Microbially mediated methane and sulfur cycling in pockmark sediments of the Gdansk Basin, Baltic Sea

In the Russian sector of the Gdansk Basin (Baltic Sea), high organic matter influx fuels microbial processes resulting in the formation of reduced sediments with elevated methane concentrations. Investigated areas of geoacoustic anomalies (～245 km²) were found to contain three distinct geomorphologic structures (pockmarks), with a total area of ～1 km². Methane anomalies recorded in the water above one of these pockmarks were traced as high as 10 m above the bottom. In pockmark sediments, sulfate reduction and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) occurred at high rates of 33 and 50 µmol dm^?3 day^?1, respectively. Integrated over 0–180 cm sediment depths, AOM exceeded methanogenesis almost tenfold. High AOM rates resulted from methane influx from deeper sediment layers. The δ¹³C signature of methane carbon (?78.1 to ?71.1‰) indicates the biogenic origin of pockmark methane. In pockmark sediments, up to 70% of reduced sulfur compounds was possibly produced via AOM.     

Seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons,Baltic Sea

Expected seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes from surficial sediments into near-bottom waters were investigated in autumn 2012 and winter 2013 in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons of the Baltic Sea, expanding on earlier findings for summer 2011. Methane concentrations in bottom sediments (upper ca. 2 cm) generally ranged from ca. 1 to 1,000 μmol/dm³, and in near-bottom waters from ca. 0 to 1 μmol/l. Highest concentrations were found in the Curonian Lagoon, plausibly explained by the influence of freshwater conditions and finer-grained, organic-rich sediments. Vistula Lagoon methane concentrations and fluxes are dampened by periodic saline water inflow from the open sea, intensifying sulphate reduction. Calculated diffusive methane fluxes from the upper sediment layer (usually 0–5 cm, i.e. excluding any fluffy layer) into near-bottom waters were highest—2.48 mmol/(m² day)—in clayey silts of the Curonian Lagoon in autumn (September) 2012, contrasting strongly with the minimum value of 0.002 mmol/(m² day) observed there in February 2013 under ice-covered conditions. Seasonal and even weekly variations in methane dynamics can be largely explained by two main drivers, i.e. wind and temperature, operating at various spatiotemporal scales via, for example, wind wave-induced resuspension of bottom sediments, and involving regional weather patterns including autumnal low-pressure zones over the Gulf of Gdansk.     

Enrichment of adsorbed methane in authigenic carbonate concretions of the Japan Trench

Substantial amounts of adsorbed methane were detected in authigenic carbonate concretions recovered from sedimentary layers from depths between 245 and 1,108 m below seafloor during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 186 to ODP sites 1150 and 1151 on the deep-sea terrace of the Japan Trench. Methane contents were almost two orders of magnitude higher in the concretions (291–4,528 nmol/g wet wt) than in the surrounding bulk sediments (5–93 nmol/g wet wt), whereas methane/ethane ratios and stable carbon isotopic compositions were very similar. Carbonate content of surrounding bulk sediments (0.02–3.2 wet wt%) and methane content of the surrounding bulk sediments correlated positively. Extrapolation of the carbonate contents of bulk sediments suggests that 100 wt% carbonate would correspond to 1,886±732 nmol methane per g bulk sediment, which is similar to the average value observed in the carbonate concretions (1,321±1,067 nmol/g wet wt, n = 13). These data support the hypothesis that, in sediments, adsorbed hydrocarbon gases are strongly associated with authigenic carbonates.     

Estimates of methane output from mud extrusions at the erosive convergent margin off Costa Rica

Four mud extrusions were investigated along the erosive subduction zone off Costa Rica. Active fluid seepage from these structures is indicated by chemosynthetic communities, authigenic carbonates and methane plumes in the water column. We estimate the methane output from the individual mud extrusions using two independent approaches. The first is based on the amount of CH₄ that becomes anaerobically oxidized in the sediment beneath areas covered by chemosynthetic communities, which ranges from 10⁴ to 10⁵ mol yr^− 1. The remaining portion of CH₄, which is released into the ocean, has been estimated to be 10²–10⁴ mol yr^− 1 per mud extrusion. The second approach estimates the amount of CH₄ discharging into the water column based on measurements of the near-bottom methane distribution and current velocities. This approach yields estimates between 10⁴–10⁵ mol yr⁻¹. The discrepancy of the amount of CH₄ emitted into the bottom water derived from the two approaches hints to methane seepage that cannot be accounted for by faunal growth, e.g. focused fluid emission through channels in sediments and fractures in carbonates. Extrapolated over the 48 mud extrusions discovered off Costa Rica, we estimate a CH₄ output of 20·10⁶ mol yr^− 1 from mud extrusions along this 350 km long section of the continental margin. These estimates of methane emissions at an erosional continental margin are considerably lower than those reported from mud extrusion at accretionary and passive margins. Almost half of the continental margins are described as non-accretionary. Assuming that the moderate emission of methane at the mud extrusions off Costa Rica are typical for this kind of setting, then global estimates of methane emissions from submarine mud extrusions, which are based on data of mud extrusions located at accretionary and passive continental margins, appear to be significantly too high.     

