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Gifts from the Deep

Doctoral students Gillian Gruen (left) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Heidi Berkenbosch of the University of Tasmania, along with journalist Julian Thompson, study freshly-dredged rocks from undersea volcanoes in the Kermadec Arc,  roughly 300 nautical miles north of New Zealand. In early 2011, scientists gathered rocks from the seafloor there to examine their minerals formed from hydrothermal venting. WHOI geologist Adam Soule, a scientist on the cruise, said studying minerals, taking images, and making undersea maps of the rugged seafloor terrain helps scientists understand the formation and structure of these submarine volcanoes, which are known to produce powerful eruptions.(Photo by Dana Yoerger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)