Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems

Submarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven "hotspots" of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas...

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Main Authors: Jean-Paul Foucher, Graham K. Westbrook, Antje Boetius, Silvia Ceramicola, Stéphanie Dupré, Jean Mascle, Jürgen Mienert, Olaf Pfannkuche, Catherine Pierre, Daniel Praeg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Oceanography Society 2009-03-01
Series:Oceanography
Subjects:
Online Access:http://tos.org/oceanography/archive/22-1_foucher.pdf
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spelling doaj-57c53b3ace74432f94de301989586ea92020-11-25T02:51:30ZengThe Oceanography SocietyOceanography1042-82752009-03-0122192109Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep EcosystemsJean-Paul FoucherGraham K. WestbrookAntje BoetiusSilvia CeramicolaStéphanie DupréJean MascleJürgen MienertOlaf PfannkucheCatherine PierreDaniel PraegSubmarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven "hotspots" of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas extending from the Nordic margin, to the Gulf of Cádiz, to the Mediterranean and Black seas. High-resolution seabed maps and the main properties of key seep sites are presented here. Individual seeps show ecosystem zonation related to the strength of the methane flux and distinct biogeochemical processes in surface sediments. A feature common to many seeps is the formation of authigenic carbonate constructions. These constructions exhibit various morphologies ranging from large pavements and fragmented slabs to chimneys and mushroom-shaped mounds, and they form hard substrates colonized by fixed fauna. Gas hydrate dissociation could contribute to sustain seep chemosynthetic communities over several thousand years following large gas-release events.http://tos.org/oceanography/archive/22-1_foucher.pdfHERMEShydrocarbon seepsbiological hotspotmarine biodiversityseabed mappingauthigenic carbonatechemosynthetic communities
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jean-Paul Foucher
Graham K. Westbrook
Antje Boetius
Silvia Ceramicola
Stéphanie Dupré
Jean Mascle
Jürgen Mienert
Olaf Pfannkuche
Catherine Pierre
Daniel Praeg
spellingShingle Jean-Paul Foucher
Graham K. Westbrook
Antje Boetius
Silvia Ceramicola
Stéphanie Dupré
Jean Mascle
Jürgen Mienert
Olaf Pfannkuche
Catherine Pierre
Daniel Praeg
Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
Oceanography
HERMES
hydrocarbon seeps
biological hotspot
marine biodiversity
seabed mapping
authigenic carbonate
chemosynthetic communities
author_facet Jean-Paul Foucher
Graham K. Westbrook
Antje Boetius
Silvia Ceramicola
Stéphanie Dupré
Jean Mascle
Jürgen Mienert
Olaf Pfannkuche
Catherine Pierre
Daniel Praeg
author_sort Jean-Paul Foucher
title Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
title_short Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
title_full Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
title_fullStr Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
title_full_unstemmed Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems
title_sort structure and drivers of cold seep ecosystems
publisher The Oceanography Society
series Oceanography
issn 1042-8275
publishDate 2009-03-01
description Submarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven "hotspots" of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas extending from the Nordic margin, to the Gulf of Cádiz, to the Mediterranean and Black seas. High-resolution seabed maps and the main properties of key seep sites are presented here. Individual seeps show ecosystem zonation related to the strength of the methane flux and distinct biogeochemical processes in surface sediments. A feature common to many seeps is the formation of authigenic carbonate constructions. These constructions exhibit various morphologies ranging from large pavements and fragmented slabs to chimneys and mushroom-shaped mounds, and they form hard substrates colonized by fixed fauna. Gas hydrate dissociation could contribute to sustain seep chemosynthetic communities over several thousand years following large gas-release events.
topic HERMES
hydrocarbon seeps
biological hotspot
marine biodiversity
seabed mapping
authigenic carbonate
chemosynthetic communities
url http://tos.org/oceanography/archive/22-1_foucher.pdf
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