Hydrothermal vent complexes offshore Northeast Greenland: A potential role in driving the PETM

Abstract

Continental rifting is often associated with voluminous magmatism and perturbations in the Earth's climate. In this study, we use 2D seismic data from the northeast Greenland margin to document two Paleogene-aged sill complexes ≥18 000 and ≥10 000 km 2 in size. Intrusion of the sills resulted in the contact metamorphism of carbon-rich shales, producing thermogenic methane which was released via 52 newly discovered hydrothermal vent complexes, some of which reach up to 11 km in diameter. Mass balance calculations indicate that the volume of methane produced by these intrusive complexes is comparable to that required to have caused the negative δ 13 C isotope excursion associated with the PETM. Combined with data from the conjugate Norwegian margin, our study provides evidence for margin-scale, volcanically-induced greenhouse gas release during the late Paleocene/early Eocene. Given the abundance of similar-aged sill complexes in Upper Paleozoic-Mesozoic and Cretaceous-Tertiary basins elsewhere along the northeast Atlantic continental margin, our findings support a major role for volcanism in driving global climate change.

Post‐seafloor spreading magmatism and associated magmatic hydrothermal systems in the Xisha uplift region, northwestern South China Sea

“…The magmatic hydrothermal systems were defined as aqueous fluid systems derived from or influenced by magma bodies (Ingebritsen et al, ; Pirajno & Van Kranendonk, ). They have been well studied at scales ranging from several kilometres to hundreds of kilometres in the mid‐ocean ridges, volcanic islands, passive margins and magmatic arcs along subduction zones, and play an important role in linking among the lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere (De Ronde et al, ; Gay et al, ; Hansen, ; Haymon, ; Ingebritsen et al, ; Lowell, ; Lowell & Germanovich, ; Medialdea et al, ; Planke, Rasmussen, Rey, & Myklebust, ; Reynolds et al, ; Wheeler et al, ). Consequently magmatically induced fluid flows may have a role in volcanically active regions such as the SCS.…”

Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic imaging of conduits and radial faults associated with hydrothermal vent complexes (Vøring Basin, Offshore Norway)

“…Generic models have shown that hydrothermal vent complexes arise from the expulsion of gases and fluidized materials associated with the emplacement of magmatic sills e.g., Svensen et al, 2006). During this process, substantial amount of gases are released to the atmosphere or hydrosphere e.g., (Aarnes et al, 2012;Jamtveit et al, 2004) and have been invoked as contributors to global warming during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (Reynolds et al, 2017;Svensen et al, 2004). Hydrothermal vents complexes usually originate from the tip of magmatic sill complexes as a result of intensive fracturing of the supra-sill stratigraphy arising from overpressure build-up associated with the release of fluids and gases within the metamorphic aureoles (Aarnes et al, 2012;Iyer et al, 2017;Jamtveit et al, 2004).…”

“…Previous studies have focused on the implication of hydrothermal venting for the timing of intrusive events e.g. (Hansen, 2006), petroleum systems (Aarnes et al, 2015;Iyer et al, 2017) and paleoclimate (Iyer et al, 2013;Iyer et al, 2017;Reynolds et al, 2017;Svensen et al, 2007;. However, there is a significant gap in our understanding of the interaction between the evolution of the hydrothermal vent complexes and deformation in the supra-sill stratigraphy.…”

Evidence of a modern deep water magmatic hydrothermal system in the Canary Basin (eastern central Atlantic Ocean)

“…[] and Reynolds et al . []. They act as a heat source that promotes organic matter maturation in their host rock and can trigger CH 4 and CO 2 ‐rich fluid production, releasing large amounts of carbon into the water column and the atmosphere through vent complexes [ Iyer et al ., ].…”