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Three‐dimensional structure of fluid conduits sustaining an active deep marine cold seep
Author(s) -
Hornbach M. J.,
Ruppel C.,
Van Dover C. L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2006gl028859
Subject(s) - cold seep , chemosynthesis , petroleum seep , geology , seafloor spreading , hydrothermal vent , authigenic , clathrate hydrate , mud volcano , deep sea , oceanography , hydrothermal circulation , petrology , geochemistry , paleontology , methane , sedimentary rock , ecology , chemistry , organic chemistry , hydrate , biology
Cold seeps in deep marine settings emit fluids to the overlying ocean and are often associated with such seafloor flux indicators as chemosynthetic biota, pockmarks, and authigenic carbonate rocks. Despite evidence for spatiotemporal variability in the rate, locus, and composition of cold seep fluid emissions, the shallow subseafloor plumbing systems have never been clearly imaged in three dimensions. Using a novel, high‐resolution approach, we produce the first three‐dimensional image of possible fluid conduits beneath a cold seep at a study site within the Blake Ridge gas hydrate province. Complex, dendritic features diverge upward toward the seafloor from feeder conduits at depth and could potentially draw flow laterally by up to 10 3 m from the known seafloor seep, a pattern similar to that suggested for some hydrothermal vents. The biodiversity, community structure, and succession dynamics of chemosynthetic communities at cold seeps may largely reflect these complexities of subseafloor fluid flow.