theories of crust-lithosphere spreading and plate tectonics, was to acquire some
ground-true geological evidence. For this reason, the Department of Marine Sciences at IFREMER, along with other French and international institutions, were
constantly trying to set up and to conduct cooperative projects to investigate the
spreading ridge systems where tectonic plates move away from each other. Indeed,
this cooperation with outside groups began in the early 1970s and has proved to be
vital for conducting our cruises and also for complementing the fields that were not
covered by the scientific program of IFREMER. In oceanography, the field of
exploration is large and specific targets were fairly easy to choose from among the
extensive, still unstudied areas of the ocean floor.
In the early days (1970s) when CNEXO started to take shape and the laboratory
for earth science research started to become operational, exploration of the
northern Mid-Atlantic ridge provinces also started to take on importance. Since
crust-lithosphere has been observed to spread at different rates, it seemed logical to
discover the mechanisms of spreading and their implications for remodeling the
crust. The other aspect that interested the scientists at the time was the importance
of the rigid plate motions, which are often punctuated by active volcanic activity.
This was based on the theory of hotspots in oceanic basins and along spreading
ridges giving rise to volcanism. We needed to verify that the presence of these
hotspots is the result of deep-seated hot convection currents in the Earth’s Mantle,
which cause magma to reach the surface and form large volcanoes and volcanic
chains, such as the Hawaiian volcanoes.
When a scientific research project is being developed, knowing details about the
use of instrumentation and various ocean-going vehicles is another key for success.
One of the first requirements is to have good bathymetric coverage of the area
chosen. If the need for detailed geological investigation is necessary, then a deepdiving operation could be proposed. Depending on the goals, this diving proposal
should follow a strategy that uses the tools best adapted for the operation. Usually
when a site is new and unexplored, it is better to use a combination of tools in a
logical sequence.
The goal of fundamental science evolves in function of a long-term vision on
how a particular project could impact the world’s scientific community and attract
more investigation in the future. Scientists from various disciplines will often
study data as well as the rocks, sediment or animals recovered from the ocean
depths, over a period of several years. It may well happen that different specialists
contribute towards a new discovery for a project by revisiting an area, which was
previously explored. A typical example is the FAMOUS project, which provided
the first comprehensive study of a spreading ridge segment in the North Atlantic.
Other projects such as the Cyamex, Geocyatherm and Geocyarise cruises on
spreading ridge segments with faster spreading rates, such as the East Pacific Rise,
permitted us to determine the importance of rapidly evolving volcanism and other
geological phenomena. The project on intra-plate hotspot volcanism
(VIP = Volcanisme Intra-Plaque in French) within oceanic basins was also one of
the most productive scientific programs involving several international institutions
14
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration
ground-true geological evidence. For this reason, the Department of Marine Sciences at IFREMER, along with other French and international institutions, were
constantly trying to set up and to conduct cooperative projects to investigate the
spreading ridge systems where tectonic plates move away from each other. Indeed,
this cooperation with outside groups began in the early 1970s and has proved to be
vital for conducting our cruises and also for complementing the fields that were not
covered by the scientific program of IFREMER. In oceanography, the field of
exploration is large and specific targets were fairly easy to choose from among the
extensive, still unstudied areas of the ocean floor.
In the early days (1970s) when CNEXO started to take shape and the laboratory
for earth science research started to become operational, exploration of the
northern Mid-Atlantic ridge provinces also started to take on importance. Since
crust-lithosphere has been observed to spread at different rates, it seemed logical to
discover the mechanisms of spreading and their implications for remodeling the
crust. The other aspect that interested the scientists at the time was the importance
of the rigid plate motions, which are often punctuated by active volcanic activity.
This was based on the theory of hotspots in oceanic basins and along spreading
ridges giving rise to volcanism. We needed to verify that the presence of these
hotspots is the result of deep-seated hot convection currents in the Earth’s Mantle,
which cause magma to reach the surface and form large volcanoes and volcanic
chains, such as the Hawaiian volcanoes.
When a scientific research project is being developed, knowing details about the
use of instrumentation and various ocean-going vehicles is another key for success.
One of the first requirements is to have good bathymetric coverage of the area
chosen. If the need for detailed geological investigation is necessary, then a deepdiving operation could be proposed. Depending on the goals, this diving proposal
should follow a strategy that uses the tools best adapted for the operation. Usually
when a site is new and unexplored, it is better to use a combination of tools in a
logical sequence.
The goal of fundamental science evolves in function of a long-term vision on
how a particular project could impact the world’s scientific community and attract
more investigation in the future. Scientists from various disciplines will often
study data as well as the rocks, sediment or animals recovered from the ocean
depths, over a period of several years. It may well happen that different specialists
contribute towards a new discovery for a project by revisiting an area, which was
previously explored. A typical example is the FAMOUS project, which provided
the first comprehensive study of a spreading ridge segment in the North Atlantic.
Other projects such as the Cyamex, Geocyatherm and Geocyarise cruises on
spreading ridge segments with faster spreading rates, such as the East Pacific Rise,
permitted us to determine the importance of rapidly evolving volcanism and other
geological phenomena. The project on intra-plate hotspot volcanism
(VIP = Volcanisme Intra-Plaque in French) within oceanic basins was also one of
the most productive scientific programs involving several international institutions
14
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration