Members and Observers of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) as well as other Stakeholders are invited to submit their comments on the revised draft regulations on exploitation of mineral resources in the Area (ISBA/24/LTC/WP.1/Rev.1 and ISBA/24/C/20) by 30 September 2018. If you do so, please send us a copy of your comments.

The 2018 Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Annual Meeting was held in Plymouth (UK) on 4-6 September 2018. InterRidge, being a SCOR-affiliated program, has been represented by its coordinator. The meeting was an opportunity to review all SCOR activities, approve new working groups, discuss on budget, elections and other activities for 2019, and vote on SCOR Constitution.

Due to several problems with international bank transfers, we would like to inform you that the deadline for registration and abstract submission to the SCOR-InterRidge Meeting on "Mid-Ocean Ridges and Other Geological Features of the Indian Ocean" has been extended until 25th August 2018. For those who experienced any problems with the fee transfer, we propose a new option of "on-site payment" by cash in Indian Rupees (7000 INR = 100 USD) at the reception counter when you arrive at NIO for conference.

The SCOR-InterRidge Meeting on "Mid-Ocean Ridges and Other Geological Features of the Indian Ocean" will take place on 14-16 November 2018 in Goa (India).

Registration & Practical Information:

Please see the meeting brochure for payment, accommodation, abstract submission and other details. A limited number of travel fellowship will be offered by SCOR and InterRidge based on the the situation and motivation of the applicant, followed by a first-come, first-served basis. Please apply when registering.

An international team of scientists has discovered a new hydrothermal field near the Gigante Seamount in the Azores. The team, including scientists from the EU Horizon 2020-funded project ATLAS, have been surveying the largely untouched seas of the Azores, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic which harbours some of the most important deep-sea ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean.

The InterRidge Office is pleased to announce the launch of call for Student and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in 2018. As part of InterRidge’s mission to promote international, collaborative, and interdisciplinary studies of oceanic spreading centers, we invite proposals for InterRidge Student and Postdoctoral Fellowships of up to 5000 US$ each.

Forty-nine scientists have registered to the InterRidge Workshop on Oceanic Transform Faults held from 22nd to 24th May 2018 in Brest/Plouzané (France). The lists of participants and of keynote speakers are on-line, please visit the workshop website to find the most important information.

In collaboration with the Deep-Sea Environments and Ecology section of Frontiers in Marine Science, Diva Amon, William Chadwick, Stephen Hammond and Randi Rotjan (host editors) are organizing a Research Topic “Pacific Deep-Sea Discoveries: Geological and Biological Exploration, Patterns, and Processes”. The aim of this project is to bring together international experts to provide a comprehensive view of the recent exploration, information, discoveries, and research findings from the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Nadine Le Bris and Jérôme Dyment, co-chairs of InterRidge, attended the 24th Session of the Council of International Seabed Authority that took place in Kingston on 5-9 March 2018, preceding a session of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC).

The applications for InterRidge Student and Postdoctoral Fellowship of Julia Machon, Inmaculada Frutos and Guangyu Xu have been accepted for funding. The application of Thomas N. Guigère for the InterRidge Cruise Bursaries has also been validated by the Steering Committee. Congratulations!

InterRidge Working Group on Ecological Connectivity and Resilience, chaired by Anna Metaxas and Lauren Mullineaux, has recently published a review entitled "Exploring the Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents in a Metacommunity Framework" in Frontiers in Marine Science. Congratulations to authors for this thorough review of current knowledge and gaps on the mechanisms supporting the stability of vent meta-communities, of high relevance to the assessment of impacts at regional scales and design of protection plans!

David and his wife were originally from South Africa, a country to which they remained strongly attached. After his university studies in Cape Town, David joined the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory near New York in 1963. The Lamont was created after the second world war and represented the lead of the United States in oceanography.

An InterRidge Working Group is currently being proposed on seamounts and volcanic islands located close to mid-ocean ridges. This will address a wide range of science and practical questions that range from solid earth to biology. At the moment, the group includes researchers studying the Azores, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Foundation Seamounts.

Following an invitation by SCOR (Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research), the InterRidge Steering Committee has decided to support the organization of the Joint InterRidge-SCOR Workshop on the Indian Ocean Ridges. Discussions with SCOR on the workshop organization are currently starting.

At this beginning of the year 2018, we wish to all the members of InterRidge community a very happy new year, hoping to see you joining our efforts in the promotion of mid-ocean ridge research.

The InterRidge Office