Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2024)

CASE STUDY SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE

Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute

EXPLORING THE SEAFLOOR OF

CHILEAN PATAGONIA

Examining evidence of past volcanic behavior is the key to improved knowledge of future geohazards in Northern

Patagonia and their impacts on marine ecosystems.

n international team of scientists is reconstruct- the Northern Patagonian Sea. The town of Chaitén evacu- ing the impact of the 2008 Chaitén volcanic ated as the powerful mud? ows inundated and transformed eruption on the marine environment following the landscape, ? ooding the city with mud and destroying the an expedition onboard Schmidt Ocean Insti- buildings on the southern side.

Atute’s R/V Falkor (too). During the 21-day re- Using a vibrating coring device mounted on the Schmidt search cruise in September, scientists found eruption debris Ocean Institute’s ROV SuBastian, the scientists gathered more than 25 kilometers (15 miles) away from the volcano, sea? oor sediment cores from the Northern Patagonia Sea transported into the sea via the local river system and then dis- offshore to the Peru-Chile Trench. Layers of mud within the persed by ocean currents. Their ? ndings provide new insights cores provide a record of the region’s geologic and oceanic ac- into the fate of volcanic debris in marine environments and the tivity. Volcanic ash and debris indicate the occurrence of past strength of the current systems in Chile’s Northern Patagonian eruptions in the area. These event layers are better preserved

Sea. This, along with new sea? oor maps, will help scientists in ocean sediments than on land, shedding light on past events understand volcanic hazards in Southern Chile and how they and providing the data needed to predict future volcanic haz- have changed over time. ards and assess how eruptions impact the marine environment.

After 9,000 years of dormancy, the Chaitén Volcano erupted “Our observations will allow us to explore how active vol- without warning on May 2, 2008. Ash spewed 30 kilometers canoes affect marine environments and infrastructure, rang- (18 miles) into the air and blanketed the landscape. Heavy rain ing from ? sheries to communication cables,” said the expedi- in the following days triggered devastating volcanic mud? ows tion’s chief scientist, Sebastian Watt, from the University of known as lahars that cascaded down mountainsides and into Birmingham in the United Kingdom. “A range of hazards can 8 November/December 2024

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