Identifying the spatial distribution of seabed fluid expulsion features is crucial for understanding the substrate plumbing system of any continental margin. A 1100 km stretch of the U.S. Atlantic margin contains more than 5000 pockmarks at water depths of 120 m (shelf edge) to 700 m (upper slope), mostly updip of the contemporary gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Advanced attribute analyses of high-resolution multichannel seismic reflection data reveal gas-charged sediment and probable fluid chimneys beneath pockmark fields. A series of enhanced reflectors, inferred to represent hydrate-bearing sediments, occur within the GHSZ. Differential sediment loading at the shelf edge and warming-induced gas hydrate dissociation along the upper slope are the proposed mechanisms that led to transient changes in substrate pore fluid overpressure, vertical fluid/gas migration, and pockmark formation.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2014 |
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Title | Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin |
DOI | 10.1002/2013GL058048 |
Authors | D.S. Brothers, C. Ruppel, J.W. Kluesner, Uri S. ten Brink, J.D. Chaytor, J. C. Hill, B.D. Andrews, C. Flores |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Geophysical Research Letters |
Index ID | 70074658 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center |