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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Oceanography Society
2009-03-01
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| Series: | Oceanography |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://tos.org/oceanography/archive/22-1_foucher.pdf |
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| author | Jean-Paul Foucher Graham K. Westbrook Antje Boetius Silvia Ceramicola Stéphanie Dupré Jean Mascle Jürgen Mienert Olaf Pfannkuche Catherine Pierre Daniel Praeg |
| 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 |
| collection | DOAJ |
| 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:41:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57c53b3ace74432f94de301989586ea9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1042-8275 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:41:53Z |
| publishDate | 2009-03-01 |
| publisher | The Oceanography Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oceanography |
| spelling | doaj.art-57c53b3ace74432f94de301989586ea92022-12-21T23:57:46ZengThe 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 |
| 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 |
| title | 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_short | Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems |
| title_sort | structure and drivers of cold seep ecosystems |
| 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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