Morpho-acoustic variability of cold seeps on the continental slope offshore Nicaragua: Result of fluid flow interaction with sedimentary processes

Marine Geology

Volumn 275, Issue 1-4, 2010, Pages 53-65

  Buerk, Dietmar ^a   Klaucke, Ingo ^a   Sahling, Heiko ^b   Weinrebe, Wilhelm ^a  

^a GEOMAR HELMHOLTZ CENTRE FOR OCEAN RESEARCH KIEL   (Germany)

^b UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN   (Germany)

Author keywords

Cold seeps; Erosion; Fluid venting; Mound structures; Nicaragua; Sedimentation; Sidescan sonar

Indexed keywords

ACOUSTIC VARIABILITY; AUTHIGENIC CARBONATES; BACKSCATTER INTENSITY; COLD SEEPS; CONTINENTAL MARGIN; CONTINENTAL SLOPE; EXTRUDED MATERIALS; FLUID FLOW; GAS BUBBLE; GENERIC MODELS; GROUND TRUTHING; HIGH RESOLUTION; LINEAR RIDGES; MORPHOLOGICAL VARIABILITY; MOUND STRUCTURES; MUD FLOW; MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRY; NICARAGUA; SEA FLOOR; SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS; SEDIMENTARY PROCESS; SIDE SCAN SONAR; SIDESCAN SONAR IMAGES; SINGLE LAYER; SLOPE SURFACES; SUBBOTTOM PROFILING; SUBMARINE SLIDES; SURFACE EXTENSIONS; WATER DEPTH;

BACKSCATTERING; BATHYMETRY; CARBONATES; FLOW OF FLUIDS; FLUIDS; FORESTRY; SEDIMENTOLOGY; UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS;

SONAR;

ACOUSTIC METHOD; AIR BUBBLE; BACKSCATTER; BATHYMETRIC SURVEY; CANYON; CARBONATE; COASTAL MORPHOLOGY; COLD SEEP; CONTINENTAL MARGIN; DENUDATION; EROSION RATE; FLUID FLOW; HYDROTHERMAL VENT COMMUNITY; MULTIBEAM SONAR; NUMERICAL MODEL; PHOTOGRAPHY; RELIEF; SEAFLOOR MAPPING; SEDIMENTATION RATE; SIDESCAN SONAR; SIZE DISTRIBUTION; SUBSIDENCE; VENTING; WATER DEPTH;

NICARAGUA;

