This dive is the first one on the main core complex structure. It is located on a steep fault (direction N30), which is crosscutting the interior of the structure. During this dive we managed to collect samples from the bottom to the top of the fault (between 4100m and 3750m). We landed after almost 2h… Read More
The first dives of the SMARTIES cruise had two objectives: 1. Conduct a geological survey (observations and sampling) of the Romanche transform fault in its easternmost portion; 2. Study the reliefs observed on the southern flank of the transform, on the South American plate. For the first objective, composed of two complementary parts, one studying… Read More
Diving number 15 (6 August) of the cruise completed the study of the north wall of the Romanche transform fault. This dive also sampled the base of the south wall. The chosen zone was the intersection between the fault and the axis of the ridge at the nodal basin level. The dive explored the base… Read More
On the 30th of July the objective of the dive was to investigate the damaged zone of the Romanche transform fault. The fault is located inside a deep and wide valley, and the dive profile started at a depth of 5573 m. The dive crossed the transform fault from South to North, then a second… Read More
The eighth Nautile dive occurred on July 28th. It has been devoted to the study of the inner part (ENE slope) of a NNW-SSE trending massif lying to the South of the transform, to the west of the ridge. The general morphology of the massif evokes a core complex (Photo. 2). The WSW slope, interpreted… Read More
The seventh dive took place on July 27th. The purpose of the dive was to explore the western surface of the relief already partly explored during the first dive, a fragment of an old oceanic detachment surface located south of Romanche. Corrugation traces are visible on the bathymetric map. During the dive, we sought to… Read More
On Friday, July 26, the goal of the dive number 6 is to cross the transform fault, the active zone between the old northern part and the more recent southern part. The dive profile corresponds to the crossing of the fault, a rise along a hill, with about 300m of altitude and finally follow the… Read More
The 5th Nautile dive of the SMARTIES cruise occurred July 25th. The dive follows the northern section of the transform fault, on the same side as the 2nd and 4th dives exploring a section of the ~50 Ma years old oceanic crust. The dive was in continuity and shallower than Dive 4 and deeper than… Read More
The fourth dive took place on July 24th. The profile is within the deepest part of the northern section of the transform fault. We had two objectives: (a) first to look for a potential contact between mantle lithologies such as peridotites and a sheeted dyke complex or old oceanic lava flows (observed during dive 2)… Read More
The third Nautile dive of the SMARTIES cruise was designed on a ridge similar to the one studied during the 1st dive, west of the MAR axis and south of the transform fault. The studied ridge displays some scarps which could correspond to outcrops of deep rocks. The top of the scarp might correspond to… Read More