Heading for the TAG site
The last dive at Cluster 3 took place on Wednesday , we are now heading for Cluster 1 and more precisely the TAG site.
After spending about ten days at Cluster 3, we are now making our way to Cluster 1. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts to precisely locate the active sites detected with the CTD, they will remain hidden for some time yet. We are however pleased to announce the discovery of a small inactive sulphide mount during Florian's dive at Cluster 3.
On Thursday, during our transit to TAG, a CTD operation was conducted on Cluster 2. The results confirmed the presence of a plume observed during HERMINE in 2017; it would appear we were nearer the site than in 2017. A dredge collected rocks from the mantle.
We will arrive at TAG on Friday. Several dives will be made in order to conduct a comprehensive study (chemistry, geology, biology, microbiology) on the active high- temperature site, the low-active sites and the extinct sites. Shrimp samples (including Rimicaris Exoculata) will also be made to study the populations and their symbiosis.