Freshening of near-bottom waters in Lake Baikal triggered by the Mw6.2 Kultuk earthquake of August 2008

In September 2008, freshening of near-bottom water and an increase in concentration of suspended particles were observed in the western part of southern Lake Baikal. The reduction in the content of total dissolved solids was about 0.4–0.7?mg/kg (0.7?%), and average suspended particle concentration increased strongly to 6–9?mg/l, the background value being 0.2?mg/l. The spatial distribution of these waters was virtually identical to the focal area of the M_w6.2 Kultuk earthquake that occurred on 27 August 2008. It is suggested that there was a causal relationship between these two phenomena. Freshening of a significant amount (about 20?km³) of near-bottom waters was plausibly caused by an input of poorly mineralized pore waters from bottom sediments as a result of dissociation of methane gas hydrates suspected to occur in the area. The energy radiated by the earthquake source was four orders of magnitude smaller than that needed to explain the observed freshening of near-bottom waters. This points to other mechanisms leading to seismic-induced sediment failure and possible subsequent hydrate dissociation in the case of the Kultuk earthquake.     

Methane sources,sinks and fluxes in a temperate tidal Lagoon: The Arcachon lagoon (SW France)

The Arcachon lagoon is a 156 km² temperate mesotidal lagoon dominated by tidal flats (66% of the surface area). The methane (CH₄) sources, sinks and fluxes were estimated from water and pore water concentrations, from chamber flux measurements at the sediment–air (low tide), sediment–water and water–air (high tide) interfaces, and from potential oxidation and production rate measurements in sediments. CH₄ concentrations in waters were maximal (500–1000 nmol l⁻¹) in river waters and in tidal creeks at low tide, and minimal in the lagoon at high tide (<50 nmol l⁻¹). The major CH₄ sources are continental waters and the tidal pumping of sediment pore waters at low tide. Methanogenesis occurred in the tidal flat sediments, in which pore water concentrations were relatively high (2.5–8.0 μmol l⁻¹). Nevertheless, the sediment was a minor CH₄ source for the water column and the atmosphere because of a high degree of anaerobic and aerobic CH₄ oxidation in sediments. Atmospheric CH₄ fluxes at high and low tide were low compared to freshwater wetlands. Temperate tidal lagoons appear to be very minor contributor of CH₄ to global atmosphere and to open ocean.     

Methane in the Sevastopol coastal area, Black Sea

Concentrations of dissolved methane in seawater and bottom sediments, as well as of methane emanating from gas seeps were measured at 18 stations including several small bays in the Sevastopol coastal area (Black Sea) during 2007–2008. Methane concentrations in surface waters ranged from 10 to 2,970 nmol l^?1, and correlated well with values recorded for sediments. Methane concentrations in the water column were influenced by water depth, as well as by air and water temperatures. In the spring and summer of 2008, in situ CH₄ saturation relative to air was in the range of 970–71,900%. Maximum saturation was in summer. CH₄ fluxes to the atmosphere from the Sevastopol coastal area were estimated to vary from 190 to 1,550 μmol m^?2 day^?1. Gas bubbles escaping from the seepages contained about 57 vol% methane. Radiocarbon dating of the methane revealed an age not exceeding 150 years, implying a biogenic origin.     

