DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Methane seep carbonates yield clumped isotope signatures out of equilibrium with formation temperatures

Abstract

Here, methane cold seep systems typically exhibit extensive buildups of authigenic carbonate minerals, resulting from local increases in alkalinity driven by methane oxidation. Here, we demonstrate that modern seep authigenic carbonates exhibit anomalously low clumped isotope values (Δ47), as much as ~0.2‰ lower than expected values. In modern seeps, this range of disequilibrium translates into apparent temperatures that are always warmer than ambient temperatures, by up to 50 °C. We examine various mechanisms that may induce disequilibrium behaviour in modern seep carbonates, and suggest that the observed values result from several factors including kinetic isotopic effects during methane oxidation, mixing of inorganic carbon pools, pH effects and rapid precipitation. Ancient seep carbonates studied here also exhibit potential disequilibrium signals. Ultimately, these findings indicate the predominance of disequilibrium clumped isotope behaviour in modern cold seep carbonates that must be considered when characterizing environmental conditions in both modern and ancient cold seep settings.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [8];  [3]
  1. California State Univ., Fullerton, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  2. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Univ. de Brest, Plouzane (France)
  4. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Bergen, Bergen (Norway)
  6. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  7. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  8. Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)
  9. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1395567
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-13ER16402; SC0010288
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Loyd, S. J., Sample, J., Tripati, R. E., Defliese, W. F., Brooks, K., Hovland, M., Torres, M., Marlow, J., Hancock, L. G., Martin, R., Lyons, T., and Tripati, A. E. Methane seep carbonates yield clumped isotope signatures out of equilibrium with formation temperatures. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1038/ncomms12274.
Loyd, S. J., Sample, J., Tripati, R. E., Defliese, W. F., Brooks, K., Hovland, M., Torres, M., Marlow, J., Hancock, L. G., Martin, R., Lyons, T., & Tripati, A. E. Methane seep carbonates yield clumped isotope signatures out of equilibrium with formation temperatures. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12274
Loyd, S. J., Sample, J., Tripati, R. E., Defliese, W. F., Brooks, K., Hovland, M., Torres, M., Marlow, J., Hancock, L. G., Martin, R., Lyons, T., and Tripati, A. E. Fri . "Methane seep carbonates yield clumped isotope signatures out of equilibrium with formation temperatures". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12274. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1395567.
@article{osti_1395567,
title = {Methane seep carbonates yield clumped isotope signatures out of equilibrium with formation temperatures},
author = {Loyd, S. J. and Sample, J. and Tripati, R. E. and Defliese, W. F. and Brooks, K. and Hovland, M. and Torres, M. and Marlow, J. and Hancock, L. G. and Martin, R. and Lyons, T. and Tripati, A. E.},
abstractNote = {Here, methane cold seep systems typically exhibit extensive buildups of authigenic carbonate minerals, resulting from local increases in alkalinity driven by methane oxidation. Here, we demonstrate that modern seep authigenic carbonates exhibit anomalously low clumped isotope values (Δ47), as much as ~0.2‰ lower than expected values. In modern seeps, this range of disequilibrium translates into apparent temperatures that are always warmer than ambient temperatures, by up to 50 °C. We examine various mechanisms that may induce disequilibrium behaviour in modern seep carbonates, and suggest that the observed values result from several factors including kinetic isotopic effects during methane oxidation, mixing of inorganic carbon pools, pH effects and rapid precipitation. Ancient seep carbonates studied here also exhibit potential disequilibrium signals. Ultimately, these findings indicate the predominance of disequilibrium clumped isotope behaviour in modern cold seep carbonates that must be considered when characterizing environmental conditions in both modern and ancient cold seep settings.},
doi = {10.1038/ncomms12274},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = ,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Fri Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 54 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Carbonate clumped isotope bond reordering and geospeedometry
journal, October 2012


Microbial methane oxidation and sulfate reduction at cold seeps of the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea
journal, June 2009


Submarine pingoes: Indicators of shallow gas hydrates in a pockmark at Nyegga, Norwegian Sea
journal, April 2006


Carbonate clumped isotope compositions of modern marine mollusk and brachiopod shells
journal, April 2013