EID: 77955309009     PISSN: 00253227     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2010.04.007     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. Barckhausen U., Ranero C.R., von Huene R., Cande S.C., Roeser H.A. Revised tectonic boundaries in the Cocos Plate off Costa Rica: implications for the segmentation of the convergent margin and for plate tectonic models. Journal of Geophysical Research 2001, 106(B9):19207-19220.
2. Berhorst, A., 2006. Die Struktur des aktiven Kontinentalhangs vor Nicaragua und Costa Rica - marin-seismische Steil-und Weitwinkelmessungen. Dissertation thesis, 153 pp. Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel, Germany.
3. Bohrmann G., Heeschen K., Jung C., Weinrebe W., Baranov B., Cailleau B., Heath R., Hühnerbach V., Hort M., Masson D., Trummer I. Widespread fluid expulsion along the seafloor of the Costa Rica convergent margin. Terra Nova 2002, 14:69-79.
4. Brown K.M., Tryon M.D., DeShon H.R., Dorman L.M., Schwartz S.Y. Correlated transient fluid pulsing and seismic tremor in the Costa Rica subduction zone. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2005, 238(1-2):189-203.
5. Campbell K.A., Francis D.A., Collins M., Gregory M.R., Nelson C.S., Greinert J., Aharon P. Hydrocarbon seep-carbonates of a Miocene forearc (East Coast Basin), North Island, New Zealand. Sedimentary Geology 2008, 204:83-105.
6. DeMets C. A new estimate for present-day Cocos-Caribbean plate motion: implications for slip along the Central American volcanic arc. Geophysical Research Letters 2001, 28(21):4043-4046.
7. Dominguez S., Lallemand S.E., Malavieille J., von Huene R. Upper plate deformation associated with seamount subduction. Tectonophysics 1998, 293:207-224.
8. Egorov V.N., Polikarpov G.G., Gulin S.B., Artemov Yu.G., Stokozov N.A., Kostova S.K. Present-day views on the environment-forming and ecological role of the Black Sea methane gas seeps. Marine Ecology Journal 2003, 2:5-26. (in Russian).
9. Fekete, N., 2006. Dewatering through mud mounds on the continental fore-arc of Costa Rica. Dissertation thesis, 161 pp. Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel, Germany.
10. Flueh E.R., Ranero C., von Huene R. The Costa Rican Pacific margin: from accretion to erosion. Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie 2000, 669-678.
11. RV SONNE Cruise Report SO173/1, 3&4 - Subduction II: the Central American Continental Margin. GEOMAR Report 2004, vol. 115. GEOMAR, Kiel. E. Flueh, E. Söding, E. Suess (Eds.).
12. Grevemeyer I., Kopf A., Fekete N., Kaul N., Villinger H.W., Heesemann M., Wallmann K., Spieβ V., Gennerich H.-H., Müller M., Weinrebe W. Fluid flow through active mud dome Mound Culebra offshore Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica: evidence from heat flow surveying. Marine Geology 2004, 207:145-157.
13. Hampton M.A., Lee H.J., Locat J. Submarine landslides. Reviews of Geophysics 1996, 34:33-59.
14. Heeschen K.U., Tréhu A.M., Collier R.W., Suess E., Rehder G. Distribution and height of methane bubble plumes on the Cascadia Margin characterized by acoustic imaging. Geophysical Research Letters 2003, 30:1643. 10.1029/2003GL016974.
15. Henry P., Le Pichon X., Lallemant S., Foucher J.-P., Westbrook G.K., Hobart M. Mud volcano field seaward of the Barbados Accretionary complex: a deep towed sidescan sonar survey. Journal of Geophysical Research 1990, 95B:8917-8929.
16. Hensen C., Wallmann K. Methane formation at Costa Rica continental margin - constraints for gas hydrate inventories and cross-décollement fluid flow. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2005, 236:41-60.
17. Hensen C., Wallmann K., Schmidt M., Ranero C.R., Suess E. Fluid expulsion related to mud extrusion off Costa Rica - a window to the subducting slab. Geology 2004, 32:201-204.
18. Hühnerbach V., Masson D.G., Bohrmann G., Bull J.M., Weinrebe W. Deformation and submarine landsliding caused by seamount subduction beneath the Costa Rica continental margin - new insights from high-resolution sidescan sonar data. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2005, 244:195-205.
19. Jerosch K., Schlüter M., Foucher J.-P., Allais A.-G., Klages M., Edy C. Spatial distribution of mud flows, chemoautotrophic communities, and biogeochemical habitats at Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano. Marine Geology 2007, 243:1-17.
