Dynamics of the Ocean Floor

The research group "Magmatic and Hydrothermal Systems" hosts scientists specializing in geochemistry, minralogy, petrology, and volcanology. Its main research focus is on the geodynamic, volcanic, sedimentary and hydrothermal processes that shape the seafloor, and the impact of these processes on the environment, e.g. climate and natural hazards.

These research themes are pursued in the following three main geotectonic settings:

• divergent margins (where oceanic lithosphere is created)
• convergent margins (where oceanic lithosphere is destroyed and continental crust is created and recycled)
• and at intraplate volcanoes (where the lithosphere is modified).

The main research/analytical methods used in the research division include:

• characterization of volcanic deposits and their eruption and transport mechanisms
• monitoring of volcanic activity using remote sensing techniques
• chemistry, petrology and geochronology of igneous and sedimentary rocks on the seafloor and uplifted marine sequences exposed on land
• hydrothermal systems and marine mineral ressources
• high-resolution bathymetric mapping and seafloor imaging
• Modeling  -  Team Prof. Lars Rüpke

The research group was coordinating the DFG-Priority Program (SPP) 1144 “From Mantle to Ocean: Energy-, Material- and Life-cycles at Spreading Axes"; from 2003 to 2009. Contact: Prof. C. Devey.

The webpages of SPP1144 can be found here.