Genesis of mud volcano fluids in the Gulf of Cadiz using a novel basin-scale model approach

Mud Volcanism and fluid seepage are widespread phenomena in the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Iberian Margin). In this seismically active region located at the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates, fluid flow is typically focused on deeply rooted active strike-slip faults. The geochemical signature of emanating fluids from various mud volcanoes (MVs) has been interpreted as being largely affected by clay mineral dehydration and recrystallization of Upper Jurassic carbonates. Here we present the results of a novel, fully-coupled 1D basin-scale reactive-transport model capable of simulating major fluid forming processes and related geochemical signatures by considering the growth of the sediment column over time, compaction of sediments, diffusion and advection of fluids, as well as convective and conductive heat flow. The outcome of the model is a realistic approximation to the development of the sediment pore water system over geological time scales in the Gulf of Cadiz. Combined with a geochemical reaction transport model for clay mineral dehydration and calcium carbonate recrystallization, we were able to reproduce measured concentrations of Cl, strontium and 87Sr/86Sr of emanating mud volcano fluids. These results support previously made qualitative interpretations and add further constraints on fluid forming processes, reaction rates and source depths. The geochemical signature at Porto MV posed a specific problem, because of insufficient constraints on non-radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr sources at this location. We favour a scenario of basement-derived fluid injection into basal Upper Jurassic carbonate deposits (Hensen et al., 2015). Although the mechanism behind such basement-derived flow, e.g. along permeable faults, remains speculative at this stage, it provides an additional source of low 87Sr/86Sr fluids and offers an idea on how formation water from the deepest sedimentary strata above the basement can be mobilized and eventually initiate the advection of fluids feeding MVs at the seafloor. The dynamic reactive-transport model presented in this study provides a new tool addressing the combined simulation of complex physical-geochemical processes in sedimentary systems. The model can easily be extended and applied to similar geological settings, and thus help us to provide a fundamental understanding of fluid dynamics and element recycling in sedimentary basins

Strike-slip faults mediate the rise of crustal-derived fluids and mud volcanism in the deep sea

We report on newly discovered mud volcanoes located at ∼4500 m water depth ∼90 km west of the deformation front of the accretionary wedge of the Gulf of Cadiz, and thus outside of their typical geotectonic environment. Seismic data suggest that fluid flow is mediated by a >400-km-long strike-slip fault marking the transcurrent plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia. Geochemical data (Cl, B, Sr, 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δD) reveal that fluids originate in oceanic crust older than 140 Ma. On their rise to the surface, these fluids receive strong geochemical signals from recrystallization of Upper Jurassic carbonates and clay-mineral dehydration in younger terrigeneous units. At present, reports of mud volcanoes in similar deep-sea settings are rare, but given that the large area of transform-type plate boundaries has been barely investigated, such pathways of fluid discharge may provide an important, yet unappreciated link between the deeply buried oceanic crust and the deep ocean

Oceanic Residual Depth Measurements, the Plate Cooling Model and Global Dynamic Topography

Convective circulation of the mantle causes deflections of the Earth's surface that vary as a function of space and time. Accurate measurements of this dynamic topography are complicated by the need to isolate and remove other sources of elevation, arising from flexure and lithospheric isostasy. The complex architecture of continental lithosphere means that measurement of present-day dynamic topography is more straightforward in the oceanic realm. Here, we present an updated methodology for calculating oceanic residual bathymetry, which is a proxy for dynamic topography. Corrections are applied that account for the effects of sedimentary loading and compaction, for anomalous crustal thickness variations, for subsidence of oceanic lithosphere as a function of age, and for non-hydrostatic geoid height variations. Errors are formally propagated to estimate measurement uncertainties. We apply this methodology to a global database of 1,936 seismic surveys located on oceanic crust and generate 2,297 spot measurements of residual topography, including 1,161 with crustal corrections. The resultant anomalies have amplitudes of ±1 km and wavelengths of ∼1,000 km. Spectral analysis of our database using cross-validation demonstrates that spherical harmonics up to and including degree 30 (i.e. wavelengths down to 1,300 km) are required to accurately represent these observations. Truncation of the expansion at a lower maximum degree erroneously increases the amplitude of inferred long-wavelength dynamic topography. There is a strong correlation between our observations and free-air gravity anomalies, magmatism, ridge seismicity, vertical motions of adjacent rifted margins, and global tomographic models. We infer that shorter wavelength components of the observed pattern of dynamic topography may be attributable to the presence of thermal anomalies within the shallow asthenospheric mantle.This research is supported by a BP-Cambridge collaboration

