the timing and environment of tepee formation in a marinoan cap carbonate thin carbonate units capping marinoan age glacial diamictites contain atypical tepee like structures that have been interpreted as evidence of seafloor dolomite cementation at parachilna gorge in the adelaide fold thrust belt a marinoan age cap dolomite contains paired tepee and growth fault structures that demonstrate the tepees grew 3 5 7 1 m below the sediment water interface in the early diagenetic zone although generally much larger such tepees and their associated sheet veins have an external morphology and internal structure identical to that of inter tidal tepee structures formed through expansive crystallisation on the other hand cap carbonate hosted tepees lack the size chaotic internal bedding carbonate crust and concretionary morphologies and expected carbon isotope geochemistry to be cold seep structures expansive crystallisation during early diagenesis seems the most likely means of forming tepees in cap carbonates the only cement common to all cap carbonate tepees is microcrystalline dolomite the crystallisation of this mineral phase drove both tepee growth and the fluid overpressure fracturing that formed the sheet veins the same microcrystalline dolomite is the component of cap carbonates routinely selected for isotopic analysis with the resulting 13c values assumed to be representative of coeval marine bicarbonate however the parachilna gorge tepees suggest that the microcrystalline dolomite contains both primary and early diagenetic components their separation is not achieved by current analytical methods

reevaluating the carbon sink due to sedimentary carbonate formation in modern marine sediments abstract previous attempts to quantify the amount of sedimentary carbonate precipitation in modern marine sediments have been derived from the flux of calcium into the sediments due to diffusion under assumed steady state the application of fick s first law and then extrapolation of these site specific rates to the global ocean sediment column this approach is limited however as much of the ocean floor has not been sampled we take a machine learning approach to update and refine the estimate of the amount of sedimentary carbonate precipitation as well as define whether sedimentary carbonate precipitation is driven by organoclastic microbial sulfate reduction or anaerobic methane oxidation we identify areas where there is sedimentary carbonate formation using machine learning based upon oceanic physical and chemical properties including bathymetry temperature water depth distance from shore and tracers of primary production and data from the global odp iodp database our results suggest that the total amount of sedimentary carbonate formation is much lower than previous estimates at 1 35 0 5 10 11 mol c yr we suggest that this rate is a lower estimate and discuss why machine learning approaches may always produce lower bound estimates of global processes our calculations suggest that the formation of sedimentary carbonate today is mainly driven by anaerobic methane oxidation 77 with the remainder attributed to organoclastic sulfate reduction we use our machine learning results to speculate the impact that sedimentary carbonate precipitation may have had on the carbon isotope composition of the surface dissolved inorganic carbon reservoir over earth history

methane derived authigenic carbonates formed by subduction induced pore water expulsion along the oregon washington margin authigenic magnesian calcite dolomite and aragonite are precipitated in the uppermost terrigenous sediments of the washington oregon accretionary prism by subduction induced dewatering these distinctive carbonates are methane derived and occur at sites of concentrated pore water expulsion unique biologic communities that subsist at least indirectly on methane suess et al 1985 are also found at some of these sites the methane which is dominantly biogenic is carried to the uppermost sediments of the prism by fluids and is oxidized by sulfate reducers before being incorporated into a carbonate cement carbonate precipitation occurs below the oxic layer probably no deeper than several centimetres to a few metres below the seabed cementation may be induced by three factors 1 increased carbonate alkalinity resulting from microbial sulfate reduction 2 decreased co 2 solubility resulting from a pressure decrease when the pore water escapes the prism and or 3 the addition of ca 2 and mg 2 ions from sea water near the sediment water interface the convergent margin setting engenders precipitation of authigenic carbonates in several ways compressive stresses induce anomalously rapid compaction and dewatering rates and they may cause overpressuring in migrating pore water thereby delaying precipitation of carbonates until pressure is released near the sediment water interface structural deformation of the accretionary prism creates pathways such as fault zones secondary fracture porosity and dipping permeable layers often exposed by mass movement for efficient advection and expulsion of methane enriched pore water these characteristic conditions which lead to the precipitation of methane derived carbonates may be found at other convergent margins

methane derived authigenic carbonates mdac in northern central adriatic sea relationships between reservoir and methane seepages abstract in the adriatic basin gas venting characterized by pockmarks gas bubbling and other fluid escape related features is diffused and has been linked or to shallow gases trapped in the late pleistocene and below the holocene maximum flooding surface or to leakage from more deeply buried pliocene to pleistocene foredeep succession some seepages are associated with carbonate crusts but a possible correlation between methane leakage and carbonate precipitation in this basin never reached a clear definition carbonate concretions recovered by different areas of the adriatic sea northern central and southern at different depths from ca 30 to ca 300 m have been analysed different fabrics petrography and mineralogy can be evidenced for the different sets of samples all of them show a carbonate content mainly represented by high mg calcite up to 66 in weight of total carbonates for the samples from central adriatic close to bonaccia gas field offshore ancona and 79 to 96 of the total carbonate weight for the other samples that are mainly biogenic these differences are also reflected by the 13 c values ranging between 19 and 29 vpdb for the samples collected in the bonaccia area and moderately positive values for all the other samples bonaccia samples contain carbonate cements that record the contribution of methane derived carbon and have been interpreted as formed below the sea floor in correspondence of the sulphate methane transition zone carbonates recovered from the southern and northern adriatic basin do not show clear evidence of methane derived carbon and are mainly made up by organisms typically recovered in the adriatic coralligenous assemblage nonetheless micro morphological evidences suggest influence of bacterial sulphate reduction and methanogenesis in precipitation of some of these carbonates

mass wasting methane venting and biological communities on the mendocino transform fault chemosynthetic cold seep vestimentiferan tubeworms and vesicomyid clams inhabiting oceanic basaltic rock have been discovered on the gorda escarpment sector of the mendocino transform fault 73 km west of cape mendocino northern california the sparse cold seep animals are biomarkers that identify zones of focused fluid venting from a methane gas horizon seismically imaged as a bottom simulating reflector bsr within sediments on the southern flank of the escarpment this is the first example of a methane based cold seep community on exposed oceanic basement rock within an area dominated by transform tectonics this discovery extends the range of known environments in which the subsurface flow and venting of methane rich fluids are linked both with geological activity and chemosynthetic communities observations by remotely operated vehicle of the distribution of the animals sediment basaltic talus and basement outcrop delineate a large slump headscarp that channels subsurface fluid seismic surveys of the southern flank of the mendocino transform fault the vizcaino block define a bsr hosted in the thick sedimentary sequence that projects to the wall of the gorda escarpment at the same depth as the chemosynthetic community the well defined bsr in the marine sediment of the vizcaino block results from an accumulation of methane gas possibly capped by methane hydrate the isotopic composition of mg calcite found along the headscarp 1 3 c 65 1 8 o 4 8 is consistent with fluids derived from dissociated methane hydrate we propose that the tectonic uplift along this transform margin has resulted in the lateral northward movement of methane from the vizcaino sedimentary sequence to the east trending wall of the north facing gorda escarpment