20. Johnson J.E., Goldfinger C., Suess E. Geophysical constraints on the surface distribution of authigenic carbonates across the Hydrate Ridge region, Cascadia margin. Marine Geology 2003, 202:79-120.
21. Klaucke I., Masson D.G., Petersen C.J., Weinrebe W., Ranero C.R. Multifrequency geoacoustic imaging of fluid escape structures offshore Costa Rica: implications for the quantification of seep processes. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 2008, 9:4. 10.1029/2007GC001708.
22. Kukowski N., Hampel A., Hoth S., Bialas J. Morphotectonic and morphometric analysis of the Nazca plate and the adjacent offshore Peruvian continental slope - implications for submarine landscape evolution. Marine Geology 2008, 254:107-120.
23. Kutterolf S., Freundt A., Schacht U., Bürk D., Harders R., Mörz T., Perez W. Pacific offshore record of plinian arc volcanism in Central America: 3. Application to forearc geology. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 2008, 9:2. 10.1029/2007GC001826.
24. Kutterolf S., Liebetrau V., Mörz T., Freundt A., Hammerich T., Garbe-Schönberg D. Lifetime and cyclicity of fluid venting at forearc mound structures determined by tephrostratigraphy and radiometric dating of authigenic carbonates. Geology 2008, 36(9):707-710.
25. Le Bas T.P., Mason D.C., Millard N.W. TOBI image processing - the state of the art. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 1995, 20:85-93.
26. Linke P., Sommer S., Rovelli L., McGinnis D.F. Physical limitations of dissolved methane fluxes: the role of bottom-boundary layer processes. Marine Geology 2010, 272:209-222. 10.1016/j.margeo.2009.03.020.
27. Luff R., Wallmann K. Fluid flow, methane fluxes, carbonate precipitation and biogeochemical turnover in gas hydrate-bearing sediments at Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin: numerical modeling and mass balances. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2003, 67:3403-3421.
28. Luff R., Greinert J., Wallmann K., Klaucke I., Suess E. Simulation of long-term feedbacks from authigenic carbonate crust formation at cold vent sites. Chemical Geology 2005, 216:157-174.
29. Mau S., Sahling H., Rehder G., Suess E., Linke P., Soeding E. Estimates of methane output from mud extrusions at the erosive convergent margin off Costa Rica. Marine Geology 2006, 225:129-144.
30. Mau S., Rehder G., Arroyo I.G., Gossler J., Suess E. Indications of a link between seismotectonics and CH4 release from seeps off Costa Rica. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 2007, 8:4. 10.1029/2006GC001326.
31. McIntosh K.D., Silver E.A., Ahmed I., Berhorst A., Ranero C.R., Kelly R.K., Flueh E.R. The Nicaragua convergent margin: seismic reflection imaging of the source of a tsunami earthquake. The Seismogenic Zone of Subduction Thrust Faults 2007, 257-287. Columbia University Press, New York. T. Dixon, J. Moore (Eds.).
32. Meschede M., Zweigel P., Kiefer E. Subsidence and extension at a convergent plate margin: evidence for subduction erosion of Costa Rica. Terra Nova 1999, 11:112-117.
33. Mitchell N.C. A model for attenuation of backscatter due to sediment accumulations and its application to determine sediment thickness with GLORIA sidescan sonar. Journal of Geophysical Research 1993, 98(B12):22477-22493.
34. Moerz T., Fekete N., Kopf A., Brueckmann W., Kreiter S., Huenerbach V., Masson D., Hepp D.A., Schmidt M., Kutterolf S., Sahling H., Abegg F., Spiess V., Suess E., Ranero C.R. Styles and productivity of mud diapirism along the Middle American margin, part ii: mound Culebra and mounds 11, and 12. NATO Science Series 2005, vol. IV:49-76. Springer, Dordrecht. G. Martinelli, B. Panahi (Eds.).
35. Obzhirov A.I., Kazanskiy B.A., Melnichenko Y.I. Effects of sound dispersion within the near-bottom waters of marginal parts of the Okhotsk Sea. Tikhookeanskaya Geologiya (Russian Journal of Pacific Geology) 1989, 2:119-121. (in Russian with English abstr).
36. Orange D.L., Jun J., Maher N., Barry J., Greene G. Tracking California seafloor seeps with bathymetry, backscatter and ROVs. Continental Shelf Research 2002, 22:2273-2290.
37. Parker G. Conditions for the ignition of catastrophically erosive turbidity currents. Marine Geology 1982, 46:307-327.