The Galicia 3D experiment: an Introduction

Reston, Timothy ... et. al.-- European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2014 (EGU2014), 27 april - 2 may 2014, Vienna, Austria.-- 1 pageIn June and July 2013, scientists from 8 institutions took part in the Galicia 3D seismic experiment, the first ever crustal -scale academic 3D MCS survey over a rifted margin. The aim was to determine the 3D structure of a critical portion of the west Galicia rifted margin. At this margin, well-defined tilted fault blocks, bound by west-dipping faults and capped by synrift sediments are underlain by a bright reflection, undulating on time sections, termed the S reflector and thought to represent a major detachment fault of some kind. Moving west, the crust thins to zero thickness and mantle is unroofed, as evidence by the “Peridotite Ridge” first reported at this margin, but since observed at many other magma-poor margins. By imaging such a margin in detail, the experiment aimed to resolve the processes controlling crustal thinning and mantle unroofing at a type example magma poor margin. The experiment set out to collect several key datasets: a 3D seismic reflection volume measuring ∼20x64km and extending down to ∼14s TWT, a 3D ocean bottom seismometer dataset suitable for full wavefield inversion (the recording of the complete 3D seismic shots by 70 ocean bottom instruments), the “mirror imaging” of the crust using the same grid of OBS, a single 2D combined reflection/refraction profile extending to the west to determine the transition from unroofed mantle to true oceanic crust, and the seismic imaging of the water column, calibrated by regular deployment of XBTs to measure the temperature structure of the water column. We collected 1280 km2 of seismic reflection data, consisting of 136533 shots recorded on 1920 channels, producing 260 million seismic traces, each ∼ 14s long. This adds up to ∼ 8 terabytes of data, representing, we believe, the largest ever academic 3D MCS survey in terms of both the area covered and the volume of data. The OBS deployment was the largest ever within an academic 3D surveyPeer Reviewe

Trans Isthmus Costa Rica Scientific Exploration of a Crustal Transect - seismic refraction data from profiles p301 and p302 of Maurice Ewing cruise EW9502 with links to sgy data files

The TICOSECT program aimed to investigate the crustal structure of the active continental margin of Costa Rica and to understand the geodynamic processes within the subduction system. With the help of a comprehensive wide-angle seismic data set, composed of an onshore/offshore experiment as well as refraction measurements on land in northern Costa Rica, the lithospheric structure from the Middle America Trench (MAT) to the Caribbean lowland was surveyed seismically. Here we provide seismic refraction data from an onshore/offshore seismic profile shot with the US American research vessel RV Mauris Ewing in spring of 1995 offshore of the Osa peninsula during the cruise EW9502. Data are reduced with 6 km/s and origin of the time series is at -2 sec. Note: the profile has been shot twice with a different shot interval at 25 s (p301) and 60 s (p302). Additional data from US partners can be found at http://www-udc.ig.utexas.edu/sdc/cruise.php?cruiseIn=ew9502

Genesis of Mud Volcano fluids in the Gulf of Cadiz - A novel model approach. European Geosciences

