When I Ieft for the cruise I had strong mixed feelings about leaving. My one-year-old had had a high fever (40!) for three days and I was leaving him there feeling miserable…Luckily that same day the fever had started to drop. But the image of a thermometer and high temperatures has not left me.
Text and photos: Andreia Plaza Faverola, researcher. Project leader SEAMSTRESS
We have put the thermometer to good use at least 50 times to measure Vestnesa’s temperature. My son had a 12% increase in his average body temperature. Vestnesa has a 14-17% increase in the average temperature at passive continental margins. So Vestnesa also has a high fever.
It is not so concerning though, the reason for the high fever is the proximity to the Molloy and the Knipovich mid-ocean ridges. There is a lot of heat released at the axis of drifting plates because hot, sometimes melted, material from the mantel is reaching the Earth’s surface and getting in contact with the ocean. Interestingly, there are places close to the mid-ocean ridges where the temperatures are actually lower than expected. Here, a thicker sedimentary cover seems to be working as cold compresses.
I really hope that after this cruise I won’t be seeing a thermometer for quite a while…
