Discovery of the southwest Dongsha Island mud volcanoes amid the northern margin of the South China Sea

The Dongsha Basin, circling Dongsha Island that is amid the northern margin of the South China Sea, is characterized by thin (∼0.5 km) Cenozoic sediments veneering on thick (up to 5 km) Mesozoic strata. Recently, several geophysical and geological surveys, including multiple channel reflection seismic, sub-bottom profiling and benthic dredging, have been conducted on the slope southwest to the Dongsha Island, where the water depth varies from 400 m to 2000 m. A novel discovery is numerous submarine mud volcanoes of various sizes over there, typically 50–200 m high and 0.5–5 km wide. Geophysical profiles document their unusual features, e.g., roughly undulating seafloor, high-amplitude seabed reflectivity, foggy hyperbolic diffractions up to 50 m in water column above seabed, and internal reflection chaos and wipe-out down to 2–3 km level or deeper below the seabed. Benthic dredging from the mud volcanoes gives abundant faunas of high diversity, e.g., scleractinian (stony coral), gorgonian, black coral, thiophil tubeworm, glass sponge, bryozoan etc., indicating booming chemosynthetic community, among which the Lophelia pertusa-like coral and the Euretidae-like glass sponges are the first reports in the South China Sea. Concomitantly with them, there are also abundant authigenic carbonate nodules and slabs, raw, brecciated and breccias with bio-clasts congregation. Besides, there coexist massive mudflows and allogenic coarse-grained quartz, feldspar and tourmaline most likely brought out by mud volcanism. Geochemical analysis of the bottom water samples give dissolved methane concentration up to 4 times higher than the background average. These results lend comprehensive evidences for the ongoing and historical mud volcanism. The escaping methane gas is inferred to source mainly from the Mesozoic strata. Occupying a large province of the deep water slope, ca. 1000 km² or more, the mud volcanoes is prospective for gas hydrate and natural gas for the Dongsha Basin.     

Terrestrial methane seeps and mud volcanoes: A global perspective of gas origin

A global database of gas composition and methane stable isotopes of 143 terrestrial mud volcanoes from 12 countries and 60 seeps independent from mud volcanism from eight countries, was compiled and examined in order to provide the first worldwide statistics on the origin of methane seeping at the earth's surface. Sixteen seep data were coupled with their associated subsurface reservoirs.     

Tectonically-driven mud volcanism since the late Pliocene on the Calabrian accretionary prism,central Mediterranean Sea

Mud volcanoes recently discovered on the offshore Calabrian Arc are investigated at two sites 60 km apart, in water depths of 1650--2300 m, using swath bathymetry, 2D&3D multichannel seismic and cores. The seabed and subsurface data provide information on their formation and functioning in relation to tectonic activity during the rapid Plio-Quaternary advance of the accretionary prism. Fore-arc extension and thrust-belt compression are seen to have involved two main phases of activity, separated by a regional unconformity recording a mid-Pliocene (3.5–3.0 Ma) tectonic reorganization. The two sites of mud volcanism lie in contrasting tectonic settings (inner fore-arc basin vs central fold-and-thrust belt) and record differing forms of seabed extrusive activity (twin mud cones and a caldera vs a broad mud pie). At both sites, subsurface data show that mud volcanism took place throughout the second tectonic phase, since the late Pliocene; differing forms of mud extrusion were accompanied by subsidence to form depressions beneath and within extrusive edifices up to 1.5 km thick. The basal subsidence depressions point to sources within the succession of thrusts underlying the inner to central Arc, consistent with microfossils within cored mud breccias from both sites that are derived from strata as old as Late Cretaceous.     

