Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin

Geophysical Research Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

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.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Series title Geophysical Research Letters
DOI 10.1002/2013GL058048
Volume 41
Issue 1
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description 6 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Geophysical Research Letters
First page 96
Last page 101
Country United States
Other Geospatial Atlantic Margin
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