| > Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 22, Number 1 |
2009, Oceanography 22(1):92–109, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.11
Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
Authors | Abstract | Full Article | Citation
Authors
Jean-Paul Foucher | Géosciences Marines, Centre Ifremer de Brest, Plouzané, France
Graham K. Westbrook | School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Antje Boetius | Microbial Habitat Group, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, and Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Silvia Ceramicola | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Sgonico (TS), Italy
Stéphanie Dupré | Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, France
Jean Mascle | Géosciences Azur (UMR 6526), Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche sur Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
Jürgen Mienert | Department of Geology, University of Tromsø, Norway
Olaf Pfannkuche | Leibniz-Institute of Marine Sciences IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany
Catherine Pierre | Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, France
Daniel Praeg | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Sgonico (TS), Italy
Abstract
Submarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven "hotspots" of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas extending from the Nordic margin, to the Gulf of Cádiz, to the Mediterranean and Black seas. High-resolution seabed maps and the main properties of key seep sites are presented here. Individual seeps show ecosystem zonation related to the strength of the methane flux and distinct biogeochemical processes in surface sediments. A feature common to many seeps is the formation of authigenic carbonate constructions. These constructions exhibit various morphologies ranging from large pavements and fragmented slabs to chimneys and mushroom-shaped mounds, and they form hard substrates colonized by fixed fauna. Gas hydrate dissociation could contribute to sustain seep chemosynthetic communities over several thousand years following large gas-release events.
Full Article
Citation
Foucher, J.-P., G.K. Westbrook, A. Boetius, S. Ceramicola, S. Dupré, J. Mascle, J. Mienert, O. Pfannkuche, C. Pierre, and D. Praeg. 2009. Structure and drivers of cold seep ecosystems. Oceanography 22(1):92–109, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.11.