  • Henkes, Gregory A.; Passey, Benjamin H.; Wanamaker, Alan D.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 106
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2012.12.020

U–Th stratigraphy of a cold seep carbonate crust
journal, March 2009


Comparison and implications from strikingly different authigenic carbonates in a Nyegga complex pockmark, G11, Norwegian Sea
journal, September 2006


A process-based model for non-equilibrium clumped isotope effects in carbonates
journal, December 2015


Chemosynthetic bacterial mats at cold hydrocarbon seeps, Gulf of Mexico continental slope
journal, January 1993


18O13C16O in Earth’s atmosphere
journal, December 2004


New perspectives on anaerobic methane oxidation
journal, October 2000


Multiple archaeal groups mediate methane oxidation in anoxic cold seep sediments
journal, May 2002

  • Orphan, V. J.; House, C. H.; Hinrichs, K.-U.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 99, Issue 11, p. 7663-7668
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.072210299

Observations of gas hydrates in marine sediments, offshore northern California
journal, January 1991


Methane-derived authigenic carbonates from modern and paleoseeps on the Cascadia margin: Mechanisms of formation and diagenetic signals
journal, November 2013

  • Joseph, Craig; Campbell, Kathleen A.; Torres, Marta E.
  • Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 390
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.01.012

Evaluation of kinetic effects on clumped isotope fractionation (Δ47) during inorganic calcite precipitation
journal, June 2014


Clumped isotope thermometry of carbonatites as an indicator of diagenetic alteration
journal, July 2010


Controls on marine carbonate cement mineralogy: review and reassessment
journal, March 1993


Complex pockmarks with carbonate-ridges off mid-Norway: Products of sediment degassing
journal, June 2005


Beyond temperature: Clumped isotope signatures in dissolved inorganic carbon species and the influence of solution chemistry on carbonate mineral composition
journal, October 2015

  • Tripati, Aradhna K.; Hill, Pamela S.; Eagle, Robert A.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 166
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2015.06.021

Authigenic carbonate formation at hydrocarbon seeps in continental margin sediments: A comparative study
journal, June 2007

  • Naehr, Thomas H.; Eichhubl, Peter; Orphan, Victoria J.
  • Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Vol. 54, Issue 11-13
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2007.04.010

Paleo-environmental implication of clumped isotopes in land snail shells
journal, November 2011

  • Zaarur, Shikma; Olack, Gerard; Affek, Hagit P.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 75, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.044

Methane production and consumption in anoxic marine sediments
journal, January 1976


An ancient linked fluid migration system: cold-seep deposits and sandstone intrusions in the Panoche Hills, California, USA
journal, December 2003


New records of Oligocene diffuse hydrocarbon seeps, northern Cascadia margin
journal, November 2013

  • Nesbitt, Elizabeth A.; Martin, Ruth A.; Campbell, Kathleen A.
  • Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 390
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.001

High-temperature environments of human evolution in East Africa based on bond ordering in paleosol carbonates
journal, June 2010

  • Passey, B. H.; Levin, N. E.; Cerling, T. E.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107, Issue 25
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1001824107

Carbon cycling within the sulfate-methane-transition-zone in marine sediments from the Ulleung Basin
journal, January 2013


13C–18O bonds in carbonate minerals: A new kind of paleothermometer
journal, March 2006

  • Ghosh, Prosenjit; Adkins, Jess; Affek, Hagit
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 70, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2005.11.014

Post depositional alteration of foraminiferal shells in cold seep settings: New insights from flow-through time-resolved analyses of biogenic and inorganic seep carbonates
journal, October 2010

  • Torres, Marta E.; Martin, Ruth A.; Klinkhammer, Gary P.
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 299, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.07.048

Isotopic evidence for source of diagenetic carbonates formed during burial of organic-rich sediments
journal, September 1977

  • Irwin, Hilary; Curtis, Charles; Coleman, Max
  • Nature, Vol. 269, Issue 5625
  • DOI: 10.1038/269209a0

Glacial/interglacial temperature variations in Soreq cave speleothems as recorded by ‘clumped isotope’ thermometry
journal, November 2008

  • Affek, Hagit P.; Bar-Matthews, Miryam; Ayalon, Avner
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 72, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2008.06.031