东沙群岛西南海区泥火山的地球物理特征

多道反射地震和CHIRP浅地层剖面显示在南海东沙群岛西南陆坡和白云凹陷东部陆坡之间的深水(600~1 000m)陆坡上矗立着一系列高出周围海底50~100m的丘形地质体,其内部地层发生褶皱,反射波呈现杂乱和空白,海底声波屏蔽严重。浅地层剖面还显示丘状构造带有气体羽状构造,从海底进入水体高达50m。海底沉积取样分析表明,这些海丘区的表层分布着生物成因的致密碳酸盐结核。可以推断东沙西南的丘形地质体就是泥火山带,并且可能是一个重要的水合物潜在区。东沙西南海区泥火山表现出构造挤压和带状分布的特点,不同于南海北部神狐和九龙甲烷礁已发现水合物区的非泥火山,也不同于全球其他典型被动大陆边缘的泥火山特征,其构造成因和水合物潜力有待进一步研究。     

南海东北部陆坡天然气水合物区的滑塌和泥火山活动

本文研究了南海东北部陆坡天然气水合物区滑塌和泥火山活动的特征及表现形式,探讨了滑塌和泥火山活动对天然气水合物成藏的影响,提出了滑塌主导和滑塌、泥火山共同作用两种控制模式。根据地震数据、浅层剖面和海底地形数据解释,将研究区划分为规则滑塌区和泥火山活动影响区,并识别出泥火山、泥火山脊、凹槽、凹坑等特征地形。滑塌和泥火山活动是陆坡天然气水合物发育区重要的地形控制因素,两种活动共同作用产生复杂的地形特征。综合多条地震测线中似海底反射层(BSR)形态、连续性和滑塌、泥火山活动的关系,认为滑塌控制的区域,BSR连续,天然气水合物储藏较完整,泥火山活动区天然气水合物储藏也仅受到局部破坏。同时指出滑塌和泥火山活动对研究区长期天然气渗漏活动具有重要作用。     

Multibeam Bathymetry of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano

The Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano is a natural laboratory to study geological, geochemical, and ecological processes related to deep-water mud volcanism. High resolution bathymetry of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano was recorded during RV Polarstern expedition ARK XIX/3 utilizing the multibeam system Hydrosweep DS-2. Dense spacing of the survey lines and slow ship speed (5 knots) provided necessary point density to generate a regular 10 m grid. Generalization was applied to preserve and represent morphological structures appropriately. Contour lines were derived showing detailed topography at the centre of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano and generalized contours in the vicinity. We provide a brief introduction to the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano area and describe in detail data recording and processing methods, as well as the morphology of the area. Accuracy assessment was made to evaluate the reliability of a 10 m resolution terrain model. Multibeam sidescan data were recorded along with depth measurements and show reflectivity variations from light grey values at the centre of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano to dark grey values (less reflective) at the surrounding moat.     

Interaction of the reasons for the mass biota extinctions in the Phanerozoic

The consideration of the conditions during the mass extinctions has shown that a series of factors, including mutually independent tectonic movements, variations in the sea level and climate, volcanism, asteroid impacts, changes in the composition of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the dimming of the atmosphere by aerosols at volcanism and impact events, etc., had a harmful affect during some periods of time (a hundred thousand years to millions of years). Some of the listed events occurred for a long period of time and could not have caused the abrupt catastrophic death of organisms on a global scale. The examination of the hierarchy of the major events allows us to distinguish the primary terrestrial (volcanism) and cosmic (impact events) reasons for the mass extinctions. The coeval mutually independent events testify to the common external reasons for the higher order beyond the solar system. These events are suggested to be related with the orbital movement of the solar system around the galaxy’s center, the intersection of the galactic branches, and the oscillations of the solar system’s position relative to the galactic plane. These reasons influence the processes on the Earth, including the internal and external geospheres, and activate the impacts of asteroids and comets. Under their effect, two main subsequences of events are developed: terrestrial, leading to intense volcanism, and cosmic impact events. In both cases, harmful chemical elements and aerosols are vented to the atmosphere, thus resulting in the greenhouse effect, warming, the dimming of the atmosphere, the prevention of photosynthesis, the ocean’s stagnation, and anoxia with the following reduction of the bioproductivity, the destruction of the food chains, and the extinction of a significant part of the biota.     

