Variations in Gas and Water Pulses at an Arctic Seep: Fluid Sources and Methane Transport
Abstract
Methane fluxes into the oceans are largely dependent on the methane phase as it migrates upward through the sediments. Here we document decoupled methane transport by gaseous and aqueous phases in Storfjordrenna (offshore Svalbard) and propose a three-stage evolution model for active seepage in the region where gas hydrates are present in the shallow subsurface. In a preactive seepage stage, solute diffusion is the primary transport mechanism for methane in the dissolved phase. Fluids containing dissolved methane have high 87Sr/86Sr ratios due to silicate weathering in the microbial methanogenesis zone. During the active seepage stage, migration of gaseous methane results in near-seafloor gas hydrate formation and vigorous seafloor gas discharge with a thermogenic fingerprint. In the postactive seepage stage, the high concentration of dissolved lithium points to the contribution of a deeper-sourced aqueous fluid, which we postulate advects upward following cessation of gas discharge.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[2];
- Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim (Norway); Arctic Univ. of Norway (UiT), Tromsø (Norway)
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
- Arctic Univ. of Norway (UiT), Tromsø (Norway); The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
- Arctic Univ. of Norway (UiT), Tromsø (Norway)
- Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim (Norway)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1539738
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1436189
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0013531
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 45; Journal Issue: 9; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; Geology
Citation Formats
Hong, W. -L., Torres, M. E., Portnov, A., Waage, M., Haley, B., and Lepland, A. Variations in Gas and Water Pulses at an Arctic Seep: Fluid Sources and Methane Transport. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1029/2018gl077309.
Hong, W. -L., Torres, M. E., Portnov, A., Waage, M., Haley, B., & Lepland, A. Variations in Gas and Water Pulses at an Arctic Seep: Fluid Sources and Methane Transport. United States. doi:10.1029/2018gl077309.
Hong, W. -L., Torres, M. E., Portnov, A., Waage, M., Haley, B., and Lepland, A. Thu .
"Variations in Gas and Water Pulses at an Arctic Seep: Fluid Sources and Methane Transport". United States. doi:10.1029/2018gl077309. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1539738.
@article{osti_1539738,
title = {Variations in Gas and Water Pulses at an Arctic Seep: Fluid Sources and Methane Transport},
author = {Hong, W. -L. and Torres, M. E. and Portnov, A. and Waage, M. and Haley, B. and Lepland, A.},
abstractNote = {Methane fluxes into the oceans are largely dependent on the methane phase as it migrates upward through the sediments. Here we document decoupled methane transport by gaseous and aqueous phases in Storfjordrenna (offshore Svalbard) and propose a three-stage evolution model for active seepage in the region where gas hydrates are present in the shallow subsurface. In a preactive seepage stage, solute diffusion is the primary transport mechanism for methane in the dissolved phase. Fluids containing dissolved methane have high 87Sr/86Sr ratios due to silicate weathering in the microbial methanogenesis zone. During the active seepage stage, migration of gaseous methane results in near-seafloor gas hydrate formation and vigorous seafloor gas discharge with a thermogenic fingerprint. In the postactive seepage stage, the high concentration of dissolved lithium points to the contribution of a deeper-sourced aqueous fluid, which we postulate advects upward following cessation of gas discharge.},
doi = {10.1029/2018gl077309},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 9,
volume = 45,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {4}
}
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 5 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Production, consumption, and migration of methane in accretionary prism of southwestern Taiwan
journal, August 2017
- Chen, Nai‐Chen; Yang, Tsanyao Frank; Hong, Wei‐Li
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 18, Issue 8
Fluid and chemical fluxes in and out of sediments hosting methane hydrate deposits on Hydrate Ridge, OR, I: Hydrological provinces
journal, August 2002
- Torres, M. E.; McManus, J.; Hammond, D. E.
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 201, Issue 3-4
Methane seepage along the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand: Overview of studies in 2006 and 2007 and new evidence from visual, bathymetric and hydroacoustic investigations
journal, July 2010
- Greinert, J.; Lewis, K. B.; Bialas, J.
- Marine Geology, Vol. 272, Issue 1-4
Characterization of benthic biogeochemistry and ecology at three methane seep sites on the Northern U.S. Atlantic margin
journal, April 2018
- McVeigh, D.; Skarke, A.; Dekas, A. E.
- Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Vol. 150
Hydroacoustic methodology for detection, localization, and quantification of gas bubbles rising from the seafloor at gas seeps from the eastern Black Sea: HYDROACOUSTIC GAS QUANTIFICATION
journal, October 2008
- Nikolovska, Aneta; Sahling, Heiko; Bohrmann, Gerhard
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 9, Issue 10
Quantitative analysis of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in marine sediments: A modeling perspective
journal, May 2011
- Regnier, P.; Dale, A. W.; Arndt, S.
- Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 106, Issue 1-2
Lithium, boron, and their isotopes in sediments and pore waters of Ocean Drilling Program Site 808, Nankai Trough: Implications for fluid expulsion in accretionary prisms
journal, January 1995
- You, C. -F.; Chan, L. H.; Spivack, A. J.
- Geology, Vol. 23, Issue 1
Passing gas through the hydrate stability zone at southern Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon
journal, January 2006
- Liu, Xiaoli; Flemings, Peter B.
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 241, Issue 1-2
Studies of smectite membrane behavior: Temperature dependence, 20–180°C
journal, January 1986
- Haydon, Paul R.; Graf, Donald L.
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 50, Issue 1
An experimental study of alteration of oceanic crust and terrigenous sediments at moderate temperatures (51 to 350°C): insights as to chemical processes in near-shore ridge-flank hydrothermal systems
journal, February 2003
- James, Rachael H.; Allen, Doug E.; Seyfried, W. E.
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 67, Issue 4
Watermass transformations in Storfjorden
journal, March 2005
- Skogseth, R.; Haugan, P. M.; Jakobsson, M.
- Continental Shelf Research, Vol. 25, Issue 5-6
Geological control and magnitude of methane ebullition from a high-flux seep area in the Black Sea—the Kerch seep area
journal, August 2012
- Römer, Miriam; Sahling, Heiko; Pape, Thomas
- Marine Geology, Vol. 319-322
Feeding methane vents and gas hydrate deposits at south Hydrate Ridge: FEEDING METHANE VENTS AND GAS HYDRATES
journal, December 2004
- Tréhu, Anne M.; Flemings, Peter B.; Bangs, Nathan L.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 31, Issue 23
Late quaternary sedimentation and glacial history of the western Svalbard continental margin
journal, August 1996
- Andersen, Espen S.; Dokken, Trond M.; Elverhøi, Anders
- Marine Geology, Vol. 133, Issue 3-4
Gas hydrate that breaches the sea floor on the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico
journal, January 1994
- MacDonald, I. R.; Guinasso, Jr., N. L.; Sassen, R.
- Geology, Vol. 22, Issue 8
Mass balance of dissolved lithium in the oceans
journal, April 1984
- Stoffynegli, Patricia; Mackenzie, Fred T.
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 48, Issue 4
High-resolution P-Cable 3D seismic imaging of gas chimney structures in gas hydrated sediments of an Arctic sediment drift
journal, October 2010
- Petersen, Carl Jörg; Bünz, Stefan; Hustoft, Steinar
- Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 27, Issue 9
The Barents Sea ice sheet - a sedimentological discussion
journal, October 1983
- ElverhØI, A.; Solheim, A.
- Polar Research, Vol. 1, Issue 1
Faulting, fracturing, and seismicity as functions of glacio-isostasy in Fennoscandia
journal, January 1978
- Mörner, Nils-Axel
- Geology, Vol. 6, Issue 1
The margin between Senja and Spitsbergen fracture zones: Implications from plate tectonics
journal, October 1982
- Myhre, Annik M.; Eldholm, Olav; Sundvor, Eirik
- Tectonophysics, Vol. 89, Issue 1-3
The Svalbard–Barents Sea ice-sheet – Historical, current and future perspectives
journal, March 2013
- Ingólfsson, Ólafur; Landvik, Jon Y.
- Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 64
Widespread methane seepage along the continental margin off Svalbard - from Bjørnøya to Kongsfjorden
journal, February 2017
- Mau, S.; Römer, M.; Torres, M. E.
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1
Marine silicate weathering in the anoxic sediment of the Ulleung Basin: Evidence and consequences: SILICATE WEATHERING IN THE ULLEUNG BASIN
journal, August 2016
- Kim, Ji-Hoon; Torres, Marta E.; Haley, Brian A.
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 17, Issue 8
Oceanic Methane Biogeochemistry
journal, February 2007
- Reeburgh, William S.
- Chemical Reviews, Vol. 107, Issue 2
Methane discharge from a deep-sea submarine mud volcano into the upper water column by gas hydrate-coated methane bubbles
journal, March 2006
- Sauter, Eberhard J.; Muyakshin, Sergey I.; Charlou, Jean-Luc
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 243, Issue 3-4
Offshore fresh groundwater reserves as a global phenomenon
journal, December 2013
- Post, Vincent E. A.; Groen, Jacobus; Kooi, Henk
- Nature, Vol. 504, Issue 7478
Gas hydrate dissociation off Svalbard induced by isostatic rebound rather than global warming
journal, January 2018
- Wallmann, Klaus; Riedel, M.; Hong, W. L.
- Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1
Gas hydrate growth, methane transport, and chloride enrichment at the southern summit of Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia margin off Oregon
journal, September 2004
- Torres, M. E.; Wallmann, K.; Tréhu, A. M.
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 226, Issue 1-2
Methane discharge into the Black Sea and the global ocean via fluid flow through submarine mud volcanoes
journal, August 2006
- Wallmann, Klaus; Drews, Manuela; Aloisi, Giovanni
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 248, Issue 1-2
Gas emissions at the continental margin west off Svalbard: mapping, sampling, and quantification
journal, January 2014
- Sahling, H.; Römer, M.; Pape, T.
- Biogeosciences Discussions, Vol. 11, Issue 5
Opening of the Fram Strait gateway: A review of plate tectonic constraints
journal, April 2008
- Engen, Øyvind; Faleide, Jan Inge; Dyreng, Toril Karlberg
- Tectonophysics, Vol. 450, Issue 1-4
Fluid expulsion related to mud extrusion off Costa Rica—A window to the subducting slab
journal, January 2004
- Hensen, C.; Wallmann, K.; Schmidt, M.
- Geology, Vol. 32, Issue 3
Gas hydrate distribution and carbon sequestration through coupled microbial methanogenesis and silicate weathering in the Krishna–Godavari Basin, offshore India
journal, December 2014
- Solomon, Evan A.; Spivack, Arthur J.; Kastner, Miriam
- Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 58
Authigenic carbonates from the Cascadia subduction zone and their relation to gas hydrate stability
journal, January 1998
- Bohrmann, Gerhard; Greinert, Jens; Suess, Erwin
- Geology, Vol. 26, Issue 7
Gaia's breath—global methane exhalations
journal, April 2005
- Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Rogers, Bruce W.
- Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 22, Issue 4
Transient hydraulic fracturing and gas release in methane hydrate settings: A case study from southern Hydrate Ridge: HYDRAULIC FRACTURING AT HYDRATE RIDGE
journal, December 2011
- Daigle, Hugh; Bangs, Nathan L.; Dugan, Brandon
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 12, Issue 12
Methane gas-phase dynamics in marine sediments: A model study
journal, March 2009
- Mogollon, J. M.; L'Heureux, I.; Dale, A. W.
- American Journal of Science, Vol. 309, Issue 3
Lithium isotopic compositions of pore fluids and sediments in the Costa Rica subduction zone: implications for fluid processes and sediment contribution to the arc volcanoes
journal, November 2000
- Chan, Lui-Heung; Kastner, Miriam
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 183, Issue 1-2
Long-lived fault zones and their influence on the tectonic development of the southwestern Barents Sea
journal, July 1984
- Gabrielsen, R. H.
- Journal of the Geological Society, Vol. 141, Issue 4
Postglacial response of Arctic Ocean gas hydrates to climatic amelioration
journal, June 2017
- Serov, Pavel; Vadakkepuliyambatta, Sunil; Mienert, Jürgen
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 24
The build-up, configuration, and dynamical sensitivity of the Eurasian ice-sheet complex to Late Weichselian climatic and oceanic forcing
journal, December 2016
- Patton, Henry; Hubbard, Alun; Andreassen, Karin
- Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 153
Silicate weathering in anoxic marine sediments
journal, June 2008
- Wallmann, K.; Aloisi, G.; Haeckel, M.
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 72, Issue 12
Lithium: sources in pore fluids of Peru slope sediments and implications for oceanic fluxes
journal, December 1991
- Martin, Jonathan B.; Kastner, Miriam; Elderfield, Henry
- Marine Geology, Vol. 102, Issue 1-4
Variability in transport of terrigenous material on the shelves and the deep Arctic Ocean during the Holocene
journal, January 2015
- Wegner, Carolyn; Bennett, Katrina E.; de Vernal, Anne
- Polar Research, Vol. 34, Issue 1
Rising methane gas bubbles form massive hydrate layers at the seafloor
journal, November 2004
- Haeckel, Matthias; Suess, Erwin; Wallmann, Klaus
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 68, Issue 21
Crustal structure and transform margin development south of Svalbard based on ocean bottom seismometer data
journal, July 2003
- Breivik, Asbjørn Johan; Mjelde, Rolf; Grogan, Paul
- Tectonophysics, Vol. 369, Issue 1-2
Brine formation in relation to climate changes and ice retreat during the last 15,000 years in Storfjorden, Svalbard, 76-78°N
journal, October 2014
- Rasmussen, T. L.; Thomsen, E.
- Paleoceanography, Vol. 29, Issue 10
Methane Hydrate Formation in Ulleung Basin Under Conditions of Variable Salinity: Reduced Model and Experiments
journal, June 2016
- Peszynska, Malgorzata; Hong, Wei-Li; Torres, Marta E.
- Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 114, Issue 1
Carbon geochemistry of cold seeps: Methane fluxes and transformation in sediments from Kazan mud volcano, eastern Mediterranean Sea
journal, July 2003
- Haese, Ralf R.; Meile, Christof; Van Cappellen, Philippe
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 212, Issue 3-4
The global flux of methane from shallow submarine sediments
journal, January 1993
- Hovland, M.; Judd, A. G.; Burke, R. A.
- Chemosphere, Vol. 26, Issue 1-4
Thermogenic methane injection via bubble transport into the upper Arctic Ocean from the hydrate-charged Vestnesa Ridge, Svalbard
journal, May 2014
- Smith, Andrew J.; Mienert, Jürgen; Bünz, Stefan
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 15, Issue 5
Glacio-seismotectonics: ice sheets, crustal deformation and seismicity
journal, October 2000
- Stewart, Iain S.; Sauber, Jeanne; Rose, James
- Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 19, Issue 14-15
Seafloor oxygen consumption fuelled by methane from cold seeps
journal, August 2013
- Boetius, Antje; Wenzhöfer, Frank
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 6, Issue 9
Dynamic fluid flow and chemical fluxes associated with a seafloor gas hydrate deposit on the northern Gulf of Mexico slope
journal, June 2008
- Solomon, Evan A.; Kastner, Miriam; Jannasch, Hans
- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 270, Issue 1-2
Effects of multiphase methane supply on hydrate accumulation and fracture generation: MULTIPHASE METHANE SUPPLY
journal, October 2010
- Daigle, Hugh; Dugan, Brandon
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 37, Issue 20
Pore fluid chemistry from the Second Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition in the Ulleung Basin (UBGH2): Source, mechanisms and consequences of fluid freshening in the central part of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea
journal, November 2013
- Kim, Ji-Hoon; Torres, Marta E.; Hong, Wei-Li
- Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 47
Silicate weathering in anoxic marine sediments
journal, February 2008
- Wallmann, K.; Aloisi, G.; Haeckel, M.
- Mineralogical Magazine, Vol. 72, Issue 1
Works referencing / citing this record:
Methane-fuelled biofilms predominantly composed of methanotrophic ANME-1 in Arctic gas hydrate-related sediments
journal, July 2019
- Gründger, Friederike; Carrier, Vincent; Svenning, Mette M.
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1
Methane-fuelled biofilms predominantly composed of methanotrophic ANME-1 in Arctic gas hydrate-related sediments
journal, July 2019
- Gründger, Friederike; Carrier, Vincent; Svenning, Mette M.
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1
Foraminiferal δ18O reveals gas hydrate dissociation in Arctic and North Atlantic ocean sediments
journal, January 2020
- Dessandier, Pierre-Antoine; Borrelli, Chiara; Yao, Haoyi
- Geo-Marine Letters, Vol. 40, Issue 4
Geological Controls on Fluid Flow and Gas Hydrate Pingo Development on the Barents Sea Margin
journal, February 2019
- Waage, M.; Portnov, A.; Serov, P.
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, Issue 2
Anomalous Concentration of Methane Emissions at the Continental Shelf Edge of the Northern Cascadia Margin
journal, March 2019
- Johnson, H. Paul; Merle, Susan; Salmi, Marie
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 124, Issue 3
Interplay of Subduction Tectonics, Sedimentation, and Carbon Cycling
journal, November 2019
- Riedinger, N.; Torres, M. E.; Screaton, E.
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, Issue 11
Discharge of Meteoric Water in the Eastern Norwegian Sea since the Last Glacial Period
journal, July 2019
- Hong, Wei‐Li; Lepland, Aivo; Himmler, Tobias
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 14
Microbial communities from Arctic marine sediments respond slowly to methane addition during ex situ enrichments
journal, January 2020
- Klasek, Scott; Torres, Marta E.; Bartlett, Douglas H.
- Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 22, Issue 5
Geophysical and geochemical controls on the megafaunal community of a high Arctic cold seep
journal, January 2018
- Sen, Arunima; Åström, Emmelie K. L.; Hong, Wei-Li
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 15, Issue 14
Fracture-controlled fluid transport supports microbial methane-oxidizing communities at Vestnesa Ridge
journal, January 2019
- Yao, Haoyi; Hong, Wei-Li; Panieri, Giuliana
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 16, Issue 10
High-resolution underwater laser spectrometer sensing provides new insights into methane distribution at an Arctic seepage site
journal, January 2019
- Jansson, Pär; Triest, Jack; Grilli, Roberto
- Ocean Science, Vol. 15, Issue 4