lipid biomarkers and their specific carbon isotopic compositions of cold seep carbonates from the south china sea abstract cold seep carbonates were studied from two locations dongsha and chiasian in the northern south china sea and on taiwan island lipid biomarkers and their stable carbon isotopic compositions extracted from these seep carbonate samples were analyzed in this study and the results pointed at the anaerobic oxidation of methane aom as responsible for carbonate formation distinct aom communities were indicated by isotopically highly depleted archaeal biomarkers with 13c values as low as 140 8 vpdb and bacterial biomarkers with 13c values as low as 128 6 vpdb which confirmed that biogenic methane was the dominant carbon source lipid biomarker distributions indicated that anme 2 archaea were prevalent in sample tvg3 c2g from dongsha and sample jx8 from chiasian in addition differences of the aom communities between the carbonates appeared to be caused by the respective biogeochemical environments anme 1 archaea tended to be abundant in high mg calcite carbonates and their formation might be linked to low methane fluxes in contrast anme 2 consortia were prevalent in aragonite carbonates and appeared to have prospered at sites with high methane supply our data imply that the mineralogy of the seep carbonates precipitated in the northern south china sea appears to be influenced by the distinct anme consortia which are induced by methane flux

occurrence and formation of dolomite in organic rich continental margin sediments dolomite is presently forming throughout a large part of the oceans in continental margin marine sediments accumulating at rates less than 500 m m y and having organic carbon contents greater than 0 5 wt at higher sedimentation rates the dolomite content of the sediments is greatly diluted at lower organic carbon content the porewater chemistry precludes dolomite formation the reactants for dolomite formation have the following sources magnesium supplied from overlying seawater calcium supplied by the dissolution of calcium carbonate and carbon supplied from carbonate dissolution and organic carbon oxidation the rate of dolomite formation appears to be limited by the rate of calcium carbonate dissolution this rate can be quantitatively calculated from the magnesium diffusional and advective fluxes conversely in ancient sediments the depth and timing of dolomite formation can be calculated from the amount of dolomite and the sedimentation rate in dolomite rich sediments these calculations demonstrate that most of the dolomite formed within a few tens of meters of the sea floor within the zone of microbial sulfate reduction such dolomites have ne ative values of dgr13c dolomite in dolomite poor sediments may form at greater burial depth below the zone of sulfate reduction resulting in positive values of dgr13c the distribution coefficient of strontium in dolomite has been determined to have an average value of 0 06 using this value predicted strontium contents for submarine dolomites range from 150 ppm in dolomite rich sections to 1 290 ppm in dolomite poor sections

foraminifera as indicators of methane rich environments a study of modern methane seeps in santa barbara channel california methane hydrates have been implicated as a possible forcing mechanism for rapid climate change during the late quaternary via the release of methane from marine reservoirs carbon isotopic excursions of foraminifera observed in high resolution sediment records from santa barbara basin odp site 893 have been interpreted as evidence of episodes of methane release during the late quaternary however the potential relationship between methane in the modern environment and its effect on the stable isotopic composition of benthic and planktonic foraminifera is not well understood short cores taken inside a 500 m diameter pockmark with active methane seeps in santa barbara channel ca usa yield information on the effect of high concentrations of environmental methane on foraminiferal assemblages and their stable isotopic composition these seeps reside at 120 m water depth in the eastern portion of the channel associated with faults and fractures in the miocene monterey formation planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and radiocarbon ages show that surface sediments are of late glacial age 25 300 calendar years this finding suggests an absence of holocene and deglacial sedimentation in the seep area likely due the formation of the pockmarks and subsequent winnowing or lack of sedimentation benthic foraminiferal assemblages are marked by high abundance of bolivina tumida a species previously observed during interstadial episodes and the early holocene in santa barbara basin interpreted to include episodes of high methane flux from the basin while oxygen isotopic values of both benthic and planktonic foraminifera appear normal for cool glacial conditions negative carbon isotopic values are seen in benthic foraminifera primarily in the near surface intervals in one interval 1 2 cm below surface both benthic and planktonic species record highly negative carbon isotopic values implying that isotopically light methane influenced the entire water column this spike is of similar or larger magnitude than several earlier observed spikes in the late quaternary record from odp site 893 single specimen isotopic analyses give an indication of the total range of carbon isotopic values recorded 0 01 to 25 23 for benthics 0 07 to 22 22 for planktonics in the spike interval since modern methane seeps are commonly associated with authigenic carbonate precipitation scanning electron microscopy was used to assess the possibility that post depositional alteration may have affected the isotopic composition of the test these experiments indicate that authigenic carbonate is absent and therefore unable to account for the highly negative carbon isotopic signatures these data improve our understanding of methane associated environments by showing that foraminiferal isotopic composition and assemblages may be used to discern the flux of methane from the oceanic reservoir in the geologic record

enrichment of redox sensitive trace metals u v mo as associated with the late hauterivian faraoni oceanic anoxic event the faraoni level is a short lived oxygen deficient event that took place during the latest hauterivian in order to improve our understanding of the palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred during this event we have analysed the contents of several redox sensitive trace elements u v mo as co cd cu zn ni pb cr from bulk limestone samples of late hauterivian early barremian age from three reference sections u v mo and as show consistent and significant enrichments during the faraoni event whereas the other redox sensitive trace elements analysed here are not systematically enriched in order to explain this discrepant behaviour we propose that the faraoni level was deposited during a period of anoxic conditions near the sediment water interface the distinctive peaks in u v mo and as contents are traceable throughout the three studied sections and represent a good correlation tool which helps to identify the faraoni level and its equivalents in the western tethyan realm and outside of the tethys for example a peak in u contents in upper hauterivian sediments of the northwestern pacific realm odp leg 185 site 1149 may well be an expression of the faraoni event in this particular basin

