The formation of giant tubular concretions triggered by anaerobic oxidation of methane as revealed by archaeal molecular fossils (Lower Eocene, Varna, Bulgaria)

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Volumn 280, Issue 1-2, 2009, Pages 23-36

  De Boever, Eva ^a   Birgel, Daniel ^b   Thiel, Volker ^c   Muchez, Philippe ^a   Peckmann, Jörn ^b   Dimitrov, Lyubomir ^d   Swennen, Rudy ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN   (Belgium)

^b UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN   (Germany)

^c UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN   (Germany)

^d INSTITUTE OF OCEANOLOGY   (Bulgaria)

Author keywords

Carbonates; Eocene; Geochemistry; Lipid biomarkers; Methane seepage; Varna

Indexed keywords

BIOMARKER; CALCITE; CEMENTATION; CONCRETION; EOCENE; FELDSPAR; FOSSIL; LITHIFICATION; METEORIC WATER; METHANE; METHANOGENIC BACTERIUM; OXIDATION; PETROGRAPHY; SANDSTONE; SEEPAGE;

ARCHAEA; TERMINALIA CATAPPA;

EID: 68549120721     PISSN: 00310182     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.05.010     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Aiello I.W., Garrison R.E., Moore J.C., Kastner M., and Stakes D.S. Anatomy and origin of carbonate structures in a Miocene cold-seep field. Geology 29 12 (2001) 1111-1114
2. Aladzhova-Hrisceva K. Stratigraphie des dépôts éocènes aux environs du village Beloslav, département de Varna. Review of the Bulgarian Geological Society 45 1 (1984) 33-44 (in Bulgarian, abstract in French)
3. Aladzhova-Hrisceva K. Stratigraphic subdivision and correlation of Paleogenic deposits in Northeast Bulgaria. Geologica Balcanica 21 2 (1991) 12-38 (in Bulgarian, abstract in English)
4. Ali A.D., and Turner P. Authigenic K-feldspar in the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation (Triassic) of Central England. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 52 (1982) 187-197
5. Birgel D., and Peckmann J. Aerobic methanotrophy at ancient marine methane seeps: a synthesis. Organic Geochemistry 39 (2008) 1659-1667
6. Birgel D., Peckmann J., Klautzsch S., Thiel V., and Reitner J. Anaerobic and aerobic oxidation of methane at Late Cretaceous seeps in the Western Interior Seaway, USA. Geomicrobiology Journal 23 7 (2006) 565-577
7. Birgel D., Thiel V., Hinrichs K.U., Elvert M., Campbell K.A., Reitner J., Farmer J.D., and Peckmann J. Lipid biomarker patterns of methane-seep microbialites from the Mesozoic convergent margin of California. Organic Geochemistry 37 10 (2006) 1289-1302
8. 13C-depleted biphytanic diacids as tracers of past anaerobic oxidation of methane. Organic Geochemistry 39 1 (2008) 152-156
9. Birgel D., Himmler T., Freiwald A., and Peckmann J. A new constraint on the antiquity of anaerobic oxidation of methane: Late Pennsylvanian seep limestones from southern Namibia. Geology 36 7 (2008) 543-546
10. Blumenberg M., Seifert R., Reitner J., Pape T., and Michaelis W. Membrane lipid patterns typify distinct anaerobic methanotrophic consortia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101 30 (2004) 11111-11116
11. Boetius A., Ravenschlag K., Schubert C.J., Rickert D., Widdel F., Gieseke A., Amann R., Jørgensen B.B., Witte U., and Pfannkuche O. A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane. Nature 407 (2000) 623-626
12. Bojanowski M.J. Oligocene cold-seep carbonates from the Carpathians and their inferred relation to gas hydrates. Facies 53 3 (2007) 347-360
13. Bokov P., Gocev P., and Ognyanov R. Tectonic position, hydrocarbon exploration and future potential of Bulgaria. Geologica Balcanica 23 3 (1993) 3-24
14. Brand U., and Veizer J. Chemical diagenesis of a multicomponent carbonate system - 1: Trace elements. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 50 4 (1980) 1219-1236
15. Campbell K.A. Hydrocarbon seep and hydrothermal vent paleoenvironments and paleontology: past developments and future research directions. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 232 2-4 (2006) 362-407