Mud volcanism and fluid seepage are common phenomena on the continental margin in the Gulf of Cadiz, North East Atlantic Ocean. Over the past 2 decades more than 50 mud volcanoes have been discovered and investigated interdisciplinarily. Mud volcano fluids emanating at these sites are sourced at great depths and migration is often mediated by strike slip faults in a seismically active region. The geochemical signals of the mud volcano fluids are affected by widespread various processes such as clay mineral dehydration, but also the recrystallization of ancient carbonate rocks and the alteration of oceanic crust have been suggested (Hensen et al., 2015). We developed a novel fully-coupled, basin-scale, reaction-transport model with an adaptive numerical mesh to simulate the fluid genesis in this region. An advantage of this model is the coupling of a realistic geophysical and geochemical approach, considering a growing sediment column over time together with instant compaction of sediments as well as diffusion and advection of dissolved pore water species and chemical reactions. In this proof of concept study, we looked at various scenarios to identify the processes of fluid genesis for 4 mud volcanoes, representing combinations in different subsurface settings. We can reproduce the fluid signatures (chloride, strontium, 87Sr/86Sr) of all mud volcanoes. Furthermore, we can give additional evidence that alteration of oceanic crust by fluid flow is a likely process affecting the fluid composition

Ambient seismic noise tomography of SW Iberia integrating seafloor- and land-based data

We used ambient seismic noise recorded by 24 broadband ocean bottom seismometers (OBS-BB) deployed in the Gulf of Cadiz during the EC funded NEAREST project and seven broadband land stations located in the South of Portugal to image the sedimentary and crustal structure beneath the Eastern Atlantic and SW Iberia. We computed ambient noise cross-correlations to obtain empirical Green’s functions (EGFs) between all station pairs, and using both sort of sensors, namely seismometers and hydrophones. Despite the great difference between the crustal structure below beneath OBSs and land stations and the recording conditions, we were able to compute high signal-to-noise ratio EGFs, by applying a linear cross-correlation with a running absolute mean average time normalization, followed by a time-frequency phase weighted stack. Dispersion analysis was then applied to the EGFs, between 4 and 20s period. The obtained 395 reliable group velocity dispersion curves, between all station pairs, allowed mapping the lateral variation of Rayleigh wave group velocities, as a function of period. Finally, dispersion curves extracted from each cell of the 2D group velocity maps were inverted, as a function of depth, to obtain the 3D distribution of the shear-wave velocities. The 3-D shear wave velocity model, computed from joint inversion of OBS and land stations data allowed to estimate the thickness of sediments and crust and the Moho depth. Although, we could perceive the impact of the spatial gap between OBSs and land stations, our model displays a good correlation with the main geological features. The main results on the sedimentary layer thickness and on the Moho depth are in agreement with the model proposed by other studies using observations from multi-beam bathymetry and seismic profiling, thus confirming that, not only that ambient noise tomography is a valuable tool to image oceanic domains, but also that we can integrate seafloor- and land-based stations

Evidence for active strike-slip faulting along the Eurasia-Africa convergence zone: Implications for seismic hazard in the southwest Iberian margin

New seismic imaging and seismotectonic data from the southwest Iberian margin, the site of the present-day boundary between the European and African plates, reveal that active strike slip is occurring along two prominent lineaments that have recently been mapped using multibeam bathymetry. Multichannel seismic and subbottom profiler images acquired across the lineaments show seafloor displacements and active faulting to depths of at least 10 km and of a minimum length of 150 km. Seismic moment tensors show predominantly WNW–ESE right-lateral strike-slip motion, i.e., oblique to the direction of plate convergence. Estimates of earthquake source depths close to the fault planes indicate upper mantle (i.e., depths of 40–60 km) seismogenesis, implying the presence of old, thick, and brittle lithosphere. The estimated fault seismic parameters indicate that the faults are capable of generating great magnitude (Mw ≥ 8.0) earthquakes. Such large events raise the concomitant possibility of slope failures that have the potential to trigger tsunamis. Consequently, our findings identify an unreported earthquake and tsunami hazard for the Iberian and north African coastal areas