Near field studies will consist of chemical changes and speciation that take place in the particles in the bouyant phase of the plume, including types of particles that precipitate from the vent fluids at various vents and reactions they may have with the seawater around them as the fluids mix.
The far field studies will concentrate on the non-bouyant plume and its reactions and scavaging rates of elements contained within seawater. Scavenging rates witll be derived from the ratios to iron in the suspended matter and the total iron flux from the vent field. Efforts also will be made to integrate the total flux of various other elements emitted from the Endeavor Ridge System.
--GL