Axial Caldera PN-3B

Axial Secondary Infrastructure

Axial Caldera Block Diagram

Block diagram of Secondary Infrastructure at the ASHES 1 and ASHES 2 hydrothermal sites in the caldera of Axial Seamount. Three other Medium Power Junction Boxes in the caldera and near its rim provide power and communication to a suite of geophysical sensors.

Axial Caldera Block Diagram

A 40-km long cable connects Primary Node 3A to Primary Node 3B, which is located on the southeast portion of the summit at the eastern edge of the caldera. Primary Node 3B provides power and communication to five Medium Power J-Boxes that allow access to the Ashes vent fields and to the north central portion of the caldera. Primary Node 3B will also host a broadband and short-period seismometer, a hydrophone, as well as a bottom pressure recorder and tilt meter. A suite of chemical, physical oceanographic, and biological sensors will be located in and near vigorously venting chimneys and diffuse vent sites at the Ashes Vent Field. Three Medium Power J-Boxes and ~ 3 km long armored extension cables provide access to this site. Additional short-period seismometers and coupled pressure sensors and tilt meters will also be placed at these sites. An additional cable provides power and communication (10 Gb) to stereo high definition cameras located at the ASHES 3 site. A 5 km long extension cable extends up the center of the caldera to provide access to a Medium Voltage Node that supports two short-period seismometers and a coupled pressure sensor and tilt meter.