Geochemical and microbiological characteristics of sediments near the Malenky mud volcano (Lake Baikal, Russia), with evidence of Archaea intermediate between the marine anaerobic methanotrophs ANME-2 and ANME-3

Detailed lithological, biogeochemical and molecular biological analyses of core sediments collected in 2002–2006 from the vicinity of the Malenky mud volcano, Lake Baikal, reveal considerable spatial variations in pore water chemical composition, with total concentrations of dissolved salts varying from 0.1 to 1.8‰. Values of methane δ¹³С in the sediments suggest a biogenic origin (δ¹³С_min. ?61.3‰, δ¹³С_max. ?72.9‰). Rates of sulphate reduction varied from 0.001 to 0.7 nmol cm^?3 day^?1, of autotrophic methanogenesis from 0.01 to 2.98 nmol CH₄ cm^?3 day^?1, and of anaerobic oxidation of methane from 0 to 12.3 nmol cm^?3 day^?1. These results indicate that methanogenic processes dominate in gas hydrate-bearing sediments of Lake Baikal. Based on clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes amplified with Bacteria- and Archaea-specific primers, investigation of microbial diversity in gas hydrate-bearing sediments revealed bacterial 16S rRNA clones classified as Deltaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi and OP11. Archaeal clone sequences are related to the Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota. Baikal sequences of Archaea form a distinct cluster occupying an intermediate position between the marine groups ANME-2 and ANME-3 of anaerobic methanotrophs.     

Methane fluxes in the southeastern Baltic Sea

New data from surveys of gas-bearing mud areas in the Gdansk Deep (southeastern Baltic Sea) were collected during four research cruises in 2009–2011. These revealed the presence of seven large pockmarks apart from the three already known, and enabled significant improvement of the existing digital map of gassy mud distribution. Based on geochemical sediment analyses, calculated diffusive methane fluxes from the upper (0–5?cm) seabed layer into near-bottom waters were highest—3.3?mmol/(m²?day)—in pockmark mud, contrasting strongly with the minimum value of 0.004?mmol/(m²?day) observed in typical, background mud. However, fluxes of less than 0.1?mmol/(m²?day) were observed in all sediment types, including pockmarks. In a newer attempt to roughly estimate budgets at a more regional scale, diffusive methane venting amounts to 280?×?10⁶?mmol/day for southeastern Baltic Sea muddy sediments. Elongated pockforms in the southern Gotland Deep, known since the end of the 1980s as pockmarks, had methane concentrations that were similar to those of gassy mud from the Gdansk Basin, and there was no geo-acoustic evidence of considerably increased gas levels.     

Sulfate reduction and anaerobic methane oxidation in Black Sea sediments

Beyond the shelf break at ca. 150 m water depth, sulfate reduction is the only important process of organic matter oxidation in Black Sea sediments from the surface down to the sulfate–methane transition at 2–4 m depth. Sulfate reduction rates were measured experimentally with ³⁵SO₄²⁻, and the rates were compared with results of two diffusion-reaction models. The results showed that, even in these non-bioirrigated sediments without sulfide reoxidation, modeling strongly underestimated the high reduction rates near the sediment surface. A hybrid modeling approach, in which experimentally measured rates in the upper sediment layers force a model that includes also the deeper layers, probably provides the most realistic estimate of sulfate reduction rates. Areal rates of sulfate reduction were 0.65–1.43 mmol SO₄²⁻ m⁻² d⁻¹, highest in sediments just below the chemocline. Anaerobic methane oxidation accounted for 7–11% of the total sulfate reduction in slope and deep-sea sediments. Although this methane-driven sulfate reduction shaped the entire sulfate gradient, it was only equivalent to the sulfate reduction in the uppermost 1.5 cm of surface sediment. Methane oxidation was complete, yet the process was very sluggish with turnover times of methane within the sulfate–methane transition zone of 20 yr or more.     

Nitrogen fixation driven by mesoscale eddies and the Kuroshio Current in the northern South China Sea and the East China Sea

