TRACKING THE EVOLUTION OF A HYDROTHERMAL EVENT PLUME WITH A RAFOS NEUTRALLY BUOYANT DRIFTER

The migration and evolution of a deep ocean hydrothermal event plume w ere tracked with a neutrally buoyant RAFOS float. The float remained e ntrained in the plume for 60 days, and the plume vorticity was calcula ted directly from the anticyclonic motion of the float. Concentrations of suspended particles, particulate iron, and dissolved manganese in the plume did not decay significantly during the 60 days, which indica tes that event plumes would be easily detectable a year after formatio n.