rare earth elements in cold seep carbonates from the southwestern dongsha area northern south china sea the circulation of methane rich fluids at cold seeps often leads to the precipitation of seep carbonates close to the seafloor along continental margins which can be used as records of past fluid seepage rare earth element ree concentrations in seep carbonates have been used to trace fluid sources and provide information on associated biogeochemical processes at cold seeps the ree concentrations of a series of carbonates collected from cold seeps in the southwestern dongsha area of the northern south china sea are analyzed in this study the total ree contents sigma ree of the seep carbonates analyzed show a wide variation from 17 ppm to 523 ppm with an average sigma ree value of 54 ppm which are higher than the carbonates from other cold seep areas a positive correlation between fe mn content and sigma ree was observed these results suggest that the seep carbonates of this study were primarily controlled by the methane derived fluid from which they precipitated the fe rich dolomite and siderite which are the main components of the carbonates are responsible for the enrichment of the ree a slight positive ce anomaly observed in the shale normalized ree patterns of the studied seep carbonates suggests that they formed in anoxic conditions and the correlations between ce ce and la n sm n ce ce and dy n sm n ce ce and sigma ree further reveal that the ree characteristics of most seep carbonate samples preserve the original redox conditions in which they precipitated and late diagenesis has had little effect on the ree however the ree characteristics of sub samples ds2 2b ds1 6a and ds1 7a are very different from those of the other sub samples indicating a greater impact of late diagenesis and post oxidation favored ree enrichment c 2014 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

a late miocene methane seep deposit bearing methane trapping silica minerals at joetsu central japan abstract the modern japan sea is characterized by active methane seeps associated with gas hydrates but their ancient counterparts are not fully understood this study describes a newly discovered methane seep carbonate block the nakanomata seep deposit from the upper miocene nodani formation in joetsu city central japan the age of this deposit is constrained to 7 5 6 5 ma based on its fossil diatom assemblage the deposit contains molluscan fossils typical of methane seeps including vesicomyid and bathymodiolin bivalves and provannid gastropods and it retains an almost entirely aragonitic mineralogy despite its miocene age it is composed of clotted microcrystalline aragonite containing nodules and intraclasts and is crosscut by vein like networks of voids and cavities rimmed with acicular aragonite the 13c values of the carbonate phases are as low as 41 1 and the presence of lipid biomarkers pentamethylicosane and crocetane suggests that the deposit originated from the anaerobic oxidation of methane it is suggested that an initially diffuse methane seepage formed the micritic nodules followed by a more rapid and intense methane seepage that led to the development of abundant voids in the sediment finally the sediment was cemented by microcrystalline aragonite and void lining acicular aragonite the seep deposit also contains peculiar globular silica minerals and authigenic quartz during their precipitation these globular silica minerals may have trapped methane gas bubbles and the minerals may be pseudomorphs after silica clathrate sufficient increase in ph and supersaturation of silica which led to the dissolution and subsequent precipitation of these silica minerals could have resulted from the degassing of carbon dioxide promoted by an effective supply of methane and its supersaturation thus forming gas bubbles

deep water hydrocarbon seeps in guaymas basin gulf of california abstract acoustically discovered hydrocarbon seeps along a transform fault zone on the sonoran margin of guaymas basin and in the southern trough of guaymas basin were examined and sampled during dives of dsv alvin seepage of methane and heavier hydrocarbons occurs through shallow pockmarks along the eroding crest of a steep anticline 1600 m below sea level extensive ledges of aragonite crop out around the rims of the pockmarks isotopic analysis indicates that carbonate precipitation is a result of methane oxidation seepage zones within the pockmarks support dense communities of calyptogena half buried in the mud tubeworms lamellibracheae sp have colonized many of the aragonite outcrops though the margin site is only a few kilometers from a high temperature sulfide precipitating and petroleum discharging vent system at a nearby center its structural setting is more akin to pockmarks described from continental shelves and its chemosynthetic fauna is more like that around low temperature seeps on other continental slopes and margins e g oregon u s a and japan the seep in the southern trough is a condensate type petroleum c 1 c 40 and rises as a plume from a young vent mound system about 2000 m below sea level

a study of the chemistry of pore fluids and authigenic carbonates in methane seep environments kodiak trench hydrate ridge monterey bay and eel river basin analyses of the chemical and isotopic composition of carbonates rocks recovered from methane seepage areas of the kodiak trench hydrate ridge monterey bay clam flats and the eel river basin coupled with the studies of the chemistry of the pore fluids have shown that these carbonates have grown within the sediment column geochemical profiles of pore fluids show that in deep water seeps kodiak trench 4450 m monterey bay 1000 m hydrate ridge 650 m 13c dic values are low isotopically light whereas in the eel river area 350 500 m 13c dic values are much higher isotopically heavier in all cases the 13c values indicate that processes of methane oxidation associated with sulfate reduction are dominant in the shallow sediments data on the isotopic composition of authigenic carbonates found at sites in kodiak trench eel river basin south and eel river basin north indicate a variable composition and origin in different geochemical environments some of the authigenic carbonates from the study sites show a trend in their 13c values similar to those of the pore fluids obtained in their vicinity suggesting formation at relatively shallow depths but others indicate formation at greater sediment depths the latter usually consist of high magnesium calcite or dolomite which from their high values of 13c up to 23 and 18o up to 7 5 suggest formation in the deeper horizons of the sediments in the zone of methanogenesis these observations are in agreement with observations by other workers at hydrate ridge in monterey bay and in the eel river basin

relationships between the distribution and stable isotopic composition of living benthic foraminifera and cold methane seep biogeochemistry in monterey bay california 1 as part of an ongoing effort to explore the use of foraminifera as a means to assess modern and ancient methane release we compared ambient pore water chemistry with the distribution and stable isotopic composition of living rose bengal stained foraminifera in mbari rov ventana tube cores taken from modern seepage areas about 1000 m water depth in monterey bay california benthic foraminiferal isotopic differences between sites clearly indicate that methane influenced pore waters affect foraminiferal distributions and carbonate isotope geochemistry carbon isotope signatures of living benthic foraminifera did not conform to the very negative 30 to 48 methane influenced carbon isotope values of the pore waters they live in instead the influence of methane seep pore waters was reflected in the greater range and carbon isotopic variability of living seep foraminifera compared with published 13c values of foraminifera living in nonseep habitats it is not clear what relative influences biological ecological and physical factors have on the carbon isotopic signatures observed in seep foraminifera substantial carbon isotope differences can exist between individuals of the same seep species for instance 13c values of living globobulimina pacifica varied by as much as 2 9 between seeps within 8 km of each other whereas 13c values of living uvigerina peregrina varied by as much as 1 95 within the same seep provided there is no diagenetic alteration of the test carbonate isotopic results of individual seep foraminifera support the hypothesis that foraminifera can be used to assess past and present methane seepage

