Multiple generations of buried cold-water coral mounds since the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition in the Atlantic Moroccan Coral Province, southern Gulf of Cádiz

Vandorpe, Thomas; Wienberg, Claudia; Hebbeln, Dierk; Berghe, M. Van den; Gaide, Stefanie; Wintersteller, Paul; Rooij, David Van

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.06.021

Cited by 25 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Two-dimensional multichannel seismic images show that Pompeia Province is affected by fluid expulsion related to compressional diapiric ridges and thrust faults (Fig. 3b), as has been reported from other areas of the Gulf of Cádiz (Somoza et al, 2003;Van Rensbergen et al, 2005; Medialdea Table 5. Stable carbon isotopic composition (δ 13 C) of selected lipid biomarkers (in Fig.…”

Section: Evidence For Hydrocarbon-rich Seepage Affecting Pompeia Provsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…3b), pointing to the occurrence of hydrocarbon-charged sediments. It furthermore exhibits breaks in seismic continuity and diapiric structures at different depths below the southern Pompeia Coral Ridge and the Al Gacel MV, showing the presence of a fault system Note mud diapirism has been described in this area (Vandorpe et al, 2017). OP represents the overpressure zone.…”

Section: Pompeia Province -Geological Settingsmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Cold-water corals and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz) – living on the edge

Rincón-Tomás¹,

Duda

Somoza

et al. 2019

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Azooxanthellate cold-water corals (CWCs) have a global distribution and have commonly been found in areas of active fluid seepage. The relationship between the CWCs and these fluids, however, is not well understood. This study aims to unravel the relationship between CWC development and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz, Atlantic Ocean). This region is comprised of mud volcanoes (MVs), coral ridges and fields of coral mounds, which are all affected by the tectonically driven seepage of hydrocarbon-rich fluids. These types of seepage, for example, focused, scattered, diffused or eruptive, is tightly controlled by a complex system of faults and diapirs. Early diagenetic carbonates from the currently active Al Gacel MV exhibit δ13C signatures down to −28.77 ‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB), which indicate biologically derived methane as the main carbon source. The same samples contain 13C-depleted lipid biomarkers diagnostic for archaea such as crocetane (δ13C down to −101.2 ‰ VPDB) and pentamethylicosane (PMI) (δ13C down to −102.9 ‰ VPDB), which is evidence of microbially mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). This is further supported by next generation DNA sequencing data, demonstrating the presence of AOM-related microorganisms (ANMEs, archaea, sulfate-reducing bacteria) in the carbonate. Embedded corals in some of the carbonates and CWC fragments exhibit less negative δ13C values (−8.08 ‰ to −1.39 ‰ VPDB), pointing against the use of methane as the carbon source. Likewise, the absence of DNA from methane- and sulfide-oxidizing microbes in sampled coral does not support the idea of these organisms having a chemosynthetic lifestyle. In light of these findings, it appears that the CWCs benefit rather indirectly from hydrocarbon-rich seepage by using methane-derived authigenic carbonates as a substratum for colonization. At the same time, chemosynthetic organisms at active sites prevent coral dissolution and necrosis by feeding on the seeping fluids (i.e., methane, sulfate, hydrogen sulfide), allowing cold-water corals to colonize carbonates currently affected by hydrocarbon-rich seepage.

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Section: Evidence For Hydrocarbon-rich Seepage Affecting Pompeia Provsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Pompeia Province -Geological Settingsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Cold-water corals and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz) – living on the edge

Rincón-Tomás¹,

Duda

Somoza

et al. 2019

Biogeosciences

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“…Many large carbonate ridges appear to be closely associated with density interphases at water mass boundaries due to the occurrence of mixing processes 1,2,4 . Other studies suggest the importance of bottom current velocities and intensities 3,11,58,59 , leading to the interpretation that high oxygenation levels 13,60 are the main forcing agents favouring the development of mounds. In the study area, ventilation processes in the thermocline between the SACW and the AAIW 61 could be induced by mesoscale eddies of the BC and could favour the occurrence of mixing processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Alpha Crucis Carbonate Ridge (ACCR): Discovery of a giant ring-shaped carbonate complex on the SW Atlantic margin