Geodynamics of the deep sedimentary basin of the Caspian Sea region: paragenetic correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism

In this paper we analyze seismic regime and earthquake depth distribution and correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism in the Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region. For the present region we have calculated accurate source locations, seismic activity, earthquake repetition and released earthquake energy parameters. It is shown that the active tectonic processes in the region are concentrated within the thick sedimentary cover that we consider as a general source of contemporary stress and a main structural element responsible for the origin of regional earthquakes. The correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism is of paragenetic character.     

Quantitative mapping of active mud volcanism at the western Mediterranean Ridge-backstop contact

Based on a new quantitative analysis of sidescan sonar data combined with coring, we propose a revised model for the origin for Mediterranean Ridge mud volcanism. Image analysis techniques are used to produce a synthetic and objective map of recent mud flows covering a 640 × 700 km² area, which represents more than half of the entire Mediterranean Ridge mud belt. We identify 215 mud flows, extruded during the last 37,000–60,000 years. This time period corresponds to the limit of penetration of the sonar, that we evaluate through geoacoustic modeling of the backscattered signal returned by the mud breccia-hemipelagites contact, and calibrate by coring. We show that during this period, at least 96% of the mud volume has been extruded at the Mediterranean Ridge-Hellenic backstop contact, the remaining being scattered over the prism. We suggest that the source is a Messinian (5–6 Ma) mud reservoir that remained close to the backstop contact, at variance with the classical transport-through-the-wedge model. A revised mud budget indicates that steady-state input is not needed. We propose that the source layer was deposited in deep and narrow pre-Messinian basins, sealed by Messinian evaporites, and finally inverted in post-Messinian times. Onset of motion of the Anatolia-Aegea microplate in the Pliocene resulted in change from slow to fast convergence, triggering shear partitioning at the edges of the backstop and basin inversion. Mud volcanism initiation is probably coeval with the latest events of this kinematic re-organization, i.e. opening of the Corinth Gulf and activation of the Kephalonia fault around 1–2 Ma.     

The spatial,temporal and volumetric analysis of a large mud volcano province within the Eastern Mediterranean

This paper documents and describes through the use of 3D seismic data a prolific mud volcano province within the Eastern Mediterranean. As many as 386 mud volcanoes were mapped within the post-salt succession of the western slope of the Nile Cone, offshore Egypt, using high resolution 3D seismic data. The mud volcanoes within this field display significant geometrical variability in diameter (c. 550 m to c. 5660 m), height (c. 25 m to c. 510 m) and volume (c. 0.1 km³ to c. 3.3 km³) and lie at depths ranging from c. > 6000 m subsea to c. 3100 m at the seafloor. A close spatial relationship between mud volcanoes and base-salt depressions and regions of anomalous thinning within the immediate pre-salt succession, combined with documented core samples taken from mud volcanoes within this region present a powerful argument for a pre-salt source of mud. 3D seismic interpretation and volumetric analysis of these mud volcanoes and their source region permit the definition and quantification of their depletion zones. A conceptual model for a dynamic liquefaction and sediment withdrawal process is proposed whereby mud is fed into a central conduit as the depletion zone propagates radially and episodically outwards resulting in a the formation of a concentric depletion zones. Prolonged mud volcanism within this region over the last ∼5.3 Ma implies the potential for long lived pre-salt overpressure and continued mud volcanism following the catastrophic hydrodynamic impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. It is suggested that the scale of mud volcanism means that this region should be considered as among the largest mud volcano provinces in the world.     

