David A. Butterfield

David A. Butterfield, a native of Oregon, Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, W. Africa from 1981-1983, studied oceanography at the Univ. of Washington. Dr. Butterfield is a Senior Research Scientist in the NOAA-UW Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean. He has participated in 28 research expeditions using submersibles to study hydrothermal systems of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and on the Southern East Pacific Rise. The Lost City expedition is his first foray into the Atlantic.

His primary research interests involve using the chemistry of hydrothermal fluids to identify processes occurring below the seafloor. Areas of particular interest include the role of boiling or phase separation in hydrothermal systems, linking the chemistry of fluids to microbial communities that inhabit hydrothermal environments, and monitoring submarine volcanic/hydrothermal systems. Dave’s primary role in the Lost City work will be sampling and analyzing vent fluids from this newly discovered type of hydrothermal system. He will be using a specialized instrument, the Hydrothermal Fluid and Particle Sampler, to capture clean fluid samples.