Bathymetric Mapping and High-Resolution Seismic Profiling by AUV in MC 118 (Gulf of Mexico)

Sleeper, K.; Lowrie, Allen; Bosman, Alessandro; Macelloni, Leonardo; Swann, Charles T.

doi:10.4043/18113-ms

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Gas hydrates sampled from this vent were oil stained and consisted of structure II hydrates [ Sassen et al ., ]. Sub‐bottom profiles across this vent show that it is associated with an acoustic wipe‐out zone [ Sleeper et al ., ]. In the Gulf of Mexico, this type of acoustic blanking is interpreted as an accumulation of free gas [ MacDonald et al ., ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural hydrocarbon seepage on the continental slope to the east of Mississippi Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Talukder

Ross

Crooke

et al. 2013

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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[1] From 5 June to 15 September 2010, a multidisciplinary marine survey was undertaken onboard the M/V Ryan Chouest in the region of the BP Deepwater Horizon incident site in the Gulf of Mexico. The primary objective of the survey was the continuous monitoring of hydrocarbon abundance from sea surface down to a maximum depth of 120 m. Compound abundances were inferred using a hydrocarbon sensor array with associated vertical cast system. In order to better understand the potential inputs from natural seepage in the vicinity of the spill, a Simrad EK60 high-resolution split beam echo sounder, operated at 38 kHz, was included in the survey between 7 July and 15 September 2010. During this period, three fields of natural seeps characterized by hydroacoustic flares were studied in detail. These seep fields are at water depths of approximately 430 m, 880 m, and 1370 m. They are associated with extensive cold seep systems. In particular, the area around Seep Field 1 (the vicinity of Deepwater Horizon) seems to present a vast area of active natural seepages in the Gulf of Mexico. The repeat surveys at two of the fields suggested that the cold seep systems here were active, with expulsions of hydrocarbons into the water column, at least during the periods of our acoustic surveys. Multiple lines of evidence gathered during the survey indicated that the observed hydroacoustic flares at the three fields identified consisted of oily bubble streams of gases of thermogenic origin. However, direct observation and sampling are required to reveal the precise nature of the flares. In the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the formation of a hydrate rim around bubbles seems to be a very important mechanism for the long transport of methane and oil in the water column.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural hydrocarbon seepage on the continental slope to the east of Mississippi Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Talukder

Ross

Crooke

et al. 2013

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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“…The south-central portion of MC118, in roughly 900 m of water, overlies Pliocene-to-Pleistocene salt that is facilitating hydrocarbon venting in response to more recent (perhaps Holocene) mass slumping events resulting from slope instability. The mound is characterized by three principle venting and/or paleoventing clusters as reported by Sleeper et al (2006) and Macelloni et al (2010). Lapham et al (2008) give the geochemical interpretation of the seabed in response to the underlying hydrocarbon sources while Knapp et al (2010) detail the underlying structures and pathways for hydrocarbon migration.…”

Section: Imaging a Complex Shallow Subsurface Geological System In Dementioning

confidence: 98%

Optimal filtering high-resolution seismic reflection data using a weighted-mode empirical mode decomposition operator

Macelloni

Battista²,

Knapp

2011

Journal of Applied Geophysics

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“…). Visible outcroppings of gas hydrates, faulted carbonate ‘hard‐grounds’, authigenic carbonates and pockmark features are present in places across ca 1 km 2 of the sea floor in the vicinity of the mound (Sassen et al ., ; Sleeper et al ., ; Feng et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Regionally, the northern Gulf of Mexico slope, including this study site, is influenced by salt diapirism beneath the sea floor (Diegel et al ., ; Jackson, ; Galloway et al ., ). The field is underlain by a salt diapir 200 to 300 m below the sea floor (mbsf), which contributes to the formation of the sea floor mound itself (Sassen et al ., ; Sleeper et al ., ). Moreover, the cold‐seep mound is the epicentre for the migration and release of hydrocarbons from the sea floor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manganese enrichments near a large gas‐hydrate and cold‐seep field: a record of past redox and sedimentation events

Ingram

Meyers

Shen

et al. 2016

The Depositional Record

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The spatial distribution, mineralogy, and origin of manganese enrichments surrounding a large gas hydrate and cold seep field (Mississippi Canyon 118, Gulf of Mexico) are investigated in this study, to better constrain their biogeochemical context in deep-sea sediments and to assess how gas hydrates may alter such records. Manganese depth profiles from 10 sediment cores, documented using centimetre-scale X-ray fluorescence core scanning, display highly-enriched 1 to 10 cm thick layers. These manganese-rich layers are more numerous, but of lower concentration, in close proximity to the field, and show no consistent relationship with sedimentology (clay vs. carbonate content) or the established chronostratigraphic framework at the site. X-ray diffraction and sequential dissolution procedures indicate that the manganese enrichments are authigenic carbonates, which formed along a palaeo redox boundary during periods of prolonged steady-state conditions. The hypothesis that spatial heterogeneity of this manganese record is linked to the nearby gas hydrate and cold seep field, by influencing redox conditions and/or sedimentation processes, is investigated here. Results are consistent with more frequent interruption of steady-state sedimentation in closer proximity to the salt-tectonic induced bathymetric mound, which contains the active cold seeps and gas hydrate deposits. Thus, spatial mapping of manganese enrichment horizons provides a tool to reconstruct sedimentation surrounding these volatile sea bed features, yielding a measure of past activity of gas hydrates and cold seeps.

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Bathymetric Mapping and High-Resolution Seismic Profiling by AUV in MC 118 (Gulf of Mexico)

Cited by 15 publications

References 1 publication

Natural hydrocarbon seepage on the continental slope to the east of Mississippi Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Natural hydrocarbon seepage on the continental slope to the east of Mississippi Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Optimal filtering high-resolution seismic reflection data using a weighted-mode empirical mode decomposition operator

Manganese enrichments near a large gas‐hydrate and cold‐seep field: a record of past redox and sedimentation events

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