Linking the Canary and Cape-Verde Hot-Spots, Northwest Africa

The Canary and Cape-Verde archipelagos are two groups of volcanic islands often cited as case examples of the surface expression of two distinct hot-spot plumes. However, several considerations that␣we enumerate suggest a link between the two archipelagos. Using seismic profiles we describe a continuous morphological basement ridge that exists between the two archipelagos. We then examine the stratigraphic record available from field data on Fuerteventura Island (Canary) and Maio Island (Cape-Verde) and from a few Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) holes. The geological history of these volcanic islands is very similar since the formation of their oceanic basement during the Late Jurassic. They share the same and synchronious sedimentary evolution (subsidence, uplift and emersion) as well as very similar timing of volcanism and deformation. The two distinct hot-spots model does not appear adapted to account for the formation of these structures as it ignores the existence of the ridge, as well as most of the geological coincidences. By describing the coinciding geological incidents, we argue that it is misleading to treat these two regions apart.     

琼东南海域表层沉积物常量元素地球化学及其地质意义

对琼东南海域88个表层沉积物的常量元素进行了统计分析,结果表明:琼东南海域表层沉积物中含量最高的两种组分是SiO2和CaO,其平均含量分别为41.15%和15.66%;琼东南海域表层沉积物以陆源碎屑为主,同时生物沉积作用也较发育;陆源物质源区较复杂,主要的陆源物质可能由古红河水系携带而来;因子分析结果表明,该区表层沉积物的常量元素可分为4组,第1组包括SiO2、Al2O3、Fe2O3、MgO、K2O、TiO2,第2组包括CaO、CaCO3、烧失量,第3组包括P2O5和有机碳,第4组包括Na2O和MnO,分别代表了陆源碎屑沉积、钙质生物沉积、海洋化学沉积以及火山碎屑沉积。     

Shallow-water pockmark formation in temperate estuaries: A consideration of origins in the western gulf of Maine with special focus on Belfast Bay

A systematic mapping program incorporating more than 5000 km of side scan sonar and seismic reflection tracklines in the western Gulf of Maine has identified more than 70 biogenic natural gas deposits, occupying 311 km² in nearshore muddy embayments. Many of these embayments also contain pockmark fields, with some exhibiting geologically active characteristics including the observance of plumes of escaping fluids and sediment. Pockmarks, hemispherically shaped depressions of various size and depths, formed through fluid escape of gas and/or pore water, are sometimes found within or outside gas fields, although many gas fields lack pockmarks altogether. Although the origin of the natural gas remains unclear, if coastal environments at times of lower sea level were similar to the present, numerous lake, wetland, valley fill and estuarine sources of organic-rich material may have formed on the inner shelf. If these deposits survived transgression and remain buried, they are potential gas sources.Intensive mapping of the Belfast Bay pockmark field in 1998 produced the first nearly continuous side scan sonar mosaic of a Gulf of Maine pockmark field with a corresponding 3-dimensional geological model generated from seismic data. Statistical analysis of pockmark geometry, gas deposit loci, and subsurface evidence for gas-enhanced reflectors suggest that gas migration from deeper lateral sources along permeable subsurface strata may be the mechanism for pockmark formation in areas lacking gas-curtain seismic reflections. The coarse-grained transgressive ravinement unconformity between Pleistocene glacial-marine mud and Holocene mud may act as a conduit for distributing methane to the field's margins.     

我国典型潮间带底栖硅藻群落空间分布特征

底栖硅藻是河口、泥质海滩生态系统的重要生物类群,其数量与分布变化直接或间接地影响到多种海洋生物的饵料供给、海鸟的生存与迁徙。通过对我国从南到北14个典型潮间带表层沉积物中底栖硅藻的分析,共鉴定出硅藻153种,其物种多样性（Shannon-Weaver 指数范围:1.61~4.39）与生物量（范围:0.09×103 ~ 10×103个/g,干质量）在空间上存在显著差异;聚类分析与相似性分析检验（r=0.738,P=0.1%< 0.01）表明,14个调查区域的硅藻群落在空间上可分为4个大的组合,分别对应着渤、黄、东、南海4个区域,吻合了我国近海浮游植物的地理分布特征。与环境因素的相关性分析表明,底栖硅藻群落的物种多样性与生物量受沉积物类型与盐度的影响显著,泥质区域更有利于硅藻的保存,而生物多样性在泥砂质低盐区域相对较高。此外,底栖硅藻生物量与表层沉积物中TOC含量表现出显著正相关性;δ13C数值的空间变化范围为-25‰~-20‰,指示了有机质陆海混合的特征,其中,涧河河口、黄河口、大沽河口、苏北浅滩区域,δ13C数值明显偏正,表明底栖硅藻可能是这些区域沉积物中有机碳的重要贡献者。     