16. Campbell K.A., Farmer J.D., and Des Marais D. Ancient hydrocarbon seeps from the Mesozoic convergent margin of California: carbonate geochemistry, fluids and palaeoenvironments. Geofluids 2 2 (2002) 63-94
17. Chechistev G., Milanova V., Popov N., and Kojumdgieva E. Geological map of Bulgaria. Sheet Varna and Resort Zlatni Pjasaci. Committee mineral and energy resources. Deparment of geological prospecting and geological mapping, Sofia (1992)
18. Clari P., Cavagna S., Martire L., and Hunziker J. A Miocene mud volcano and its plumbing system: a chaotic complex revisited (Monferrato, NW Italy). Journal of Sedimentary Research 74 5 (2004) 662-676
19. Comita P.B., and Gagosian R.B. Membrane lipid from deep-sea hydrothermal vent methanogen: a new macrocyclic glycerol diether. Science 222 (1983) 1329-1331
20. De Boever E., Swennen R., and Dimitrov L. Lower Eocene carbonate cemented chimneys (Varna, NE Bulgaria): formation mechanisms and the (a)biological mediation of chimney growth?. Sedimentary Geology 185 3-4 (2006) 159-173
21. De Boever E., Huysmans M., Swennen R., Muchez P., and Dimitrov L. Controlling factors on the morphology and spatial distribution of hydrocarbon-related tubular concretions - study of a Lower Eocene seep system. Marine and Petroleum Geology (2009) 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.11.004
22. Diaz-del-Rio V., Somoza L., Martinez-Frias J., Mata M.P., Delgado A., Hernandez-Molina F.J., Lunar R., Martin-Rubi J.A., Maestro A., Fernandez-Puga M.C., Leon R., Llave E., Medialdea T., and Vazquez J.T. Vast fields of hydrocarbon-derived carbonate chimneys related to the accretionary wedge/olistostrome of the Gulf of Cadiz. Marine Geology 195 1-4 (2003) 177-200
23. Dickson J.A.D. Carbonate identification and genesis as revealed by staining. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 36 (1966) 491-505
24. Dimitrov L. Contribution to atmospheric methane by natural seepages on the Bulgarian continental shelf. Continental Shelf Research 22 (2002) 2429-2442
25. Doglioni C., Busatta C., Bolis G., Marianini L., and Zanella M. Structural evolution of the eastern Balkans (Bulgaria). Marine and Petroleum Geology 13 2 (1996) 225-251
26. Elvert M., Suess E., and Whiticar M.J. Anaerobic methane oxidation associated with marine gas hydrates: superlight C-isotopes from saturated and unsaturated C20 and C25 irregular isoprenoids. Naturwissenschaften 86 (1999) 295-300
27. Elvert M., Suess E., Greinert J., and Whiticar M.J. Archaea mediating anaerobic methane oxidation in deep-sea sediments at cold seeps of the eastern Aleutian subduction zone. Organic Geochemistry 31 11 (2000) 1175-1187
28. Elvert M., Boetius A., Knittel K., and Jørgensen B.B. Characterization of specific membrane fatty acids as chemotaxonomic markers for sulfate-reducing bacteria involved in anaerobic oxidation of methane. Geomicrobiology Journal 20 4 (2003) 403-419
29. Elvert M., Hopmans E., Treude T., Boetius A., and Suess E. Spatial variations of methanotrophic consortia at cold methane seeps: implications from a high-resolution molecular and isotopic approach. Geobiology 3 (2005) 195-209
30. Ferrante G., Ekiel I., Patel G.B., and Sprott G.D. A novel core lipid isolated from the aceticlastic methanogen Methanothrix concilii GP6. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 963 (1988) 173-182
31. Flügel E. Microfacies of carbonate rocks. Analysis, Interpretation and Application (2004), Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg
32. Georgiev G. Overview of the oil and gas exploration and production of Bulgaria. In: Wessely G., and Lieble W. (Eds). Oil and gas in Alpidic thrustbelts and basins of Central and Eastern Europe European Association of Petroleum Geologists (1996) 29-33
33. Georgiev G., Dabovski C., and Stanisheva-Vassileva G. East Srednogorie-Balkan Rift Zone. In: Ziegler P.A., Cavazza W., Robertson A.H.F., and Crasquin-Soleau S. (Eds). Peri-Tethys Memoir 6: Peri-Tethyan Rift/Wrench Basins and Passive Margins. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (2001) 259-293
