The Ocean Floor

Deconstructing Arctic hydrothermal systems

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Project Description

Understanding how deep-sea hydrothermal circulation influences Earth’s energy budget, alters the composition of seawater and oceanic crust, and interconnects the geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere remains a central challenge in Earth system science. Arctic hydrothermal systems, located on the slowest-spreading mid-ocean ridges, globally, represent a frontier environment with unique fluid compositions. Recent multidisciplinary exploration includes extensive geophysical, geological, geochemical, and microbiological studies—at the Loki's Castle¹, Jøtul², and Aurora³ sites. Despite similar spreading rates, these sites show striking diversity, with mafic-, ultramafic-, and sediment-influenced venting. This diversity likely reflects the interplay between extensive tectonic activity and localized magmatism. Here, we aim at linking deep geologic and shallow hydrothermal processes, providing a more integrated understanding of these complex systems. Questions we will address are: What are the geological controls on the temperature and life cycles of the hydrothermal systems? How do different fluid pathways influence fluid chemistry? How do the proximity to continents and large sedimentary input² affect heat flow⁴ and fluid flow? How much thermal and chemical energy is provided by the hydrothermal fluids for microbial communities? We will address these and additional questions based on fluid chemical, site lithologic, and seismic data to constrain novel, fully coupled geodynamic–thermodynamic models of oceanic crust formation and hydrothermal circulation⁵. The successful proponent is expected to run 2D models from continental rifting to present and develop high-resolution 3D models focused on the evolution of individual hydrothermal systems, which will be jointly analysed alongside geological, geochemical and geophysical observations.

Further Reading

1. Pilot et al., 2024 [doi:10.1029/2024GC011732]
2. Bohrmann et al., 2024 [doi:10.1038/s41598-024-60802-3]
3. German et al., 2022 [doi:10.1038/s41467-022-34014-0]
4. Pérez-Gussinyé et al., 2024 [doi:10.1144/sp547-2023-128]
5. García-Pintado and Pérez-Gussinyé, 2025 [in press, doi:10.1515/9783111437040-005]

Modalities

The doctoral project will be supervised by Marta Pérez-Gussinyé and Wolfgang Bach (University of Bremen), and depending on the personal expertise of the doctoral candidate, it will be located within the working group “Geophysics - Geodynamics” or the working group “Petrology of the Ocean Crust” (Bremen). The remuneration corresponds to pay group TV-L 13 with 75% of the weekly working hours. The positions is for a fixed-term period of 4 years, starting January 1st 2026 the earliest and until at most December 31, 2029 (according to § 2 WissZeitVG) with the aim of obtaining a doctorate.

The project mentoring team also includes: Vera Schlindwein (AWI), Elmar Albers (U. Bremen) and Javier García-Pintado (U. Bremen).

Main Tasks

• Scientific research in the field of:
  Geophysics, or Geochemistry, or Engineering, or Physics
  
  
• Analysis of:
  Geodynamic-Thermodynamic Modelling, Geophysical & Geochemical Data
• Writing of scientific publications
• Participation in ship expeditions
• Participation in international conferences

Formal Requirements:

Completed scientific university degree (Master/University diploma or comparable) in Geosciences, Physics, Engineering, Chemistry or related field.

Further questions?

Questions about the project can be addressed to Marta Peréz.Gussinyé ([Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript]) or Wolfgang Bach ([Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript]).