MoMARSAT monitoring stations have been collecting geophysical, biological, ecological, and geochemical data on fluids, rocks, and living organisms. The project is coordinated by Ifremer and is part of the EMSO network, which brings together European observatories to study the deep sea.
This year, Paula has teamed up with Céline Rommevaux (MIO) and colleagues from the ISTerre mineralogy–geochemistry platform to investigate mineral reactions in the deep-sea hydrothermal environment. Their work focuses on two main experiments :
Lucky Strike is a remarkable place. Volcanic gases there feed an ecosystem that harbours unique life forms, many of which science has only just begun to explore. Since 2010, MoMARSAT monitoring stations have been collecting geophysical, biological, ecological, and geochemical data on fluids, rocks, and living organisms. The project is coordinated by Ifremer and is part of the EMSO network, which brings together European observatories to study the deep sea.
This year, Paula has teamed up with Céline Rommevaux (MIO) and colleagues from the ISTerre mineralogy–geochemistry platform to investigate mineral reactions in the deep-sea hydrothermal environment. Their work focuses on two main experiments :
- Fe-brucite alteration – part of Paula’s PhD project on natural LDH, carried out with Benjamin and Martine.
- Biochemical weathering on several minerals, studied by Damien and Bastien.
From the ship, Paula shares her excitement :
Here, volcanic gases nourish an exceptional environment… These regular visits allow us to conduct long-term experiments.
Learn more :
🎧 France Culture recently invited mission leader Marjolaine Matabos to talk about MoMARSAT.
📲 Updates from the famous Nautile submarine dives are also shared on Facebook.