34. Goedert J.L., Thiel V., Schmale O., Rau W.W., Michaelis W., and Peckmann J. The Late Eocene 'Whiskey Creek' methane-seep deposit (Western Washington State) - Part I: Geology, palaeontology, and molecular geobiology. Facies 48 (2003) 223-239
35. Gontharet S., Pierre C., Blanc-Valleron M.M., Rouchy J.M., Fouquet Y., Bayon G., Foucher J.P., Woodside J., and Mascle J. Nature and origin of diagenetic carbonate crusts and concretions from mud volcanoes and pockmarks of the Nile deep-sea fan (eastern Mediterranean Sea). Deep-Sea Research. Part 2. Topical Studies in Oceanography 54 11-13 (2007) 1292-1311
36. Greinert J., Bohrmann G., and Suess E. Gas hydrate-associated carbonates and methane-venting at hydrate ridge: classification, distribution and origin of authigenic lithologies. In: Paull C.K., and Dillon W.P. (Eds). Natural Gas Hydrates Occurrence, Distribution and Detection (2001), American Geophysical Union, Washington DC 99-113
37. Hinrichs K.U., Hayes J.M., Sylva S.P., Brewer P.G., and DeLong E.F. Methane-consuming archaebacteria in marine sediments. Nature 398 6730 (1999) 802-805
38. Hinrichs K.U., Summons R.E., Orphan V., Sylva S.P., and Hayes J.M. Molecular and isotopic analysis of anaerobic methane-oxidizing communities in marine sediments. Organic Geochemistry 31 12 (2000) 1685-1701
39. Hoehler T.M., Alperin M.J., Albert D.B., and Martens C.S. Field and laboratory studies of methane oxidation in an anoxic marine sediment: evidence for a methanogen-sulphate reducer consortium. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 8 (1994) 451-463
40. Judd A., and Hovland M. Seabed Fluid Flow: The Impact on Geology, Biology and the Marine Environment (2007), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
41. Ketzer J.M., Morad S., Nystuen J.P., and De Ros L.F. The role of the Cimmerian unconformity (Early Cretaceous) in the kaolinitisation and related reservoir-quality evolution in Triassic sandstones of the Snorre Field, North Sea. In: Worden R., and Morad S. (Eds). Clay Mineral cements in Sandstones. International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication vol. 34 (2003), Wiley-Blackwell 361-382
42. Knittel K., Losekann T., Boetius A., Kort R., and Amann R. Diversity and distribution of methanotrophic archaea at cold seeps. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71 1 (2005) 467-479
43. Lohmann K.C. Geochemical patterns of meteoric diagenetic systems and their application to studies of paleokarst. In: James N.P., and Choquette P.W. (Eds). Paleokarst (1978), Springer-Verlag, New York 58-78
44. Machel H.G. Application of cathodoluminescence to carbonate diagenesis. In: Pagel M. (Ed). Cathodoluminescence in geosciences (2000), Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York 271-301
45. Machel H.G., Mason R.A., Mariano A.N., and Mucci A. Causes and emission of luminescence in calcite and dolomite. In: Barker C.E., and Kopp O.C. (Eds). Luminescence Microscopy: Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects (1991), SEPM 9-27
46. Mazzini A., Svensen H., Hovland M., and Planke S. Comparison and implications from strikingly different authigenic carbonates in a Nyegga complex pockmark. Marine Geology 231 1-4 (2006) 89-102
47. Meyers W.J. Carbonate cements: their regional distribution and interpretation in Mississippian limestons of southwestern New Mexico. Sedimentology 25 (1978) 371-400
48. Michaelis W., Seifert R., Nauhaus K., Treude T., Thiel V., Blumenberg M., Knittel K., Gieseke A., Peterknecht K., Pape T., Boetius A., Amann R., Jørgensen B.B., Widdel F., Peckmann J., Pimenov N.V., and Gulin M.B. Microbial reefs in the Black Sea fueled by anaerobic oxidation of methane. Science 297 5583 (2002) 1013-1015
49. Morad S., Ketzer J.M., and De Ros L.F. Spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations in siliciclastic rocks: implications for mass transfer in sedimentary basins. Sedimentology 47 (2000) 95-120
