RIDGE 2000

Ridge 2000 is a science initiative focused on integrated geological, biological, and geochemical studies of the Earth-encircling mid-ocean ridge system. Central to the Ridge 2000 program is the recognition that the origin and evolution of life in deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems are inextricably linked to, and perhaps an inevitable consequence of, the flow of energy and material from Earth's deep mantle to the seafloor and ocean via magmatic and hydrothermal systems. To sharpen our knowledge of mid-ocean ridge systems, the first phase of the Ridge 2000 program involved integrated field, laboratory, and modeling studies of three representative, but geographically limited study sites. Research activities spanned a broad range of disciplines: from geophysics to geochemistry and from geology to biology to hydrothermal vent fluid dynamics.With this solicitation, Ridge 2000 moves into its integration and synthesis phase where results from previous and on-going interdisciplinary field expeditions and laboratory studies are to be brought to bear on advancing our conceptual and quantitative understanding of mid-ocean ridge systems and the processes that link geological, geophysical, geochemical, hydrothermal, and biological processes. As such, the program now shifts its focus from field data acquisition to integration and synthesis to help the program achieve its science goals.