Gas hydrate accumulations related to focused fluid flow in the Pegasus Basin,southern Hikurangi Margin,New Zealand

The Hikurangi Margin, east of the North Island of New Zealand, is known to contain significant deposits of gas hydrates. This has been demonstrated by several multidisciplinary studies in the area since 2005. These studies indicate that hydrates in the region are primarily located beneath thrust ridges that enable focused fluid flow, and that the hydrates are associated with free gas. In 2009–2010, a seismic dataset consisting of 2766 km of 2D seismic data was collected in the undrilled Pegasus Basin, which has been accumulating sediments since the early Cretaceous. Bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) are abundant in the data, and they are accompanied by other features that indicate the presence of free gas and concentrated accumulations of gas hydrate. We present results from a detailed qualitative analysis of the data that has made use of automated high-density velocity analysis to highlight features related to the hydrate system in the Pegasus Basin. Two scenarios are presented that constitute contrasting mechanisms for gas-charged fluids to breach the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. The first mechanism is the vertical migration of fluids across layers, where flow pathways do not appear to be influenced by stratigraphic layers or geological structures. The second mechanism is non-vertical fluid migration that follows specific strata that crosscut the BSR. One of the most intriguing features observed is a presumed gas chimney within the regional gas hydrate stability zone that is surrounded by a triangular (in 2D) region of low reflectivity, approximately 8 km wide, interpreted to be the result of acoustic blanking. This chimney structure is cored by a ∼200-m-wide low-velocity zone (interpreted to contain free gas) flanked by high-velocity bands that are 200–400 m wide (interpreted to contain concentrated hydrate deposits).     

3D gravity modelling for Anyongbok Seamount in the East Sea

A seamount chain with an approximately WNW trend is observed in the northeastern Ulleung Basin. It has been argued that these seamounts, including two islands called Ulleung and Dok islands, were formed by a hotspot process or by ridge related volcanism. Many geological and geophysical studies have been done for all the seamounts and islands in the chain except Anyongbok Seamount, which is close to the proposed spreading ridge. We first report morphological characteristics, sediment distribution patterns, and the crustal thickness of Anyongbok Seamount using multibeam bathymetry data, seismic reflection profiles, and 3D gravity modeling. The morphology of Anyongbok Seamount shows a cone shaped feature and is characterized by the development of many flank cones and flank rift zones. The estimated surface volume is about 60 km³, and implies that the seamount is smaller than the other seamounts in the chain. No sediments have been observed on the seamount except the lower slope, which is covered by more than 1,000 m of strata. The crustal structure obtained from a 3D gravity modeling (GFR = 3.11, SD 3.82 = mGal) suggests that the seamount was formed around the boundary of the Ulleung Plateau and the Ulleung Basin, and the estimated crustal thickness is about 20 km, which is a little thicker than other nearby seamounts distributed along the northeastern boundary of the Ulleung Basin. This significant crustal thickness also implies that Anyongbok Seamount might not be related to ridge volcanism.     

Shallow structure of the eastern segment of the Mediterranean Ridge deduced from seismic and side-scan sonar data

 The eastern Mediterranean Ridge reveals a peculiar feature called the “United Nations Rise”. It is notable for its complex morphology, interior structure, and mud volcanism. Its unusual structural–morphological characteristics are explained by its location at a junction of the western and eastern branches of the ridge and by the probable tectonic escape of accretionary prism sediments from the west. The geophysical data on the shallow structure of the eastern ridge branch showed some unusual structural trends, which could not be expected from the overall tectonic stress distribution. They are interpreted as resulting from the southward expansion of the Hellenic Arc.     