50. Nachev I.K., and Nachev C. "Pobitite kamani" - bacterial-algal columns (2001), Sofia, Artik (in Bulgarian, symmary in English)
51. Nauhaus K., Treude T., Boetius A., and Krüger M. Environmental regulation of the anaerobic oxidation of methane: a comparison of ANME-I and ANME-II communities. Environmental Microbiology 7 1 (2005) 98-106
52. Niemann H., and Elvert M. Diagnostic lipid biomarker and stable carbon isotope signatures of microbial communities mediating the anaerobic oxidation of methane with sulphate. Organic Geochemistry 39 12 (2008) 1668-1677
53. Nyman S.L., Nelson C.S., and Campbell K.A. Miocene tubular concretions in East Coast Basin, New Zealand: analogue for the subsurface plumbing of cold seeps. Marine Geology (2009) 10.1016/m.margeo.2009.03.021
54. O'Neill J.A., Clayton R.N., and Mayeda T.K. Oxygen isotope fractionation in divalent metal carbonates. Journal of Chemical Physics 51 (1969) 5547-5558
55. Orphan V.J., House C.H., Hinrichs K.U., McKeegan K.D., and DeLong E.F. Methane-consuming archaea revealed by directly coupled isotopic and phylogenetic analysis. Science 293 5529 (2001) 484-487
56. Orphan V.J., House C.H., Hinrichs K.U., McKeegan K.D., and DeLong E.F. Multiple archaeal groups mediate methane oxidation in anoxic cold seep sediments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99 11 (2002) 7663-7668
57. Pancost R.D., Hopmans E.C., and Sinninghe Damsté J.S. Archaeal lipids in Mediterranean cold seeps: molecular proxies for anaerobic methane oxidation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 65 10 (2001) 1611-1627
58. Pancost R.D., Bouloubassi I., Aloisi G., Sinninghe Damsté J.S., and and the M.S.S. Party. Three series of non-isoprenoidal dialkyl glycerol diethers in cold-seep carbonate crusts. Organic Geochemistry 32 5 (2001) 695-707
59. Paull C.K., Chanton J.P., Neumann A.C., Coston J.A., and Martens C.S. Indicators of methane-derived carbonates and chemosynthetic organic carbon deposits examples from the Florida escarpment. Palaios 7 (1992) 361-375
60. Peckmann J., and Thiel V. Carbon cycling at ancient methane-seeps. Chemical Geology 205 3-4 (2004) 443-467
61. Peckmann J., Thiel V., Michaelis W., Clari P., Gaillard C., Martire L., and Reitner J. Cold seep deposits of Beauvoisin (Oxfordian; southeastern France) and Marmorito (Miocene; northern Italy): microbially induced authigenic carbonates. International Journal of Earth Sciences 88 1 (1999) 60-75
62. Peckmann J., Reimer A., Luth U., Hansen B.T., Heinicke C., Hoefs J., and Reitner J. Methane-derived carbonates and authigenic pyrite from the northwestern Black Sea. Marine Geology 177 (2001) 129-150
63. Ritger S., Carson R., and Suess E. Methane-derived authigenic carbonates formed by subduction-induced pore-water expulsion along the Oregon/Washington margin. Geological Society of America Bulletin 98 (1987) 147-156
64. Rozanski K., Araguás-Araguás L., and Gonfiantini R. Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. In: Swart P.K., Lohmann K.C., McKenzie J., and Savin S. (Eds). Climate change in Continental Isotopic Records. Geophysical monograph vol. 78 (1993), American Geophysical Union 1-36
65. Sachsenhofer R.F., Stummer B., Geogiev G., Dellmour R., Bechtel A., Gratzer R., and Coric S. Depositional environment and hydrocarbon source potential of the Oligocene Ruslar Formation (Kamchia Depression; Western Black Sea). Marine and Petroleum Geology 26 1 (2009) 57-84
66. Schouten S., Wakeham S.G., Hopmans E.C., and Sinninghe Damsté J.S. Biogeochemical evidence that thermophilic archaea mediate the anaerobic oxidation of methane. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 69 3 (2003) 1680-1686
67. Sinclair H.D., Juranov S.G., Georgiev G., Byrne P., and Mountney N.P. The Balkan thrust wedge and foreland basin of Eastern Bulgaria: Structural and stratigraphic development. In: Robinson A.G. (Ed). Regional and petroleum geology of the Black Sea and surrounding region (1997) 91-114
