Abstract
The topographic fabric of the rift valley floor has been analyzed using the multibeam echosounder data obtained by the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Abyss at two locations over a short segment of the slow-spreading Central Indian Ridge between 10°18′ and 10°57′S. The region is influenced by hydrothermal venting in the near vicinity. Two AUV dives D51 and D52 were performed over this segment at two locations that are 30 km apart and covered 5 km2 and 8 km2 seafloor area, respectively. The dive D51 covered the off-axis part of the rift valley floor in the middle part of the segment, and the dive D52 is located near to the non-transform discontinuity that covered the terminal part of an oceanic core complex (OCC). High-resolution seafloor topography as revealed by the AUV-mounted multibeam echosounder system brought out several micro-bathymetric fabric features such as a lava lake, a cratered volcano, an OCC, and the foot wall volcanic complex at the distal part of the OCC. The valley floor imaged in the D51 is marked by a lava flow encompassing an area of 1 km2 and a volcano in the NE corner. The volcano has a diameter of about 800 m with an elevation of about 200 m from the adjacent seafloor, and the partially mapped volcano crater has a relief of about 60 m. A prominent linear fissure running parallel to the ridge axis has been identified; this feature joins with the volcano. Analysis of AUV-mounted CTD data indicated three distinct temperature spikes ranging 0.009 to 0.013 °C in the region of dive D51. The observed temperature spikes appear to be related to the linear fissure on the seafloor and probably represent leaky venting of fluids from the fissure. With respect to the dive D52, the foot wall volcanic features associated with the OCC are prominent. The volcanic seafloor feature covered an area of 3.45 km2 and is conspicuous with rugged topographic fabric at the base of the OCC. These inferences and the morphotectonics of the rift valley floor as revealed by the AUV data suggest moderate hydrothermal venting in this segment of the slow-spreading Central Indian Ridge.
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Data availability
All the data presented in the study are acquired by us and will be made available through http://ramadda.npdc.ncpor.res.in/repository/entry/show?entryid=271d636c-6ea6-4bc3-bdc8-4a6ffe14f050
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. Sunil Kumar Singh, Director, CSIR-NIO, and Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES, and former Director of NCPOR, for encouraging this study. The data was acquired as a part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India–funded program. Thanks to the captain and crew members of ORV Sagar Nidhi-48 cruise for their support. The authors are thankful to the ABYSS, GEOMAR team, and Dr. Colin Devey, GEOMAR, for providing the AUV and coordinating the AUV charter process. Mr. Desmond Gracias of CSIR-NIO, Goa is thanked for excellent onboard technical support. All the figures are plotted with the Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel et al., 2019). The authors thank Dr. Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben, Editor, Geo-Marine Letters, for the encouragement. The authors thank the reviewer Dr. M. Rodriguez and other anonymous reviewers for the encouraging comments, critical review, and suggestions that helped us to improve the MS. This is CSIR-NIO contribution 7006 and NCPOR contribution J-51/2022-23.
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This study was funded by the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, India (Grant No. 30-(2050)/COR06/2003-Finance), the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India (Grant No. MoES/Hydro-Sulphides/04/08-PC-II), and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India (Grant No. MOES/EFC/28/2018-II).
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KAK coordinated the project and participated in data acquisition, processing, and interpretation. KAK, VY, and AS wrote the paper. AS and LS prepared the figures. VY, AS, and LS participated in data acquisition. DR participated in data acquisition and reviewed the manuscript. NA provided AUV monitoring and support, coordinated with the onboard AUV team, and participated in the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of AUV data. KS and AM participated in the data acquisition. PJK reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Raju, K.A.K., Yatheesh, V., Rao, A.S. et al. Microbathymetry inferences from two AUV dives over a short segment of the Central Indian Ridge between 10°18′ and 10°57′S, Indian Ocean. Geo-Mar Lett 43, 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-022-00742-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-022-00742-x