[margins-list] Northern Lau Eruption Response: Ridge 2000 and MARGINS Programs

[margins-list at nsf-margins.org]

Announcement
Northern Lau Eruption Response
Ridge 2000 and MARGINS Programs
February 5, 2009

Introduction
The Ridge 2000 (R2K) and MARGINS Programs Steering Committees, in 
conjunction with NSF and NOAA program managers announce an eruption 
response cruise to the Northern Lau Basin.  These groups have reviewed 
preliminary shipboard data and participated in numerous teleconferences 
and email correspondences over the past month to discuss opportunities 
for a response to recently detected volcanic eruptions in the northern 
Lau Basin [Shipboard Science group Lupton, Resing et al].  Based on 
these deliberations, NSF has agreed to fund an event response cruise to 
be led by Dr. Joe Resing (U. Washington & NOAA PMEL) in May 2009 to 
collect time-critical samples and make observations.  The cruise will 
involve the R/V Thompson and the ROV Jason 2 system.  The purpose of 
this announcement is to provide basic background information to the 
scientific community, and to solicit short letters of interest from 
investigators who wish to participate in the cruise (i.e., sample 
collection or analysis) and/or collaborate through shore-based efforts. 
Letters can be submitted by email to the R2K or MARGINS office, as 
described below.

Solicitation of Interest From Ridge 2000 and MARGINS Investigators
The nature of the response effort dictates that there be a focused field 
and laboratory effort that is directed towards time-critical studies, 
including sample collection, field observations, and shipboard and 
shore-based analyses. We expect that the ship, ROV facilities, time, and 
the costs to send a science team into the field for this work will be 
funded jointly by NSF R2K, MARGINS, NOAA-PMEL and NOAA-Ocean 
Exploration.  The ~9 day cruise will likely occur from May 5-13, 2009.

Dr. Resing, in collaboration with the Executive Committees of the Ridge 
2000 and MARGINS Programs, and the staff of the NOAA VENTS Program are 
developing a scientific plan and discussing personnel staffing for the 
shipboard operations during the response cruise.

Scientists interested in shipboard participation or shore-based 
collaborations associated with the event response are encouraged to 
contact the Ridge 2000 and MARGINS Offices at: ridge2000 at whoi.edu and 
abers at nsf-margins.org.  Short Letters of Interest (1 page maximum), 
emailed to BOTH addresses indicated above, should be received no later 
than February 13, 2009, to facilitate planning for the upcoming cruise. 
Please be sure to provide information about what you can contribute to 
the response effort, whether you need to participate in the cruise, what 
you would like to do with samples or data from the cruise, and whether 
that can be done with your existing funding.

Dr. Resing and the science team that discovered the eruptions last year 
are involved in discussions with program managers at NSF and NOAA to 
develop a proposal and funding plan to cover the immediate field costs. 
  Modest proposals to help fund science costs related to this event 
response effort are currently under discussion with by NSF and NOAA 
program managers.  Letters of interest received from the community will 
be used to help develop the science plan and assess participation by 
other scientists who have interests in this area.

Data resulting from the response cruise will be made available to the 
scientific community quickly, with daily updates from the ship during 
the cruise and other preliminary data compiled within a few months of 
the end of the cruise.  Some of the time critical analyses, including 
Po-dating of lavas will take longer because of analytical requirements. 
Brief statements of interest for ancillary/follow-up studies lacking a 
critical time component are also welcome and will be accommodated if 
sufficient samples/observations are available to support them. Please 
send inquiries or requests for information to the email addresses listed 
above.

A PDF file containing some preliminary findings from the North Lau 
Eruption sites is available at the Ridge 2000 website at: 
http://www.ridge2000.org/science/downloads/email/Nlauprelimfindings25.pdf