N₂ fixation rates (NFR, in terms of N) in the northern South China Sea (nSCS) and the East China Sea (ECS) were measured using the acetylene reduction assay in summer and winter, 2009. NFR of the surface water ranged from 1.14 nmol/(L·d) to 10.40 nmol/(L·d) (average at (4.89±3.46) nmol/(L·d), n=11) in summer and 0.74 nmol/(L·d) to 29.45 nmol/(L·d) (average at (7.81±8.50) nmol/(L·d), n=15) in winter. Significant spatio-temporal heterogeneity emerged in our study: the anticyclonic eddies (AE) (P<0.01) and the Kuroshio Current (KC) (P<0.05) performed significantly higher NFR than that in the cyclonic eddies or no-eddy area (CEONE), indicating NFR was profoundly influenced by the physical process of the Kuroshio and mesoscale eddies. The depth-integrated N₂ fixation rates (INF, in terms of N) ranged from 52.4 μmol/(m2·d) to 905.2 μmol/(m2·d) (average at (428.9±305.5) μmol/(m2·d), n=15) in the winter. The contribution of surface NFR to primary production (PP) ranged from 1.7% to 18.5% in the summer, and the mean contribution of INF to new primary production (NPP) in the nSCS and ECS were estimated to be 11.0% and 36.7% in the winter. The contribution of INF to NPP (3.0%–93.9%) also decreased from oligotrophic sea toward the eutrophic waters affected by runoffs or the CEONE. Furthermore, we observed higher contributions compared to previous studies, revealing the vital roles of nitrogen fixation in sustaining the carbon pump of the nSCS and ECS.     

Recycling of manganese in the coastal sea,Funka Bay,Japan

The downward flux of Mn through the water column was directly measured using sediment traps. The Mn flux from the bottom sediment to the water column, and the removal rate of Mn in the bottom water were estimated from Mn gradients in the bottom water. The sediment traps were deployed more than ten times at the same station in Funka Bay, Japan. The trapped settling matter and filtered suspended matter samples were analyzed for Mn, Fe, Al and ignition loss. The observed downward flux of Mn through the water column in winter (1.3–2.8 μg/cm² /day) was generally an order of magnitude larger than that in summer (0.13–0.45 μg/cm² /day), and the Mn fluxes for both seasons were also greater than the accumulation rate of Mn in the bottom sediments (0.10 μg/cm ²/day). More Al was contained in the trapped settling matter than in the suspended matter, while Mn showed the opposite behavior. The Fe/Mn ratio of the residual fraction (obtained by subtracting the sediment component of the settling matter) was rather well correlated with the corresponding ratio in suspended matter. Settling particles are expected to scavenge suspended matter during their passage through the water column. The flux of Mn across the sediment—water interface was estimated from its vertical profiles in the water column to be 0.1–0.3 μg/cm² day. The residence time of Mn in bottom water was about one to several months. These results suggest that Mn is actively recycled between the water column and the sediments of the coastal sea.     

Microbial processes of the carbon and sulfur cycles in the Kara Sea

The results of microbiological, biogeochemical, and isotope geochemical studies in the Kara Sea are described. The samples for these studies were obtained during the 54th voyage of the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in September 2007. The studied area covered the northern, central, and southwestern parts of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob. The quantitative characteristics of the total bacterial population and the activity of the microbial processes in the water column and bottom sediments were obtained. The total population of the bacterioplankton (BP) varied from 250000 cells/ml in the northern water area to 3000000 cells/ml in the Gulf of Ob. The BP population depended on the content of the water suspension. The net BP production was minimal in the central water area, amounting to 0.15–0.2 μg C/(l day), and maximal (0.5–0.75 μg C/(l day)) in the Gulf of Ob. The organic material at the majority of the stations in the Ob transect predominantly contained light carbon isotopes (−28.0 to −30.18‰) of terrigenous origin. The methane content in the surface water layer varied from 0.18 to 2.0 μl CH₄/l, and the methane oxidation rate changed in the range of 0.1–100 nl CH₄/(l day). The methane concentration in the upper sediment layer varied from 30 to 300 μl CH₄/dm³; the rate of the methanogenesis was 44 to 500 nl CH₄/(dm³ day) and that of the methane oxidation, 30 to 2000 nl CH₄/(dm³ day). The rate of the sulfate reduction varied from 4 to 184 μg S/(dm³ day).     

~(35)SO_4~(2-)示踪法测定九龙江河口沉积中硫酸盐还原速率

在2011年7月利用35SO2-4培养示踪法测定九龙江河口两个站位(A站位位于咸淡混合区,盐度3~5;B站位位于海相区,盐度20~25)沉积柱中硫酸盐还原速率的垂直分布。结果显示A站位沉积柱中硫酸盐还原速率变化范围为54~2 345nmol/(cm3·d),从表层到底部先增大后减小,最大值出现在20cm深度附近;B站位硫酸盐还原速率在24~987nmol/(cm3·d)之间,分别在10cm和78cm深度附近出现两个峰值,分别为876nmol/(cm3·d)和987nmol/(cm3·d)。综合分析两个站位孔隙水中SO2-4、甲烷浓度和沉积物中总有机碳、温度和氧化还原电位的垂直变化趋势与其硫酸盐还原速率的分布规律,表明A站位沉积物中硫酸盐还原以有机矿化为主;B站位受到有机质矿化和甲烷厌氧氧化的共同作用;两个站位硫酸盐还原速率及垂直分布趋势受孔隙水中SO2-4浓度、有机质活性和温度的共同影响;根据各个层位硫酸盐还原速率估算两个站位硫酸盐还原通量(以硫计)分别为527.9mmol/(m2·d)和357.1mmol/(m2·d),表明硫酸盐还原是九龙江河口有机质厌氧矿化的重要路径。     