The influence of temperature and seawater carbonate saturation state on 13 C– 18 O bond ordering in bivalve mollusks
journal, January 2013


Oregon Subduction Zone: Venting, Fauna, and Carbonates
journal, February 1986


Methane sources feeding cold seeps on the shelf and upper continental slope off central Oregon, USA: METHANE SEEPS ON SHELF AND SLOPE OFF OREGON
journal, November 2009

  • Torres, Marta E.; Embley, Robert W.; Merle, Susan G.
  • Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 10, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1029/2009GC002518

Temperature limits for preservation of primary calcite clumped isotope paleotemperatures
journal, August 2014

  • Henkes, Gregory A.; Passey, Benjamin H.; Grossman, Ethan L.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 139
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2014.04.040

A Methanotrophic Marine Molluscan (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) Symbiosis: Mussels Fueled by Gas
journal, September 1986


13C–18O isotope signatures and ‘clumped isotope’ thermometry in foraminifera and coccoliths
journal, October 2010

  • Tripati, Aradhna K.; Eagle, Robert A.; Thiagarajan, Nivedita
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 74, Issue 20
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2010.07.006

Compositional and temperature effects of phosphoric acid fractionation on Δ47 analysis and implications for discrepant calibrations
journal, March 2015


Isotopic fractionations associated with phosphoric acid digestion of carbonate minerals: Insights from first-principles theoretical modeling and clumped isotope measurements
journal, December 2009

  • Guo, Weifu; Mosenfelder, Jed L.; Goddard, William A.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73, Issue 24
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2009.05.071

Non-linear mixing effects on mass-47 CO 2 clumped isotope thermometry: Patterns and implications : Non-linear mixing effects on mass-47 clumped isotopes
journal, March 2015

  • Defliese, William F.; Lohmann, Kyger C.
  • Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol. 29, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1002/rcm.7175

Effect of hydrostatic pressure and salinity on the stability of gas hydrates
journal, March 1990


Surface kinetic model for isotopic and trace element fractionation during precipitation of calcite from aqueous solutions
journal, February 2011


Eocene bipolar glaciation associated with global carbon cycle changes
journal, July 2005

  • Tripati, Aradhna; Backman, Jan; Elderfield, Henry
  • Nature, Vol. 436, Issue 7049
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature03874

Marine cold seeps and their manifestations: geological control, biogeochemical criteria and environmental conditions
journal, March 2014


Using the 87Sr/86Sr of modern and paleoseep carbonates from northern Cascadia to link modern fluid flow to the past
journal, December 2012


Deep-Sea Archaea Fix and Share Nitrogen in Methane-Consuming Microbial Consortia
journal, October 2009


Cold-seeps and authigenic carbonate formation in Monterey Bay, California
journal, July 1999


A hydrothermal origin for isotopically anomalous cap dolostone cements from south China
journal, May 2011

  • Bristow, Thomas F.; Bonifacie, Magali; Derkowski, Arkadiusz
  • Nature, Vol. 474, Issue 7349
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature10096

Methane-derived authigenic carbonates formed by subduction-induced pore-water expulsion along the Oregon/Washington margin
journal, January 1987


Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry of deep-sea corals and implications for vital effects
journal, August 2011

  • Thiagarajan, Nivedita; Adkins, Jess; Eiler, John
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 75, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.05.004

Defining an absolute reference frame for ‘clumped’ isotope studies of CO2
journal, November 2011

  • Dennis, Kate J.; Affek, Hagit P.; Passey, Benjamin H.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 75, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.09.025

Methane hydrate accumulation in “Mound 11” mud volcano, Costa Rica forearc
journal, March 2005


Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry of deep-sea corals and implications for vital effects
text, January 2011

  • Thiagarajan, Nivedita; Adkins, Jess F.; Eiler, John
  • Columbia University
  • DOI: 10.7916/d8q2499h

The influence of temperature and seawater carbonate saturation state on 13 C- 18 O bond ordering in bivalve mollusks
journal, January 2013

  • Eagle, R. A.; Eiler, J. M.; Tripati, A. K.
  • Biogeosciences Discussions, Vol. 10, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.5194/bgd-10-157-2013

Fluid venting activity on the Costa Rica margin: new results from authigenic carbonates
journal, August 2004