Maly

Schattner

Lobo

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Recently acquired bathymetric and high-resolution seismic data from the upper slope of Santos Basin, southern Brazilian margin, reveal a major geomorphological feature in the SW Atlantic that is interpreted as a carbonate ridge - the Alpha Crucis Carbonate Ridge (ACCR). The ACCR is the first megastructure of this type described on the SW Atlantic margin. The ~17 × 11-km-wide ring-shaped ACCR features tens of >100-m-high steep-sided carbonate mounds protruding from the surrounding seabed and flanked by elongated depressions. Comet-like marks downstream of the mound structures indicate that the area is presently influenced by the northward flow of the Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC), a branch of the Subtropical Gyre that transports Antarctic Intermediate Water. Abundant carbonate sands and gravels cover the mounds and are overlain by a biologically significant community of living and dead ramified corals and associated invertebrates. The IWBC acts as a hydrodynamic factor that is responsible for both shaping the bottom and transporting coral larvae. We contend that the ACCR was formed by upward fluid flow along active sub-surface faults and fractures that formed by lateral extension generated by the ascending movement of salt diapirs at depth. The ACCR provides an important modern and accessible analogue for a seabed carbonate build-up related to sub-surface hydrocarbon systems.

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“…Clustering of smaller mounds to form larger mounds, has also been observed (e.g., De Mol et al, 2002;de Haas et al, 2009;Lim et al, 2018). Vandorpe et al (2017) even write that, by clustering into larger features, small coral mounds can enhance coral mound growth, by intensifying bottom currents locally. They describe a scale-dependent feedback, supporting the idea of coral mound self-organization.…”

Section: From Initial Settlement To Full-grown Coral Moundmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Evidence of mounds eroded away would be hard to find, but is not unlikely given that large mounds form on time scales of thousands to millions of years. Mound burial is reported, with several studies showing the presence of living mounds close to buried mounds, e.g., on the Moroccan margin (Vandorpe et al, 2017), the Magellan province (Huvenne et al, 2007), West Melilla mound Province (Iacono et al, 2014), and the SW Rockall Trough margin (Mienis et al, 2006). Clustering of smaller mounds to form larger mounds, has also been observed (e.g., De Mol et al, 2002;de Haas et al, 2009;Lim et al, 2018).…”

Section: From Initial Settlement To Full-grown Coral Moundmentioning

confidence: 94%

Spatial Self-Organization as a New Perspective on Cold-Water Coral Mound Development

et al. 2020

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Cold-water corals build extensive reefs on the seafloor that are oases of biodiversity, biomass, and organic matter processing rates. The reefs baffle sediments, and when coral growth and sedimentation outweigh ambient sedimentation, carbonate mounds of tens to hundreds of meters high and several kilometers wide can form. Because coral mounds form over ten-thousands of years, their development process remains elusive. While several environmental factors influence mound development, the mounds also have a major impact on their environment. This feedback between environment and mounds, and how this drives mound development is the focus of this paper. Based on the similarity of spatial coral mound patterns and patterns in self-organized ecosystems, we provide a new perspective on coral mound development. In accordance with the theory of self-organization through scale-dependent feedbacks, we first elicit the processes that are known to affect mound development, and might cause scaledependent feedbacks. Then we demonstrate this concept with model output from a study on the Logachev area, SW Rockall Trough margin. Spatial patterns in mound provinces are the result of a complex set of interacting processes. Spatial selforganization provides a framework in which to place and compare these processes, so as to assess if and how they contribute to pattern formation in coral mounds.

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Multiple generations of buried cold-water coral mounds since the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition in the Atlantic Moroccan Coral Province, southern Gulf of Cádiz

Cited by 25 publications

References 63 publications

Cold-water corals and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz) – living on the edge

Cold-water corals and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz) – living on the edge

The Alpha Crucis Carbonate Ridge (ACCR): Discovery of a giant ring-shaped carbonate complex on the SW Atlantic margin

Spatial Self-Organization as a New Perspective on Cold-Water Coral Mound Development

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