黄、渤海二甲基硫化物的浓度分布与迁移转化速率研究

于2015年8-9月对黄、渤海海域进行现场调查,研究了海水中二甲基硫（DMS）、β-二甲巯基丙酸内盐（DMSP）、二甲亚砜（DMSO）的浓度分布、相互关系及影响因素,测定了DMS的生物生产与消耗、光化学氧化和海-气扩散速率,对DMS的迁移转化速率进行综合评价。结果表明:表层海水中DMS、溶解态DMSP（DMSPd）、颗粒态DMSP（DMSPp）、溶解态DMSO（DMSOd）和颗粒态DMSO（DMSOp）浓度的平均值分别为（6.12±3.01）nmol/L、（6.03±3.45）nmol/L、（19.47±9.15）nmol/L、（16.85±8.34）nmol/L和（14.37±7.47）nmol/L,整体呈现近岸高远海低,表层高底层低的趋势。DMS、DMSPd和DMSOp浓度与叶绿素（Chl a）浓度存在显著的相关性。表层海水中DMS光氧化速率顺序为:k_UVA > k_UVB > k_可见,其中UVA波段占光氧化的70.8%。夏季黄、渤海微生物消耗、光氧化及海-气扩散对DMS去除的贡献率分别为32.4%、34.5%和33.1%,表明3种去除途径作用相当。黄、渤海DMS海-气通量变化范围为0.79~48.45 μmol/（m2·d）,平均值为（11.87±11.35）μmol/（m2·d）。     

Variations of methane induced pyrite formation in the accretionary wedge sediments offshore southwestern Taiwan

The accretionary wedge of offshore southwestern Taiwan contains abundant deposits of gas hydrate beneath the sea floor. High concentrations of methane in pore waters are observed at several locations with little data concerning historical methane venting available. To understand temporal variation of methane venting in sediments over geologic time, a 23-m-long Calypso piston core (MD05-2911) was collected on the flank of the Yung-An Ridge. Pore water sulfate, dissolved sulfide, dissolved iron, methane, sedimentary pyrite, acid volatile sulfide, reactive iron, organic carbon and nitrogen as well as carbonate δ¹³C were analyzed.Three zones with markedly different pyrite concentration were found at the study site. Unit I sediments (>20 mbsf) were characterized with a high amount of pyrite (251–380 μmol/g) and a δ¹³C-depleted carbonate, Unit II sediments (15–20 mbsf) with a low pyrite (15–43 μmol/g) and a high content of iron oxide mineral and Unit III sediments (<10 mbsf) by a present-day sulfate–methane interface (SMI) at 5 m with a high amount of pyrite (84–221 μmol/g) and a high concentration of dissolved sulfide.The oscillation records of pyrite concentrations are controlled by temporal variations of methane flux. With an abundant supply of methane to Unit I and III, anaerobic methane oxidation and associated sulfate reduction favor diagenetic conditions conducive for significant pyrite formation. No AOM signal was found in Unit II, characterized by typical organically-limited normal marine sediments with little pyrite formation. The AOM induced pyrite formation near the SMI generates a marked pyrite signature, rendering such formation of pyrite as a useful proxy in identifying methane flux oscillation in a methane flux fluctuate environment.     