stable isotopic ratios and origins of the carbonates associated with cold seepage at the eastern nankai trough two types of cold seeps were located at the eastern nankai trough 1 seeps on sediment covered seafloor of 3800 3600 m in depth at the toe of the accretionary prism and 2 those between 1900 and 2100 m situated on the backthrust of the accretionary prism covered with rough outcrops of calcareous sandstones fragments of sandstone pipes or chimneys cemented with calcite were recovered from type 1 seeps whereas in type 2 seeps massive carbonate cemented sandstones and silty sandstones were obtained many of which contain cemented fragments of different lithologies and textures including dense aggregates of fossilcalyptogena type clam shells the carbon isotopic ratios of the carbonates in these sediments range from 36 to 56 pdb the carbonates formed by mixing between isotopically light carbonate ions derived from biogenic methane carried from depth in advecting fluids and heavy marine sedimentary carbonates sharp isotopic gradients in carbon and sometimes also in oxygen from the mixing processes are still retained across the walls of the sandstone pipes from type 1 seeps whereas the isotopic ratios of the samples from type 2 seeps exhibit variation patterns related to lithologies and textures and confirm the presence of several generations of carbonate cement within a single specimen these facts and the oxygen isotopic ratios of live and fossil clam shells recovered from the survey areas suggest that the cold seeps started at least during the last glaciation and have experienced repeated destruction and reformation due to episodic supply of methane rich fluid of different isotopic ratios and or temperature

cold seeps and authigenic carbonate formation in monterey bay california abstract authigenic carbonate associated with modern cold seep biological communities and their extinct analogues exhibit a broad range in stable isotope and mineral composition within the limited geographic area of monterey bay although such variations in ancient samples have been used to infer differing tectonic settings these carbonates all formed within a faulted continental margin environment and chemical variations reflect local differences in the sources and flux of carbon to sediment pore fluids the slow seepage of fluid and with it dissolved carbon along the transform faulted continental margin results in discrete areas of enhanced microbial sulfate reduction oxidation of methane from both biogenic and thermogenic origins as well as the active precipitation of both high mg calcite hmc and dolomite the authigenic carbonates include semicontinuous pavements of shallow cemented sediments surrounding benthic communities circular or pipe like chimneys interpreted as cemented conduits formed as a result of methane gas expulsion centimeter to meter scale rings doughnuts or slabs winnowed from variable depths within sediments and carbonate veins ankerite or calcite or cements in faulted basement rocks draped with bacterial mat abundant pyrite framboids preferentially filling the tests of the benthic foraminifer uvigerina peregrina and characteristic of the hmc bearing samples are products of a zone of shallow microbial sulfate reduction a process fundamental to the nourishment of the chemosynthetic cold seep communities sites on a sedimented ridge west of the san gregorio fault zone have carbon isotopic values between 35 and 56 that are strongly influenced by carbon derived from methane the higher values of 18 o more enriched in 18 o are found closer to the active fault zone carbonates from sites within the san gregorio fault zone or from monterey canyon floor exposures of miocene sediments have carbon isotope values between 7 and 26 that are mixtures of sedimentary organic carbon and microbially oxidized hydrocarbons from organic rich petroleum source rocks dolomite bearing samples are more enriched in both 18 o and 13 c bulk carbonate samples with heavier 18 o 18 o 3 5 result from the abundance of authigenic dolomite and low temperatures of formation local destabilization of clathrates might also create pore fluids that are more enriched in both 13 c and 18 o

the chimney forest of the deep montenegrin margin south eastern adriatic sea a spectacular field of columnar carbonates has been discovered on the montenegrin margin in the southern adriatic sea at a depth of about 450 m the site exposes many columnar carbonates protruding from the substrate or abated on the bottom such carbonates attain maximum visible lengths of ca 60 cm with diameters up to 20 cm display an annular growth and are either hollow or plugged by indurated sediment petrographic and geochemical analyses document the pervasive presence of dolomite and 13c values as low as 30 vpdb these chimneys are therefore interpreted as former conduits related to hydrocarbon expulsion in this sector of the adriatic basin however available data suggest that hydrocarbon flows at this site have ceased our results show that chimneys formed inside the local depositional units glacial pleistocene shelf shelly rich muddy sediment and were successively exhumed from the host sediment today the chimneys offer substrate to benthic life including cold water corals and sponges the u series dating of these carbonate concretions is complicated by the presence of a significant fraction of detrital sediment which represents a major source of initial 230th ams 14c and 87sr 86sr dating of shells embedded in one of the chimney provided ages beyond the range of radiocarbon dating and 600 kyrs indicating a pleistocene age of the host sediment uncorrected u series dating of the carbonate chimneys yielded and age of ca 250 270 kyrs providing a temporal upper limit for conduit formation driven by lithification caused by the degradation of seeping hydrocarbons in addition u th dating of cold water coral bases settled on chimneys indicates a holocene age for their first exposure after exhumation and subsequent function as hard substrate for benthic organisms the montenegrin chimney forest is a rare case where many such carbonate columnar concretions are still in their original vertical position

last glacial emplacement of methane derived authigenic carbonates in the sea of japan constrained by diatom assemblage carbon 14 and carbonate content abstract we studied diatom assemblages and caco 3 contents of methane derived authigenic carbonates from the eastern margin of the sea of japan and assessed the formation time of these samples radioactive 14 c date was determined in selected samples to obtain the maximum age of the time the results of our study suggest mass formation of carbonate nodules in a glacial period within 40 ky consistent with a published u th dating result of carbonate nodules in the study area diatom assemblages and contents in the carbonate nodules abundance of 10 6 g dominance of neritic littoral species warm cold water species ratio lower than 25 differ from the near seafloor sediments in the study area which have characteristics of holocene sediments in the sea of japan and suggest cementation of glacial sediments laminated sediments in some nodule samples are glacial sediments because laminations are records of a low sea level period in the semi enclosed ocean similarity of diatom assemblages and contents in all carbonate samples is another evidence of glacial sediments in nodules glacial sediments with oceanic cold water species as low as holocene sediments restricts the sediment age to before 20 cal ky bp carbonate contents higher than 78 wt suggest the cementation of poorly compacted sediments near the seafloor and the date of carbonate cementation is therefore close to that of the cemented sediments most carbonate nodule samples in this study were formed in a glacial period and detection of 14 c restricts this period to within 40 ky