68. Sprott G.D., Dicaire C.J., Choquet C.G., Patel G.B., and Ekeil I. Hydroxydiether lipid structures in Methanosarcina spp. and Methanococcus voltae. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 59 (1993) 912-914
69. Stadnitskaia A., Baas M., Ivanov M., Van Weering T.C.E., and Sinninghe Damsté J.S. Novel archaeal macrocyclic diether core membrane lipids in a methane-derived carbonate crust from a mud volcano in the Sorokin Trough, NE Black Sea. Archaea 1 (2003) 165-173
70. Stadnitskaia A., Muyzer G., Abbas B., Coolen M.J.L., Hopmans E.C., Baas M., van Weering T.C.E., Ivanov M.K., Poludetkina E., and Sinninghe Damsté J.S. Biomarker and 16S rDNA evidence for anaerobic oxidation of methane and related carbonate precipitation in deep-sea mud volcanoes of the Sorokin Trough, Black Sea. Marine Geology 217 1-2 (2005) 67-96
71. Tari G., Dicea O., Faulkerson J., Georgiev G., Popov S., Stefanescu M., and Weir G. Cimmerian and Alpine stratigraphy and structural evolution of the Moesian Platform (Romania/Bulgaria). In: Robinson A.G. (Ed). Regional and petroleum geology of the Black Sea and surrounding region (1997) 63-90
72. Teichert B.M.A., Bohrmann G., and Suess E. Chemoherms on hydrate ridge - unique microbially-mediated carbonate build-ups growing into the water column. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 227 1-3 (2005) 67-85
73. Teske A., Hinrichs K.U., Edgcomb V., Gomez A.D., Kysela D., Sylva S.P., Sogin M.L., and Jannasch H.W. Microbial diversity of hydrothermal sediments in the Guaymas Basin: evidence for anaerobic methanotrophic communities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68 4 (2002) 1994-2007
74. Thiel V., Peckmann J., Seifert R., Wehrung P., Reitner J., and Michaelis W. Highly isotopically depleted isoprenoids: molecular markers for ancient methane venting. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 63 23-24 (1999) 3959-3966
75. Thiel V., Peckmann J., Richnow H.H., Luth U., Reitner J., and Michaelis W. Molecular signals for anaerobic methane oxidation in Black Sea seep carbonates and a microbial mat. Marine Chemistry 73 2 (2001) 97-112
76. van Dongen B.E., Roberts A.P., Schouten S., Jiang W.-T., Florindo F., and Pancost R.D. Formation of iron sulfide nodules during anaerobic oxidation of methane. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71 (2007) 5155-5167
77. Vangelov D. Stratigraphic aspects of basin analysis - Emine basin, East Bulgaria (2001), St. Kliment Ohridski University, Sofia
78. Veizer J. Trace elements and isotopes in sedimentary carbonates. In: Reeder R.J. (Ed). Carbonates: mineralogy and geochemistry. Reviews in Mineralogy vol. 11 (1983), Mineralogical Society of America 265-299
79. Wachter E., and Hayes J.M. Exchange of oxygen isotopes in carbon-dioxide-phophoric acid systems. Chemical Geology 52 (1985) 365-374
80. Wallmann K., Aloisi G., Haeckel M., Obzhirov A., Pavlova G., and Tishchenko P. Kinetics of organic matter degradation, microbial methane generation, and gas hydrate formation in anoxic marine sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70 15 (2006) 3905-3927
81. Wallmann K., Aloisi G., Haeckel M., Tishchenko P., pavlova G., Greinert J., Kutterolf S., and Eisenhauer A. Silicate weathering in anoxic marine sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72 (2008) 3067-3090
82. Whiticar M.J. Carbon and hydrogen isotope systematics of bacterial formation and oxidation of methane. Chemical Geology 161 1-3 (1999) 291-314
83. 2 in sub-arkosic sandstones, North Sea. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 69-70 (2000) 645-649
84. Worden R.H., and Morad S. Quartz cementation in oil field sandstones: a review of the key controversies. In: Worden R., and Morad S. (Eds). Quartz cementation in Sandstones. Spec. Publs. Int. Ass. Sediment. vol. 29 (2000), Blackwell Publishing 1-20
85. Zachos J.C., Pagani M., Sloan L., Thomas E., and Billups K. Trends, rhythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present. Science 292 (2001) 686-693