Acoustic imagery evidence for methane hydrates in the Ulleung Basin

Approximately 12,000 km² of acoustic backscatter imagery (sidescan) data and swath bathymetry data were collected jointly by Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy, the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG) and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) in 1995. Preliminary analysis of these data have revealed a large network of canyons with well-developed fan deposits and slumps which were not previously mapped. Also identified is a 1400 km² area occupied by more than 300 circular, low-backscatter features ca. 50–1000 m in diameter which are interpreted to be pockmarks or mounds created by escaping methane gas, methane-rich porewater and mud.Indirect evidence for the probable existence of methane gas hydrate include the five following observations: (1) Core samples in the region contain high levels of organic carbon (>7%), degassing cracks caused by gas expansion, and emit a strong H₂S odor. (2) Extensive canyon formation and slumping may have occurred as the result of the destabilization of sediments due to gas accumulation. (3) Several of the high backscatter objects occur at the crest of a bathymetric high under which gas could be accumulating and periodically releasing in a manner similar to that documented on the Vestnesa Ridge in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. (4) Pockmark-like features have been identified in 3.5 kHz records on the northern edge of the Ulleung Basin. (5) Drill core samples from the morphologically similar Yamato Basin, which is adjacent to the Ulleung Basin, have positively identified methane and numerous gas voids in unconsolidated sediments. No bottom simulating reflector (BSR) has been identified in seismic reflection profiles collected across the slope in Ulleung Basin.     

Community structure and nutrition of deep methane-seep macrobenthos from the North Pacific (Aleutian) Margin and the Gulf of Mexico (Florida Escarpment)

Methane seeps occur at depths extending to over 7000 m along the world's continental margins, but there is little information about the infaunal communities inhabiting sediments of seeps deeper than 3000 m. Biological sampling was carried out off Unimak Island (3200–3300 m) and Kodiak Island (4500 m) on the Aleutian margin, Pacific Ocean and along the Florida Escarpment (3300 m) in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the community structure and nutrition of macrofauna at these sites. We addressed whether there are characteristic infaunal communities common to the deep‐water seeps or to the specific habitats (clam beds, pogonophoran fields, and microbial mats) studied here, and ask how these differ from background communities or from shallow‐seep settings sampled previously. We also investigated, using stable isotopic signatures, the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and methane‐derived organic matter by macrofauna from different regions and habitats. Within seep sites, macrofaunal densities were the greatest in the Florida microbial mats (20,961 ± 11,618 ind·m⁻²), the lowest in the Florida pogonophoran fields (926 ± 132 ind·m⁻²), and intermediate in the Unimak and Kodiak seep habitats. Seep macrofaunal densities differed from those in nearby non‐seep sediments only in Florida mat habitats, where a single, abundant species of hesionid polychaete comprised 70% of the macrofauna. Annelids were the dominant taxon (>60%) at all sites and habitats except in Florida background sediments (33%) and Unimak pogonophoran fields (27%). Macrofaunal diversity (H′) was lower at the Florida than the Alaska seeps, with a trend toward reduced richness in clam bed relative to pogonophoran field or non‐seep sediments. Community composition differences between seep and non‐seep sediments were evident in each region except for the Unimak margin, but pogonophoran and clam bed macrofaunal communities did not differ from one another in Alaska. Seep δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures were lighter for seep than non‐seep macrofauna in all regions, indicating use of chemosynthetically derived carbon. The lightest δ¹³C values (average of species’ means) were observed at the Florida escarpment (−42.8‰). We estimated that on average animal tissues had up to 55% methane‐derived carbon in Florida mats, 31–44% in Florida clam beds and Kodiak clam beds and pogonophoran fields, and 9–23% in Unimak seep habitats. However, some taxa such as hesionid and capitellid polychaetes exhibited tremendous intraspecific δ¹³C variation (>30‰) between patch types. Overall we found few characteristic communities or features common to the three deep‐water seeps (>3000 m), but common properties across habitats (mat, clam bed, pogonophorans), independent of location or water depth. In general, macrofaunal densities were lower (except at Florida microbial mats), community structure was similar, and reliance on chemosynthesis was greater than observed in shallower seeps off California and Oregon.     

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.     

13C isotope depletion in ikaite crystals: evidence for methane release from the Siberian shelves ?

 Ikaite crystals (CaCO₃×6H₂O) have been found at 232- to 238-cm sediment depth in R/V Polarstern core PS2460-4 from the Laptev Sea continental margin in a water depth of 204 m. δ¹³C values of this phase average −36.3±0.4‰ PDB (N=2), which is significantly outside the range of normal marine carbonates. The CO₂ involved in the precipitation of the ikaite is most probably derived from methane, which has extremely depleted ¹³C isotope values. Two possible sources of methane in these sediments are: (1) methanogenesis (decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions); and (2) gas hydrates, which are known to occur in the Siberian shelf regions. Received: 20 March 1996 / Revision received: 22 July 1996