Methane consumption in Cariaco Trench waters and sediments
journal, January 1976


Isotopic fractionations associated with phosphoric acid digestion of carbonate minerals: Insights from first-principles theoretical modeling and clumped isotope measurements
journal, December 2009

  • Guo, Weifu; Mosenfelder, Jed L.; Goddard, William A.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73, Issue 24
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2009.05.071

Paleo-environmental implication of clumped isotopes in land snail shells
journal, November 2011

  • Zaarur, Shikma; Olack, Gerard; Affek, Hagit P.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 75, Issue 22
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.044

Beyond temperature: Clumped isotope signatures in dissolved inorganic carbon species and the influence of solution chemistry on carbonate mineral composition
journal, October 2015

  • Tripati, Aradhna K.; Hill, Pamela S.; Eagle, Robert A.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 166
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2015.06.021

Submarine pingoes: Indicators of shallow gas hydrates in a pockmark at Nyegga, Norwegian Sea
journal, April 2006


Comparison and implications from strikingly different authigenic carbonates in a Nyegga complex pockmark, G11, Norwegian Sea
journal, September 2006


Water column methane oxidation adjacent to an area of active hydrate dissociation, Eel river Basin
journal, August 2001

  • Valentine, David L.; Blanton, Douglas C.; Reeburgh, William S.
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 65, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1016/s0016-7037(01)00625-1

Relationship between carbonate deposits and fluid venting: Oregon Accretionary Prism
journal, January 1990


Eocene bipolar glaciation associated with global carbon cycle changes
journal, July 2005

  • Tripati, Aradhna; Backman, Jan; Elderfield, Henry
  • Nature, Vol. 436, Issue 7049
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature03874

A hydrothermal origin for isotopically anomalous cap dolostone cements from south China
journal, May 2011

  • Bristow, Thomas F.; Bonifacie, Magali; Derkowski, Arkadiusz
  • Nature, Vol. 474, Issue 7349
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature10096

New perspectives on anaerobic methane oxidation
journal, October 2000


Oregon Subduction Zone: Venting, Fauna, and Carbonates
journal, February 1986


A Methanotrophic Marine Molluscan (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) Symbiosis: Mussels Fueled by Gas
journal, September 1986


Biogeochemistry and Community Composition of Iron- and Sulfur-Precipitating Microbial Mats at the Chefren Mud Volcano (Nile Deep Sea Fan, Eastern Mediterranean)
journal, March 2008

  • Omoregie, E. O.; Mastalerz, V.; de Lange, G.
  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 74, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1128/aem.01751-07

Authigenic carbonates from the Cascadia subduction zone and their relation to gas hydrate stability
journal, January 1998


Works referencing / citing this record:

Foraminiferal δ18O reveals gas hydrate dissociation in Arctic and North Atlantic ocean sediments
journal, January 2020


A Kinetic Difference Between 12 C- and 13 C-Bound Oxygen Exchange Rates Results in Decoupled δ 18 O and Δ 47 Values of Equilibrating DIC Solutions
journal, August 2018

  • Staudigel, Philip T.; Swart, Peter K.
  • Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 19, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1029/2018gc007500

Gas Hydrate Dissociation During Sea‐Level Highstand Inferred From U/Th Dating of Seep Carbonate From the South China Sea
journal, December 2019

  • Chen, Fang; Wang, Xudong; Li, Niu
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 23
  • DOI: 10.1029/2019gl085643

Carbonate formation in salt dome cap rocks by microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane
journal, February 2019


Oxygen isotope composition of the Phanerozoic ocean and a possible solution to the dolomite problem
journal, June 2018

  • Ryb, Uri; Eiler, John M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, Issue 26
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1719681115

Evidences for Paleo-Gas Hydrate Occurrence: What We Can Infer for the Miocene of the Northern Apennines (Italy)
journal, March 2019


Characterization of Carbonate Crust from a Recently Discovered Methane Seep on the North Atlantic Continental Margin of the USA
journal, February 2019

  • Gabitov, Rinat; Borrelli, Chiara; Buettner, Jacob
  • Minerals, Vol. 9, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.3390/min9030138

Carbonate formation in salt dome cap rocks by microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane
journal, February 2019