iron oxyhydroxide and sulphide mineralization in hydrocarbon seep related carbonate submarine chimneys gulf of cadiz sw iberian peninsula this paper aims to investigate the iron mineralization hosted in the submarine hydrocarbon seep related carbonate chimneys from the gulf of cadiz continental slope sw iberia chimneys are made of a general fine groundmass of major fe rich dolomite ankerite and calcite small grains of quartz and phyllosilicates and some foraminifer tests and ostracod shells primary porosity is frequently generated inside foraminifer chambers and ostracod shells and is filled with closely packed microcrystals of iron oxyhydroxide and sulphide minerals forming framboids some extremely peculiar multiframboidal textures are also detected corresponding to microcrystal groups spherical framboids and euhedral crystals without framboidal texture the mineralogy observed is mainly goethite pyrite pseudomorphs traces of tiny grains of pyrite were also observed cubic octahedral and pyritohedral are the habits observed in both minerals chemical analyses of framboids and euhedral crystals display high often erratic amounts of as co ni and mo in oxyhydroxides and mo pb v and co in sulphides versus almost always negligible concentrations of cu and zn a textural geochemical and mineralogical evolution is proposed to explain the coexistence of different morphologies in the multiframboidal texture a growth and aggregation of microcrystals as typical framboidal type mineralogical associations b development of euhedral habits c coalescence and homogenization of the microcrystal into large size euhedral to anhedral crystals and d formation of euhedral crystals or polycrystalline masses with complete loss of framboidal texture along this process an increase of the concentration of fe s mn and ti linked to a decrease in mg si al as p ca and v was observed the study of the iron mineralization in the gulf of cadiz is a first and can give clues to understand the complex geobiological interactions in this and other similar extreme hydrocarbon bearing submarine ecosystems

u th dating and post depositional alteration of a cold seep carbonate chimney from the campos basin offshore brazil abstract dating authigenic cold seep carbonates allows determining the timing of active seepage of hydrocarbon rich fluids at continental margins and ultimately the detection of the geological factors affecting it u th dating has been selected in this study the method having been successfully used before however incorporation of initial thorium in substantial amounts of detrital material due to the precipitation of carbonates within the seabed and post depositional alteration potentially pose a major problem violating the basic assumptions of the method here we report results from several samples from the campos basin off the coast of brazil they are unusual in their high 13 c values mean of 10 0 vpdb high detrital contents and being dominantly dolomite elevated 230 th 238 u activity ratios indicate that most of the carbonates lost uranium during diagenesis isochrones are obtained from the unaffected samples yielding an age of 140 4 3 1 ka vertical growth of the chimney must have been short and rapid since results from the top and bottom parts of the chimney concur within analytical uncertainties furthermore profiles of u th radioisotope specific activity 234 u and 232 th specific activity on two quarter slices of a carbonate chimney reveal the occurrence of three distinct diagenetic processes u loss u exchange with seawater and th gain

radiometric dating of submarine hydrocarbon seeps in the gulf of mexico massive abiotic carbonates and calcareous shells of the chemosynthetic mytilid bathymodiolus sp containing a detailed history of hydrocarbon seepage were investigated using radiocarbon and u series isotopes stable carbon isotopes and 87 sr 86 sr ratios were also determined in order to provide insights on the carbon source and the nature of the hydrocarbon rich fluids samples from five seepage sites on the northern gulf of mexico sea floor overlying subsurface salt diapirs and encompassing depths from 125 to 2000 m were selected as representative of the spectrum of active and extinct seeps examined from submersible dives in general paired 14 c and 230 th dates of carbonate buildups consisting of aragonite high mg calcite and dolomite mineralogies are highly discordant the cause of the discordance established on the basis of paired 14 c and 13 c values 14 c 898 to 992 13 c 9 5 to 53 3 for n 27 lies with the impairment of the radiocarbon dates resulting from dilution of the 14 c pool with fossil hydrocarbon derived carbon the validity of the ionium dates based on u rich 2 4 7 6 ppm samples is demonstrated by the concordance between 234 u 238 u and 230 th 234 u evolution in time and by the 234 u 238 u o activity ratios that are generally within the range of sea water value of 1 14 0 04 2 sigma some dolomite rich samples are exceptional because their 234 u 238 u o ratios are significantly higher 1 22 1 38 than sea water suggesting deposition from anoxic pore waters where the soluble u reached anomalous 234 u 238 u ratios the formation of the carbonates from sea water derived fluids rather than from formation fluids advecting from deep aquifers is supported by the 87 sr 86 sr composition of the samples mean 0 709145 19 10 6 n 14 that compares well with modern nonseep marine carbonates and the ambient gulf of mexico sea water 0 709171 8 10 6 calcareous shells the 13 c values of which indicate a carbon source in sea water 13 c 4 3 to 1 1 yield valid radiocarbon ages and show fair concordancy between their radiocarbon and ionium dates isotope migration attested by the observed u uptake in the fossil shells is likely to affect the accuracy of their ionium dates radiometric ages from extinct and senescent seep sites at upper bathyal depths indicate that hydrocarbon seepage occurred there during late pleistocene time 195 13 ka ages derived from nascent seep sites at mid bathyal and abyssal depths 12 3 0 0 ka indicate that currently vigorous seepage was initiated at the end of the last deglaciation these radiometric ages most likely reflect the time of sedimentary loading and associated salt diapirism that activated the fault conduits to the sea floor

miocene shallow marine cold seep carbonate in fold and thrust western foothills sw taiwan a mound shaped authigenic carbonate buildup 50 m wide and 5 m high occurred in the middle part of the late miocene shallow marine succession the hunghuatzu formation exposed along the nantzuhsien river sw taiwan the carbonate concretions are classified into four types based on morphology which appeared to develop in upward sequence with vague boundaries 1 flat pipe shaped nodules highly dolomitic small pipes or nodules subparallel to the host strata 2 bulb shaped nodules discrete or combined small mesoclots with subspherical to irregular shapes 3 mushroom shaped concretions large mushroom like or irregular shaped blocks with chimney or vent structures and 4 carbonated layers with sedimentary structures these concretions are mainly composed of dolomite micrites quartz feldspar muscovite and clay minerals ubiquitously interweaved with blackish brown colored low magnesium calcite lmc veins low delta c 13 vpdb values 51 8 parts per thousand to 29 8 parts per thousand of all types of the carbonates reveal that the carbonates were mainly derived from anaerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons many samples are also o 18 depleted delta o 18 vpdb 11 5 parts per thousand to 1 00 parts per thousand due to the mixture with isotopically light lmc veins likely precipitated from meteoric waters there are numerous chemosymbiotic bivalve fossils genus monitilora diameter 3 4 cm in growth position just above the carbonate buildup according to the geological and isotopic signatures the hunghuatzu carbonates are related to a cold seep pseudobioherm which formed in a very shallow marine environment like tidal flat in a passive margin setting exposures of the hunghuatzu pseudobioherm may provide clues for tracking and comparing the evolution history of gas reservoir systems and hints of active tectonics of the sw taiwan region c 2012 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

anatomy and origin of carbonate structures in a miocene cold seep field miocene calcite concretions resembling modern carbonate structures that form at cold seeps are present in fractured opal ct porcelanites that are interbedded with mudstones in coastal cliffs at santa cruz california the morphologies of the carbonate structures differ markedly from conventional concretions and are spatially aligned with orthogonal joints in the porcelanites the structures contain tubular holes that are identical to fluid and gas conduits in modern carbonate seep structures the orientations of these tubes suggest that fluid and gas flow was both vertical and horizontal the latter along extensional joints that formed preferentially in the brittle silica rich layers that had enhanced bedding parallel permeability petrographic and isotopic characteristics of the carbonate structures indicate that calcite precipitation occurred in a shallow subseafloor environment in either the zone of microbial sulfate reduction or of methanogenesis prior to or possibly simultaneously with the silica phase transformation of opal a in diatom shells to opal ct

