Indicators of Methane-Derived Carbonates and Chemosynthetic Organic Carbon Deposits: Examples from the Florida Escarpment

Paull, C. K.; Chanton, Jeffrey P.; Neumann, Andreas; Coston, Jennifer A.; Martens, Christopher S.; Showers, William J.

doi:10.2307/3514822

Cited by 214 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Regarding the skeletal carbonates, the small mytilid shells register 13 C-depleted values as well as negative  18 O values ( Paull et al (1985Paull et al ( , 1989Paull et al ( , 1992 for cold-seep mussels from the Florida Escarpment (N Gulf of Mexico).…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both skeletal and authigenic non-skeletal carbonates in present-day as well as in fossil cold seeps can display a wide range of  13 C values, from normal marine to very negative (Paull et al, 1985(Paull et al, , 1989(Paull et al, , 1992Kulm et al, 1986;Río et al, 1986Río et al, , 1992Campbell, 1992;Gaillard et al, 1992;CoBabe, 1998;Hein et al, 2006;Campbell, 2006;Lietard and Pierre, 2009). We have analysed isotopes in bulk samples as well as carbonate shells of bivalves (small mytilids, Neopycnodonte, and pectinids), tubes of Ditrupa and benthic foraminiferal tests.…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An enigmatic kilometer-scale concentration of small mytilids (Late Miocene, Guadalquivir Basin, S Spain)

Aguirre

Braga

Martín

et al. 2015

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Upper Miocene heterozoan carbonates crop out extensively in a NE-SW-trending belt (42 km long and 1.5-8 km wide) along the so-called El Alcor topographic high, from Carmona to Dos Hermanas (Seville, S Spain). These carbonates formed at the southern active margin of the Guadalquivir Basin, the foreland basin of the Betic Cordillera.They change to marls basinward (NE) and to sands landward (SE and SW). Therefore, carbonate production was constrained to a limited area in an otherwise siliciclastic shelf.The carbonates (up to 40 m thick) overlie a gradually coarsening-upward succession of marls followed by silts and sandstones. The carbonate sequence can be divided into three subunits corresponding, from bottom to top, to lowstand, transgressive, and highstands system tracts deposits. The lower subunit, exhibiting extensive trough crossbedding, is interpreted as a shallow-water bar deposit. The intermediate subunit onlaps underlying sediments and was deposited in deeper, low-turbulence conditions. The upper subunit deposits accumulated in a well-oxygenated outer platform based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages. The presence of hummocky and swaley crossstratification in these latter deposits suggests that they were affected by storms.Pervasive fluid-escape structures are also observed throughout the carbonates.The three subunits consist of bioclastic packstones to rudstones made up of abundant fragments of small mytilids. Isotopic data from serpulid polychaete Ditrupa tubes show 13 C-depleted values (up to -16.1‰), whereas  18 O yields normal marine values. Additional isotopic data on shells of scallops, oysters, and small mussels, as well as bulk sediment, show diagenetic alterations. Based on actualistic examples of massive concentrations of mussels, the nearly monospecific composition of the El Alcor deposits, together with negative  13 C values of Ditrupa tubes, indicates that cold seeps A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T

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Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

An enigmatic kilometer-scale concentration of small mytilids (Late Miocene, Guadalquivir Basin, S Spain)

Aguirre

Braga

Martín

et al. 2015

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…In morphology and association it appears to be authigenic. Authigenic limestone is often a precipitate of pore fluids high in bicarbonate which is derived from the bacterial oxidation of methane or other carbon sources (Roberts and Whelan, 1975;Ritger et al, 1987;Hovland et al, 1987;Botz et al, 1988;Neumann et al, 1988;Kulm and Suess, 1990;Matsumoto, 1990;Jorgensen, 1992;Paull et al, 1992). Its tabular form suggests low and diffuse fluid flow (Kulm and Suess, 1990;Campbell and Bottjer, 1993).…”

Section: Significance Of the Seeps And Chemosynthetic Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sissano, Papua New Guinea tsunami of July 1998 — offshore evidence on the source mechanism

Watts²,

et al. 2001

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The source of the local tsunami of 17 th July 1998 that struck the north shore of Papua New Guinea remains controversial, and has been postulated as due either to seabed dislocation (fault) or sediment slump. Alternative source mechanisms of the tsunami were addressed by offshore investigation using. multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling, sediment sampling and observation from the JAMSTEC Dolphin 3K Remotely Operated Vehicle and Shinkai 2000 Manned Submersible. The area offshore of Sissano is a complex active convergent margin with subduction taking place along the New Guinea Trench. Dominant transpressional convergence results in diachronous collision of the highstanding North Bismarck Sea Plate in a westerly direction. The result is a morphological variation along the Inner Trench Slope, with the boundary between eastern and western segments located offshore Sissano in an area of on-and offshore subsidence. This subsidence, together with nearshore bathymetric focusing, is considered to increase the tsunamigenic potential of the Sissano area. The offshore data allow discrimination between tsunami generating mechanisms with the most probable source mechanism of the local tsunami as a sediment slump located offshore of Sissano Lagoon. The approximately 5-10 km 3 slump is located in an arcuate, amphitheatreshaped structure in cohesive sediments that failed through rotational faulting. In the area of the amphitheatre there is evidence of recent seabed movement in the form of fissures, brecciated angular sediment blocks, vertical slopes, talus deposits and active fluid expulsion that maintains a chemosynthetic vent fauna. Dating of the slump event may be approximated 2 by the age of the chemosynthetic faunas as well as by a seismic signal from the failing sediment mass. Faults in the area offshore Sissano are mainly dip-slip to the north with recent movement only along planes of limited lateral extent. A possible thrust fault is of limited extent and with minimal (cm) reverse movement. Further numerical modeling of the tsunami also supports the slump as source over fault displacements.

