Jason Science Use Cases
International Ocean Drilling Project
Prof. Andrew Fisher (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Prof. James Cowen (University of Hawai'i at Manoa) have been making extensive use of the HOV Alvin and ROV Jason to conduct time-series studies of bore-hole sites in the NE Pacific along the flanks of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and on-axis at Middle Valley. Their work has involved emplacement and servicing of equipment, download of physical sensor data, and time-series biogeochemical and microbial sampling with the most recent visits completed in late June 2010, immediately prior to IODP Expedition 327.
Margins
In May 2009, Dr. Joe Resing (NOAA-Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and University of Washington) led a rapid-response cruise funded by NSF and used the ROV Jason in the NE Lau Basin (SW Pacific) to dive at two sites of recent and active volcanic eruptions. Less that 24 hours after leaving port and within the first few hours of Jason arriving at the seabed the team witnessed pillow lava eruption and extrusion-a volcanic process that had never been witnessed at the deep seabed before even though it represents one of the fundamental aspects of the formation of ocean crust.