geological imprint of methane seepage on the seabed and biota of the convergent hikurangi margin new zealand box core and grab carbonate results abstract short box cores to 30 cm bsf and seafloor carbonate grab samples were acquired at mapped hydrocarbon seep sites 600 1200 m water depths during the 2007 rv sonne so191 cruise on the hikurangi margin offshore eastern north island new zealand to evaluate the influence of methane seepage on sedimentologic biotic mineralogic and stable isotopic attributes of seabed sediments sedimentary horizons in the box cores consist of siliciclastic silts and sands shell beds and nodular microcrystalline aragonite bands up to 15 cm thick the megafauna is dominated by infaunal to semi infaunal chemosymbiotic bivalves calyptogena lucinoma and acharax as well as associated worms and carnivorous and grazing gastropods burrows in silts some occupied by worms or juvenile acharax mainly have simple morphologies more typical of high energy nearshore settings than deep sea environments while a few are large and sparsely branched with wall scratch marks inferred to be of decapod crustacean origin the box core silts and nodular carbonate samples vary in toc content from 0 2 to 0 9 wt carbonate content from 4 to 78 and 13 c and 18 o values from 50 3 to 0 6 pdb and 0 77 to 3 2 pdb respectively low carbonate content silt samples have the most enriched 13 c values implying a seawater source for their pore water bicarbonate negative 13 c and positive 18 o values typify the nodular microcrystalline aragonite bands indicating formation during microbially mediated sulphate dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane aom in a cold near seafloor environment as is also supported by lipid biomarker data a clear isotopic mixing trend of decreasing 13 c and increasing 18 o and carbonate content in the fine seafloor grab carbonate samples show greater textural variability and are divided into two types fresh appearing grey to white blocks yield similar mineralogic isotopic and biomarker signatures to the nodular carbonate bands in the cores a largely seep related epifauna affiliated with these grab samples include chemosymbiotic bathymodiolin mussels siboglinid tube worms methanotrophic suberitid sponges and grazing limpets which in places are entombed within the carbonate by contrast some dark reddish to brown iron stained microcrystalline dolomitic slabs and tubular concretions support abundant non seep epifaunal encrusters from the surrounding deep sea indicative of long exposure on the seafloor distinct stable isotopic signatures of these exhumed dolostones 13 c c 20 pdb 18 o up to 7 pdb suggest derivation from an oxidised methane pool and pore fluid freshening by gas hydrate dissociation or from mobilized burial fluids that have undergone clay mineral dehydration

chemical and isotopic evidence for sources of fluids in a mud volcano field seaward of the barbados accretionary wedge chemical isotopic and heat budgets are controlled by fluid flow and venting at convergent margins fluids vent from accretionary complex sediments via numerous pathways including mud volcanoes which are common at the barbados convergent margin chemical and isotopic compositions of fluids collected from four mud volcanoes located east of the barbados deformation front at 13 50 n indicate venting is sufficiently rapid to prevent diffusion from seawater in sediments surrounding the mud volcanoes the rate of nonfocused fluid flow is 0 26 cm yr although this rate is 3 orders of magnitude slower than the flow from the mud volcanoes significantly more fluid vents from the sediments surrounding the mud volcanoes than from the restricted areas of rapid flow from the volcanoes chloride concentrations are depleted to a minimum of 211 mm 45 of seawater value primarily by mixing diagenetically altered pore fluids with an 18o enriched fresh water released from the dissociation of methane hydrate this reaction is accompanied by the release of sufficient methane to form a free gas phase and initiate eruption of the mud volcanoes the geochemical compositions of the diagenetically altered pore fluids reflect the interplay between five major reactions 1 clay mineral dehydration which releases h2o and influences a range of chemical and isotopic compositions 2 organic matter regeneration which increases alkalinity nh4 and br and decreases so42 concentrations 3 cation exchange with clay minerals which increases na and decreases nh4 concentrations 4 carbonate recrystallization and precipitation which decrease ca2 but increase sr2 concentrations and 5 conversion of volcanic ash to clay minerals which utilizes h2o and decreases mg2 concentrations the geochemistry of the pore fluids suggests that these reactions occurred at temperatures ranging from 75 to 115 c thus at the regional geothermal gradients of 27 to 40 c km these temperatures indicate that the source regions are at 2 to 4 5 km depth

chemical and isotopic evidence of gas influenced flow at a transform plate boundary monterey bay california chemical and isotopic compositions of pore fluids document upward flow through communities of vesicomyid clams in monterey bay california within the clam communities the sulfate reduction zone is only 10 cm thick and ca and mg concentrations decrease to values as low as 2 2 mm and 34 5 mm respectively at depths less than 30 cm below the sediment water interface less than 5 m outside the communities the base of the sulfate reduction zone is deeper than the greatest penetration of the cores 30 cm and ca and mg exhibit only minor changes from seawater values the sediment exhibits no significant variation in grain size mineralogy organic carbon nitrogen or carbonate content throughout the region the composition of pore fluid within clam communities results from upward flow of altered fluid rather than different diagenetic reactions within and outside the communities isotopically light dissolved inorganic carbon dic with 13c values ranging from 3 2 to 54 1 could reflect carbon sources from either oxidized thermogenic methane and or a mixture of oxidized microbial methane and solid organic carbon the c1 c2 c3 ratios ranging from 34 to 1142 and the hydrogen and carbon isotopic compositions of methane d values of 109 to 156 13c values of 30 6 to 86 6 suggest that methane is primarily microbial but that a minor component could be thermally generated any thermogenic methane would have migrated from great depths possibly 2 km the presence of methane is likely to contribute to fluid flow by reducing the density of the fluids past fluid migration and venting are reflected by widespread carbonate mineralization at the sediment water interface this mineralization and the geographic distribution and proportions of microbial and thermogenic methane suggest that vent sites migrate when permeability is reduced during carbonate cementation these results demonstrate that along with convergent and divergent plate boundaries transform plate boundaries are characterized by fluid flow and that the flow may be widespread occurring at sites away from fault zones

