我国海底热液活动研究的阶段性进展与展望

PROGRESS AND PROSPECT IN CHINA IN RESEARCH TO SUBMARINE HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITIES

海底热液活动调查研究是深海进入、深海探测和深海开发的切入点之一。近十年来,中国在西太平洋弧后盆地、东太平洋海隆、大西洋洋中脊和印度洋脊,发现了一批新的海底热液活动区,围绕着热液活动区的硫化物、流体、热液柱、生物等热液产物开展了调查研究,构建了海底热液地质学,提出了热液活动、冷泉及天然气水合物的同源异汇假说,出版了《海底热液地质学》、《现代海底热液硫化物成矿地质学》、《现代海底热液活动》、《东太平洋海隆热液地质》专著,获得了一批调查研究成果。未来,聚焦海底热液活动的深部过程及其资源环境效应关键问题,发展海底热液活动探测技术,拓展极地海底热液活动调查研究新领域,围绕烟囱体、热液柱、含金属沉积物、流体以及热液区生物等热液产物,开展深入、系统的调查研究工作,无疑将推动海底热液地质学取得新的进展。

Investigation and study on submarine hydrothermal activity is one of the key tasks for deep-sea entry,deep-sea exploration,and deep-sea development.In the past 10 years,Chinese scientists have discovered several new submarine hydrothermal fields in the western Pacific,the Eastern Pacific Rise,the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,and the Indian Ridge,and carried out many investigations on hydrothermal products including sulfide,vent fluid,hydrothermal plume,and organism in hydrothermal fields.At present,Chinese scientists has established submarine hydrothermal geology,and they proposed a hypothesis that hydrothermal activity,cold spring,and gas hydrate are originated from a same methane source but situate in different methane sinks.Based on above researches,Chinese scientists have made many research achievements in this field,and published monographs of Submarine Hydrothermal Geology,Modern Seafloor Hydrothermal Sulfide Metallogenic Geology,Modern Seafloor Hydrothermal Activity,and Submarine Hydrothermal Geology of the East Pacific Rise,etc.In the future,it is important to focus continuously on the sub-seafloor geologic process of hydrothermal activity and the key issues of its resource and environmental effects,to develop the detection technology of submarine hydrothermal activity,to reach out to the polar regions,and to carry out systematic projects on hydrothermal products such as chimney,hydrothermal plume,metalliferous sediment,vent fluid,and hydrothermal organism,which will undoubtedly promote new waves of development in submarine hydrothermal geology.