The Jebel Hadid structure (Al Kufrah Basin,SE Libya)—A possible impact structure and potential hydrocarbon trap?

The Jebel Hadid structure that formed in the Nubian Sandstone of the southern Al Kufrah Basin is a ∼4.7 km circular feature with a set of multiple concentric annular ridges. The age of the structure is probably post-Early Cretaceous to pre-Pliocene. As the prevalent geological processes that usually account for the formation of circular structures (magmatism, diapirism, sand volcanism, karst dissolution, glacial erosion) can be widely excluded in this region, we suggest that the Jebel Hadid structure might represent an eroded, complex impact structure. In particular, the Jebel Hadid structure bears a strong morphological resemblance to the impact structure of Tin Bider in Algeria; general host rock properties may be compared to those at the Upheaval Dome impact structure, USA. Numerous terrestrial impact structures are hosts to hydrocarbon reservoirs. This investigation provides a first prospective approach based on remote sensing, discussing the economic potential of a circular structure of suspected impact origin. The still underexplored Al Kufrah Basin is considered as a high potential area for future hydrocarbon exploration. If we consider a possible impact origin of the Jebel Hadid structure, this feature might provide local secondary pathways and traps for hydrocarbon migration/accumulation in the Nubian Series and, thus, ought to be considered as a preferential site for oil and gas exploration.     

Deep-towed side-scan survey of the United Nations Rise, eastern Mediterranean

 A newly discovered area of mud volcanism, about 170 km south of Crete, in the central–eastern part of the Mediterranean Ridge, was named the “United Nations Rise” (UNR). A survey of the UNR area with the deep-towed ORE tech side-scan sonar equipped with a subbottom profiler revealed the presence of some mud volcanoes and also showed various other sea-floor features, including slumps, escarpments and pockmark-type depressions. Several of our interpretations were ground-truthed by coring. The UNR area appears to belong to the Inner deformation front of the Mediterranean Ridge.     

Distribution and geological control of mud volcanoes and other fluid/free gas seepage features in the Mediterranean Sea and nearby Gulf of Cadiz

Existing knowledge on the distribution of mud volcanoes (MVs) and other significant fluid/free gas-venting features (mud cones, mud pies, mud-brine pools, mud carbonate cones, gas chimneys and, in some cases, pockmark fields) discovered on the seafloor of the Mediterranean Sea and in the nearby Gulf of Cadiz has been compiled using regional geophysical information (including multibeam coverage of most deepwater areas). The resulting dataset comprises both features proven from geological sampling, or in situ observations, and many previously unrecognized MVs inferred from geophysical evidence. The synthesis reveals that MVs clearly have non-random distributions that correspond to two main geodynamic settings: (1) the vast majority occur along the various tectono-sedimentary accretionary wedges of the Africa-Eurasia subduction zone, particularly in the central and eastern Mediterranean basins (external Calabrian Arc, Mediterranean Ridge, Florence Rise) but also along its westernmost boundary in the Gulf of Cadiz; (2) other MVs characterize thick depocentres along parts of the Mesozoic passive continental margins that border Africa from eastern Tunisia to the Levantine coasts, particularly off Egypt and, locally, within some areas of the western Mediterranean back-arc basins. Meaningfully accounting for MV distribution necessitates evidence of overpressured fluids and mud-rich layers. In addition, cross-correlations between MVs and other GIS-based data, such as maps of the Messinian evaporite basins and/or active (or recently active) tectonic trends, stress the importance of assessing geological control in terms of the presence, or not, of thick seals and potential conduits. It is contended that new MV discoveries may be expected in the study region, particularly along the southern Ionian Sea continental margins.