lower eocene carbonate cemented chimneys varna ne bulgaria formation mechanisms and the a biological mediation of chimney growth abstract in the area of pobiti kamani varna northeast bulgaria massive carbonate cemented columns chimneys up to 1 5 m diameter and 8 m high and horizontal interbeds 1 5 m thickness occur in dispersed outcrops over an area of 70 km2 within loose lower eocene sands field observations and petrographical and stable isotope geochemical characterisation of four studied locations reveal a relationship between these structures and processes of ancient hydrocarbon seepage column and interbed structures both consist of similar well sorted silt to sand sized nummulitic host sediments predominantly cemented by early diagenetic low magnesium calcite filamentous textures about 10 m in diameter and 80 650 m long are only locally detected within interparticle calcite cement of columns column samples from two sites reveal a similar linear and inverse covariant trend of 13c 18o values which was interpreted as a mixing trend between two end member fluid precipitation conditions i e 1 a methane and or higher hydrocarbon derived carbon member characterised by 13c values as low as 43 and marine controlled precipitation conditions with 18o of 1 0 5 v pdb and 2 a member with less contribution of methane which was mixed most likely with less depleted carbon sources explaining 13c values ranging up to 8 v pdb the corresponding depleted 18o values with many samples clustering around 8 v pdb are interpreted in terms of precipitation at elevated temperatures this suggests the venting system was not a true cold seep sensu stricto furthermore column cross transects often document an internal pattern consisting of concentric zones with distinct isotopic signatures which vary between the two end members the mixing and internal pattern of column isotopic data together with petrographical observations are qualitatively interpreted as evidence of alternating precipitation conditions controlled by varying seepage rates of a single fluid source at depth during build up of individual chimney pipes near the sediment surface based on several field observations migration of the hydrocarbon charged fluids in lower eocene times was possibly channelled along ne oriented faults isotopic signatures of calcite cemented horizontal interbeds with depleted 18o ratios as low as 8 88 v pdb and variable 13c 1 to 16 mainly around 5 to 7 suggest that ascending fluids contributed to their cementation or resetted the calcite cement isotopic signature predominantly during periods of active seepage of warmer fluids only few petrographical and preliminary lipid biomarker evidence has been found pointing to the presence or possibly former activity of microbiota involved in carbon cycling and calcite precipitation typical of cold seep settings this may result from diagenetic alteration of organic components however considering the processes of chimney formation a cementation process governed by the inorganic oxidation of hydrocarbons in which interstitial oxygen is rapidly consumed without bacterial mediation is considered

life at cold seeps a synthesis of biogeochemical and ecological data from kazan mud volcano eastern mediterranean sea recent field observations have identified the widespread occurrence of fluid seepage through the eastern mediterranean sea floor in association with mud volcanism or along deep faults gas hydrates and methane seeps are frequently found in cold seep areas and were anticipated targets of the medinaut medineth initiatives the study presented herein has utilized a multi disciplinary approach incorporating observations and sampling of visually selected sites by the manned submersible nautile and by ship based sediment coring and geophysical surveys the study focuses on the biogeochemical and ecological processes and conditions related to methane seepage especially the anaerobic oxidation of methane aom associated with ascending fluids on kazan mud volcano in the eastern mediterranean sampling of adjacent box cores for studies on the microbiology biomarkers pore water and solid phase geochemistry allowed us to integrate different biogeochemical data within a spatially highly heterogeneous system geophysical results clearly indicate the spatial heterogeneity of mud volcano environments results from pore water geochemistry and modeling efforts indicate that the rate of aom is similar to 6 mol m 2 year 1 which is lower than at active seep sites associated with conditions of focused flow but greater than diffusion dominated sites furthermore under the non focused flow conditions at kazan mud volcano advective flow velocities are of the order of a few centimeters per year and gas hydrate formation is predicted to occur at a sediment depth of about 2 m and below the methane flux through these sediments supports a large and diverse community of micro and macrobiota as demonstrated by carbon isotopic measurements on bulk organic matter authigenic carbonates specific biomarker compounds and macrofaunal tissues because the aom community appears to be able to completely oxidize methane at the rate it is seeping through the sediments ultimate sinks for methane in this environment are authigenic carbonates and biomass significant differences in organic geochemical data between this site and those of other cold seep environments even within the eastern mediterranean mud volcanoes indicate that the microbiological communities carrying out aom varies depending on specific conditions such as methane flux and salinity c 2004 elsevier b v all rights reserved

the influence of pore water chemistry and physiology on the distribution of vesicomyid clams at cold seeps in monterey bay implications for patterns of chemosynthetic community organization analyses of sulfide methane oxygen and co in pore water sampdes from three cold seep sites in monterey bay indicate that fluid chemistry is a strong determinant of the distribution of chemolithoautotrophic vesicomyid clams the distribution of culyptogena pacijca and culyptogenu kilmeri were aligned closely with sulfide concentrations at all cold seeps and reflected species specific capabilities for sulfide binding live clams occurred only in sediment where sulfide was detectable sulfide was not detected in the absence of vesicomyid clams the relative abundances of five vesicomyid species varied greatly among seeps c kilmeri accounted for 85 99 of all vesicomyids at seeps with high sulfide content and c pucijicu dominated 73 seeps with low sulfide levels these species were also partially segregated along sulfide gradients from the center to the margin of seeps analogous to zonation of rocky intertidal communities we hypothesize that the absence of thiotrophic or methanotrophic mytilid mussels from monterey bay cold seeps is related to the lack of physiological specializations for concentrating reduced sulfur compounds or methane and the absence of hypersaline brines that could extend the persistence of methane or sulfide rich fluids very near the sea floor chemosynthetically based communities associated with sulfide and methane seeps are known from various geologic settings along continental margins but remain poorly understood in terms of their geochemistry biology and ecology seeps in the pacific ocean are associated with tectonically induced over pressure of hemipelagic sediments along subducting e g oregon peru japan and transpressional plate margins california barry et al 1997 artesian flow at marine exposures of freshwater aquifers hovland and judd 1988 and buried debris flows in axial valleys of submarine canyons embley et al 1990 most chemosynthetic metazoan symbioses at sea floor seeps depend on sulfur oxidizing bacterial endosymbionts especially in the pacific ocean where vesicomyid clams and vestimentiferan worms are the dominant metazoan groups although seeps in the atlantic ocean have a similar fauna including both vesicomyid clams and vestimentiferan worms these sites differ from pa

