Defining that je ne sais QUOI of seep sites: An overview of the Quantitative Ocean-Column Imaging (QUOI) voyage to offshore New Zealand

• DOI: 10.1121/10.0022904
• Publication Date: 2023-11-28T16:09:20Z
• Authors: Elizabeth Weidner; Yoann Ladroit; Vanessa Lucieer; Amy Nau; Sally Watson; Geoffroy Lamarche; Yves Le Gonidec; Thomas C. Weber; Peter Urban; Erin Heffron; Erica Spain
• Keywords: Petroleum seep; Seafloor Spreading; Seabed

Detecting and characterizing oceanic seep sites is of considerable interest for the geoscience community due to their influence on global climate, ecological significance, connection resources high value, and, in many locations including New Zealand, cultural importance. Modern acoustic systems provide means quantitative analysis by collection backscattered energy gas bubbles associated water column phenomena surrounding seafloor. The July 2018 international, multi-institution Quantitative Ocean-Column Imaging (QUOI) voyage aimed develop protocols methodologies identifying quantifying seafloor water-column backscatter data with bubble utilizing a large range active direct sampling methods. Here, we will an overview QUOI goals research activities at several offshore Calypso hydrothermal vent field Bay Plenty. Gas fluid emission were captured data, video transects, operations. More than 3000 individual bases identified field, occupying approximately 9 115 km2 mapped Efforts are underway characterize size distribution quantify carbon flux atmosphere using combination broadband methods in-situ measurements.