Off-axis diffuse flow versus axial venting

2 Off-axis diffuse flow versus axial venting 

Because few detailed studies of off-axis venting have been undertaken to date and many have been exclusively near the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JDFR see references in German etal., 1995 Becker etal., 2000 Wheat Mottl, 2000), attempts to estimate the overall chemical flux to the ocean through hydrothermal activity and its importance to ocean chemistry, relative to the contribution from rivers, have been hampered by an overall lack of knowledge (Elderfield Schultz, 1996). Discussion of the relative contributions of off- and on-axis fluxes has centred on comparing the chemical output on the axis to the greater heat (and probably water) flux on flanks (Von Damm, 2001 Mottl, 2002). 

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