38. Paull C.K., Hecker B., Commeau R., Freeman-Lynde R.P., Neumann C., Corso W.P., Golubic S., Hook J.E., Sikes E., Curray J. Biological communities at the Florida escarpment resemble hydrothermal vent taxa. Science 1984, 226:965-967.
39. Pecher I.A., Ranero C.R., von Huene R., Minshull T.A., Singh S.C. The nature and distribution of bottom simulating reflectors at the Costa Rican convergent margin. Geophysical Journal International 1998, 133:219-229.
40. Petersen C.J., Klaucke I., Weinrebe W., Ranero C.R. Fluid seepage and mound formation offshore Costa Rica revealed by deep-towed sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data. Marine Geology 2009, 266:172-181.
41. Ranero C.R., von Huene R. Subduction erosion along the Middle America convergent margin. Nature 2000, 404:748-752.
42. Ranero C.R., von Huene R., Flueh E., Duarte M., Baca D., McIntosh K. A cross section of the convergent Pacific margin of Nicaragua. Tectonics 2000, 19(2):335-357.
43. Ranero C.R., Phipps Morgan J., McIntosh K., Reichert C. Bending related faulting and mantle serpentinization at the Middle America trench. Nature 2003, 425:367-373.
44. Sager W.W., MacDonald I.R., Hou R. Geophysical signatures of mud mounds at hydrocarbon seeps on the Louisiana continental slope, northern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Geology 2003, 198:97-132.
45. Sager W.W., MacDonald I.R., Hou R. Sidescan sonar imaging of hydrocarbon seeps on the Louisiana continental slope. AAPG Bulletin 2004, 88:725-746.
46. Sahling H., Rickert D., Lee R.W., Linke P., Suess E. Macrofaunal community structure and sulfide flux at gas hydrate deposits from the Cascadia convergent margin. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2002, 231:121-138.
47. Sahling H., Masson D.G., Ranero C.R., Hühnerbach V., Weinrebe W., Klaucke I., Bürk D., Brückmann W., Suess E. Fluid seepage at the continental margin offshore Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 2008, 9:5. 10.1029/2008GC001978.
48. Sahling H., Bohrmann G., Spiess V., Bialas J., Breitzke M., Ivanov M., Kasten S., Krastel S., Schneider R. Pockmarks in the Northern Congo Fan area, SW Africa: complex seafloor features shaped by fluid flow. Marine Geology 2008, 249:206-225.
49. Shipley T.H., Stoffa P.L., Dean D.F. Underthrust sediments, fluid migration paths, and mud volcanoes associated with the accretionary wedge off Costa Rica: Middle America trench. Journal of Geophysical Research 1990, 95:8743-8752.
50. Sibuet M., Olu K. Biogeography, biodiversity and fluid dependence of deep-sea cold-seep communities at active and passive margins. Deep-Sea Research Part II 1998, 45:517-567.
51. Stockwell J.W. The CWP/SU: seismic Un*x Package. Computers and Geosciences 1999, 25(4):415-419.
52. Talukder A.R., Bialas J., Klaeschen D., Buerk D., Brueckmann W., Reston T., Breitzke M. High-resolution, deep tow, multichannel seismic and sidescan sonar survey of the submarine mounds and associated BSR off Nicaragua pacific margin. Marine Geology 2007, 241:33-43.
53. Talukder A.R., Bialas J., Klaeschen D., Brueckmann W., Reston T., Petersen J. Tectonic framework of the mud mounds, associated BSRs and submarine landslides, offshore Nicaragua Pacific margin. Journal of the Geological Society, London 2008, 165:167-176.
54. Teichert B.M.A., Eisenhauer A., Bohrmann G., Haase-Schramm A., Bock B., Linke P. U/Th Systematics and ages of authigenic carbonates from Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin: recorders of fluid flow variations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2003, 67:3845-3857.
55. Torres M.E., McManus J., Hammond D.E., de Angelis M.A., Heeschen K.U., Colbert S.L., Tryon M.D., Brown K.M., Suess E. Fluid and chemical fluxes in and out of sediments hosting methane hydrate deposits on Hydrate Ridge, OR, I: Hydrological provinces. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2002, 201:525-540.
56. von Huene R., Ranero C.R., Weinrebe W., Hinz K. Quaternary convergent margin tectonics of Costa Rica, segmentation of the Cocos Plate, and Central American volcanism. Tectonics 2000, 19(2):314-334.
57. von Huene R., Ranero C.R., Vannucchi P. Generic model of subduction erosion. Geology 2004, 32(10):913-916.
58. Walther C.H.E., Flueh E.R., Ranero C.R., von Huene R., Strauch W. Crustal structure across the Pacific margin of Nicaragua: evidence for ophiolitic basement and a shallow mantle sliver. Geophysical Journal International 2000, 141:759-777.