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Biologic and geologic characteristics of cold seeps in Monterey Bay, California
Title
Biologic and geologic characteristics of cold seeps in Monterey Bay, California,
Description
Cold seep communities discovered at three previously unknown sites between 600 and 1000 m in Monterey Bay, California, are dominated by chemoautotrophic bacteria (Beggiatoa sp.) and vesicomyid clams (5 sp.). Other seep-associated fauna included galatheid crabs (Munidopsis sp.), vestimentiferan worms (Lamellibrachia barhami?), solemyid clams (Solemya sp.), columbellid snails (Mitrella permodesta, Amphissa sp.), and pyropeltid limpets (Pyropelta sp.). More than 50 species of regional (i.e. non-seep) benthic fauna were also observed at seeps. Ratios of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) in clam tissues near -36‰ indicate sulfur-oxidizing chemosynthetic production, rather than non-seep food sources, as their principal trophic pathway. The 'Mt Crushmore' cold seep site is located in a vertically faulted and fractured region of the Pliocene Purisima Formation along the walls of Monterey Canyon (~635 m), where seepage appears to derive from sulfide-rich fluids within the Purisima Formation. The 'Clam Field' cold seep site, also in Monterey Canyon (~900 m) is located near outcrops in the hydrocarbon-bearing Monterey Formation. Chemosynthetic communities were also found at an accretionary-like prism on the continental slope near 1000 m depth (Clam Flat site). Fluid flow at the 'Clam Flat' site is thought to represent dewatering of accretionary sediments by tectonic compression, or hydrocarbon formation at depth, or both. Sulfide levels in pore waters were low at Mt Crushmore (ca 0.2 mM), and high at the two deeper sites (ca 7.011.0 mM). Methane was not detected at the Mt Crushmore site, but ranged from 0.06 to 2.0 mM at the other sites., Cited By (since 1996):108, Invertebrates, CODEN: DRORE, ,
Author
Barry, Greene, Orange, Baxter, Robison, Kochevar, Nybakken, Reed, McHugh
Date
1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
Tracking California seafloor seeps with bathymetry, backscatter and ROVs
Title
Tracking California seafloor seeps with bathymetry, backscatter and ROVs,
Description
The California (USA) margin includes two different tectonic regimes: subduction north of the Mendocino Triple Junction and translation south. Both margins include seeps, and their distribution can be inferred using seafloor bathymetry and backscatter as well as subsurface seismic data. Anomalous bathymetric and backscatter features related to fluid expulsion include headless submarine canyons, fault zones, anticlines, pockmarks, and mud volcanoes. Anomalous backscatter may be caused by authigenic carbonate (related to the bacterial oxidation of methane) or cold seep clams - both have an impedance and roughness that may be higher than the surrounding seafloor. Remote-operated vehicle (ROV) dives to such suspect seep sites document the presence of extensive authigenic carbonate, a really restricted cold seep communities, carpets of chemoautotrophic bacteria, and bubbling gas. Our operations in the Monterey Bay, on the translational California margin, and the Eel River basin, on the convergent margin, indicate that bathymetric and backscatter maps of the seafloor, if sufficiently high resolution, can be used to map seep sites, and that the distribution of such seeps can be used to constrain subsurface conduits of fluid flow. ROVs, due to their combination of visualization, propulsion, manipulation, sonar, and navigation, provide an excellent platform for ground-truthing, mapping, and sampling seafloor seeps. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved., Cited By (since 1996):31, Rocks and cores, CODEN: CSHRD, ,
Author
Orange, Yun, Maher, Barry, Greene
Date
2002-01-01T00:00:00Z
Widespread fluid expulsion on a translational continental margin: Mud volcanoes, fault zones, headless canyons, and organic-rich substrate in Monterey Bay, California
Title
Widespread fluid expulsion on a translational continental margin: Mud volcanoes, fault zones, headless canyons, and organic-rich substrate in Monterey Bay, California,
Description
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV)-based mapping of tectonic features, zones of anomalous reflectivity, and geomorphic targets in Monterey Bay, California, demonstrates the regional abundance of fluid expulsion along the active transform margin between the Pacific and North American plates. Cold seeps - extant communities characterized by chemosynthetic bivalves, bacterial mats, and rare tubeworms - are the surface manifestations of present-day fluid expulsion of sulfide- and methane-rich fluids, whereas slabs, veins, and chimneys of authigenic carbonate represent regions of either dormant methane-rich fluid expulsion, or areas where the present rate of flow is too low to support chemosynthetic fauna. We have found both active and dormant fluid seepage along fault zones, at the surface expression of mud volcanoes, on organic-rich or permeable substrate, and within headless canyons across a wide range of depths within Monterey Bay. The fluid egress at these sites may be driven by a combination of (1) pore-space reduction caused by rapid sedimentation and/or tectonic compaction related to residual Pacific-North America compression, and (2) increased buoyancy due to a decrease in pore-fluid density related to diagenesis and/or catagenesis at depth. Although provocative, the relationship between topographically driven aquifer discharge and sea-floor fluid expulsion remains speculative for Monterey Bay. The widespread distribution of fluid expulsion features controlled by a variety of conduits in Monterey Bay implies that cold seeps may be common features on translational margins., Cited By (since 1996):60, CODEN: BUGMA, ,
Author
Orange, Greene, Reed, Martin, McHugh, Ryan, Maher, Stakes, Barry
Date
1999-01-01T00:00:00Z