【POSTER】🧐 Dissolved metals transformation, fluxes from shallow water hydrothermal vents off Kueishantao Islet, Taiwan, China and potential impacts on nearby ecosystem

Abstract

Abstract: Shallow water hydrothermal vents are one of important sources of trace elements in the ocean, which potentially impact coastal ecosystem. We investigated two shallow water hydrothermal vents (white and yellow vents) for siderophile and chalcophile elements (Fe/Mn/V/Cu/Mo) off Kueishantao islet, Taiwan, China. The results show that dissolved metals were generally lower in the yellow vent than that in the white vent. Especially waters inside the white vent was enriched with dissolved metals such as Mn and Fe. High abundance of sulfide particles was identified both in hydrothermal plumes. The fluxes of dissolved elements was estimated from the KSI hydrothermal vents were as the following annually: 0.10–1.23 kg Fe, 0.08–28 kg Mn, 33.4–306 g V, 2.89–77.7 g Cu, and 54.3–664 g Mo. In summary, our study identified a large number of acid-reducible sulfides, ore-forming metals in these shallow water hydrothermal vents along with those highly toxic and acidic hydrothermal fluids. The unique ecosystem nearby further suggests such release of chemical substances from these vents play a key role in moderating the evolution of marine environment nearby.