sulfur isotope variability in biogenic pyrite reflections of heterogeneous bacterial colonization the top 20 cm of sediments at active cold seeps in monterey bay coastal california contain framboidal pyrite that occurs as infillings and pseudomorphs of the chambers of the tests of foraminifera and rarely as irregularly shaped grains sulfur isotope compositions obtained with the ion microprobe show depletions in 34 s d 34 s 52 41 to 25 cdt and large variations both within and among these pyrite grains intergranular differences in d 34 s values in the same sediment are as large as 35 and intragranular zoning reaches 15 zoning is regular in some grains with systematic isotope changes from core to rim or from one foraminiferal chamber to another but irregular in others the regular zoning is consistent with an increase in 34 s through time backscattered electron imaging reveals three types of pyrite isolated framboids in a porous aggregation pf pyrite agglomerated framboids with cementing interstitial pyrite f 1i pyrite and recrystallized pyrite with isolated relicts of framboids rf pyrite in individual grains rf pyrite cores grade into f1i pyrite toward grain rims and f1i pyrite grades into pf pyrite at the grain edges these textures are consistent with a paragenetic sequence whereby framboids first agglomerate pf pyrite then cement f1i pyrite and finally recrystallize rf pyrite the d 34 s values of rf pyrite are generally lower than that of f1i pyrite if the paragenetic sequence is correct then this trend parallels the regular core rim isotopic zoning observed in some grains the implied increase in d 34 s with time is consistent with rayleigh fractionation of sulfur in a closed system bacteria are intimately involved in the production of pyrite from our samples and heterogeneous colonization by bacteria provides a simple explanation for the sulfur isotope heterogeneity among and within grains the foraminifera provide open space for colonization and local nutrients for bacterial growth whereas the cell walls of the bacteria may provide a local nucleation site for sulfides if so then initial colonization is reflected in lower d 34 s values whereas later bacterial emigration to other foraminifera chambers is indicated by higher d 34 s values

recrystallization of dolomite evidence from the monterey formation miocene california dolomites from the upper calcareous siliceous member of the miocene monterey formation exposed west of santa barbara california were analysed for geochemical isotopic and crystallographic variation the data clearly document the progressive recrystallization of dolomite during burial diagenesis in marine pore fluids recrystallization is recognized by the following compositional and crystallographic variations dolomites have decreasing 18o and 13c compositions decreasing sr contents and increasing mg contents with increasing burial depths and temperatures from east to west in the study area 18o values vary from 5 3 in the east to 5 5 pdb in the west and are interpreted to reflect the greater extent and higher temperature of dolomite recrystallization in the west 13c values correlate with 18o and decrease from 13 6 in the east to 8 7 pdb in the west sr concentrations correlate positively with 18o values and decrease from a mean of 750 ppm in the east to a mean of 250 ppm in the west mol mgco3 values inversely correlate with 18o values and increase from a minimum of 41 0 in the east to a maximum of 51 4 in the west rietveld refinements of powder x ray diffraction data indicate that the more recrystallized dolomites have more contracted unit cells and increased cation ordering the fraction of the ca sites in the dolomites that are occupied by ca atoms increases slightly with the approach to stoichiometry the fraction of the mg sites occupied by mg atoms strongly correlates with mol mgco3 even in early diagenetic non stoichiometric dolomites there is little substitution of mg in ca sites during recrystallization the amount of mg substituting for ca in ca sites decreases even further most of the disorder in the least recrystallized non stoichiometric dolomites is related to substitution of excess ca on mg sites

from climatic to global change geomorphology contemporary shifts in periglacial geomorphology periglacial geomorphology developed in the 1940s 1960s as a branch of climatic geomorphology focusing first on quaternary studies and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions then on current geomorphi

physiography of the monterey bay national marine sanctuary and implications about continental margin development abstract combined em 300 multibeam bathymetric data and satellite photography reveal the physiography of the continental margin between 35 50 and 37 03 n and from the shoreline west of 122 40 and 122 37 w which includes monterey bay in a previously unprecedented detail patterns in these images clearly reveal the processes that are actively influencing the current geomorphology of the monterey bay region including the monterey bay national marine sanctuary mbnms our data indicates that seafloor physiography within the mbnms results from plate margin tectonic deformation including uplift and erosion along structural lineaments and from fluid flow mass wasting is the dominant process active within the ascension monterey and sur partington submarine canyon systems and along the lower slopes meanders slump dams and constricted channels within the submarine canyons especially within monterey canyon slow and interrupt down canyon sediment transport we have identified for the first time thin sediment flows rotational slumps rills depressions that may be associated with pipes and other fluid induced features we call scallops off the ascension slope and suggest that fluid flow has sculptured the seafloor morphologies here these unusual seafloor morphologies are similar to morphologies found in terrestrial areas modified by ground water flow

shallow water methane derived authigenic carbonate mounds at the codling fault zone western irish sea abstract methane derived authigenic carbonate mdac mound features at the codling fault zone cfz located in shallow waters 50 120 m of the western irish sea were investigated and provide a comparison to deep sea mdac settings carbonates consisted of aragonite as the major mineral phase with 13 c depletion to 50 and 18 o enrichment to 2 these isotope signatures together with the co precipitation of framboidal pyrite confirm that anaerobic oxidation of methane aom is an important process mediating methane release to the water column and the atmosphere in this region 18 o enrichment could be a result of mdac precipitation with seawater in colder than present day conditions or precipitation with 18 o enriched water transported from deep petroleum sources the 13 c depletion of bulk carbonate and sampled gas 70 suggests a biogenic source but significant mixing of thermogenic gas and depletion of the original isotope signature cannot be ruled out active seepage was recorded from one mound and together with extensive areas of reduced sediment confirms that seepage is ongoing the mounds appear to be composed of stacked pavements that are largely covered by sand and extensively eroded the cfz mounds are colonized by abundant sabellaria polychaetes and possible nemertesia hydroids which benefit indirectly from available hard substrate in contrast to deep sea mdac settings where seep related macrofauna are commonly reported seep specialist fauna appear to be lacking at the cfz in addition unlike mdac in deep waters where organic carbon input from photosynthesis is limited lipid biomarkers and isotope signatures related to marine planktonic production e g sterols alkanols were most abundant evidence for microbes involved in aom was limited from samples taken possibly due to this dilution effect from organic matter derived from the photic zone and will require further investigation

dolomite chimneys as possible evidence of coastal fluid expulsion uppermost otago continental slope southern new zealand abstract a suite of carbonate chimneys slabs and ridges occur on a 1 km 2 220 m deep terrace on the uppermost continental slope east of the otago peninsula new zealand carbonate content and petrographic observations suggest cementation took place just below the sediment water interface encrustation borings and the abundance of chimneys and carbonate debris observed today on the uppermost slope suggest that the chimneys have been exhumed and are relict features with a maximum radiocarbon age of 33 000 550 yr b p negative 13 c values of 4 9 to 12 8 pdb indicate that the carbon contained within the cement was derived from the biogenic degradation of organic matter a 18 o composition of 4 9 to 5 4 pdb suggests a marine origin palaeotempertures of precipitation are consistent with modern bottom water temperatures cement in the chimneys is considered to be derived from aquifer forced ground water marine in character and sourced from the exposed inner middle shelf during glacially lowered sea level this contrasts with the tectonically induced fluid flow proposed for vent sites on convergent margins