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“…AOM is typically associated with the formation of methane-derived authigenic carbonates (MDACs) (Hovland et al, 1985;Paull et al, 1992;Peckmann et al, 2001;Greinert et al, 2002a;Orange et al, 2002;Johnson et al, 2003;Mazzini et al, 2006;Judd and Hovland, 2007). Once MDAC formation has started, ongoing precipitation may result in clogging fluid pathways and also blocking the migration of free gas through the sediments, thus forcing bubbles to migrate laterally towards the edge of the carbonate crust or carbonate-cemented sediments.…”

Section: Bacterial Mats Carbonates and Their Relation To Seep Distrimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High-acoustic backscatter is caused by the enhanced acoustic impedance or roughness contrast between certain regions of the seafloor and their surroundings (Blondel and Murton, 1997). At methane seeps, this contrast is primarily caused by the presence of methane-derived authigenic carbonates (MDACs), chemosynthetic "cold seep" communities (clams, tube worms), bubbles or gas hydrates in the sediment (Hovland et al, 1985;Ritger et al, 1987;Paull et al, 1992;von Rad et al, 1996;Greinert et al, 2001;Peckmann et al, 2001;Fonseca et al, 2002;Greinert et al, 2002b;Orange et al, 2002;Johnson et al, 2003;Niemann et al, 2005;Holland et al, 2006;Ivanov et al, 2007). Multibeam and side scan sonar surveys also detect changes in the seafloor morphology, which can mark the location of gas seeps (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anomalous sea-floor backscatter patterns in methane venting areas, Dnepr paleo-delta, NW Black Sea

et al. 2008

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The relation between acoustic seafloor backscatter and seep distribution is examined by integrating multibeam backscatter data and seep locations detected by single-beam echosounder. This study is further supported by side scan sonar recordings, high-resolution 5 kHz seismic data, pore-water analysis, grain-size analysis and visual seafloor observations. The datasets were acquired during the 2003 and 2004 expeditions of the EC-funded CRIMEA project in the Dnepr paleo-delta area, northwestern Black Sea.More than 600 active methane seeps were hydro-acoustically detected within a small (3.96 km by 3.72 km) area on the continental shelf of the Dnepr paleo-delta in water depths ranging from -72 m to -156 m. Multibeam and side scan sonar recordings show backscatter patterns that are clearly associated with seepage or with a present dune area. Seeps generally occur within medium-to highbackscatter areas which often coincide with pockmarks.High-resolution seismic data reveal the presence of an undulating gas front, i.e. the top of the free gas in the subsurface, which domes up towards and intersects the seafloor at locations where gas seeps and medium-to high-backscatter values are detected. Pore-water analysis of 4 multi-cores, taken at different backscatter intensity sites, shows a clear correlation between backscatter intensity and dissolved methane fluxes. All analyzed chemical species indicate increasing anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) from medium-to high-backscatter locations. This is confirmed by visual seafloor observations, showing bacterial mats and authigenic carbonates formed by AOM. Grain-size analysis of the 4 multi-cores only reveals negligible variations between the different backscatter sites.Integration of all datasets leads to the conclusion that the observed backscatter patterns are the result of ongoing methane seepage and the precipitation of methane-derived authigenic carbonates (MDACs) caused by AOM. The carbonate formation also appears to lead to a gradual (self-)sealing of the seeps by cementing fluid pathways/horizons followed by a relocation of the bubble-releasing locations. KeywordsMethane seeps; acoustic seafloor backscatter; anaerobic oxidation of methane; bacterial mats; pockmarks; methane-derived authigenic carbonates

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Indicators of Methane-Derived Carbonates and Chemosynthetic Organic Carbon Deposits: Examples from the Florida Escarpment

Cited by 214 publications

References 58 publications

An enigmatic kilometer-scale concentration of small mytilids (Late Miocene, Guadalquivir Basin, S Spain)

An enigmatic kilometer-scale concentration of small mytilids (Late Miocene, Guadalquivir Basin, S Spain)

The Sissano, Papua New Guinea tsunami of July 1998 — offshore evidence on the source mechanism

Anomalous sea-floor backscatter patterns in methane venting areas, Dnepr paleo-delta, NW Black Sea

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