Biogeochemistry of a low-activity cold seep in the Larsen B area, western Weddell Sea, Antarctica

First videographic indication of an Antarctic cold seep ecosystem was recently obtained from the collapsed Larsen B ice shelf, western Weddell Sea (Domack et al., 2005). Within the framework of the R/V Polarstern expedition ANTXXIII-8, we revisited this area for geochemical, microbiological and furt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biogeosciences
Main Authors: Niemann, H., Fischer, D., Graffe, D., Knittel, K., Montiel, A., Heilmayer, O., Nöthen, K., Pape, T., Kasten, S., Bohrmann, G., Boetius, A., Gutt, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2009
Subjects:
article
Verlagsveröffentlichung
Antarctic
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Shelf
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-2383-2009
https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00029623
https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00029578/bg-6-2383-2009.pdf
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/6/2383/2009/bg-6-2383-2009.pdf
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Summary:First videographic indication of an Antarctic cold seep ecosystem was recently obtained from the collapsed Larsen B ice shelf, western Weddell Sea (Domack et al., 2005). Within the framework of the R/V Polarstern expedition ANTXXIII-8, we revisited this area for geochemical, microbiological and further videographical examinations. During two dives with ROV Cherokee (MARUM, Bremen), several bivalve shell agglomerations of the seep-associated, chemosynthetic clam Calyptogena sp. were found in the trough of the Crane and Evans glacier. The absence of living clam specimens indicates that the flux of sulphide and hence the seepage activity is diminished at present. This impression was further substantiated by our geochemical observations. Concentrations of thermogenic methane were moderately elevated with 2 μM in surface sediments of a clam patch, increasing up to 9 μM at a sediment depth of about 1 m in the bottom sections of the sediment cores. This correlated with a moderate decrease in sulphate from about 28 mM at the surface down to 23.4 mM, an increase in sulphide to up to 1.43 mM and elevated rates of the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) of up to 600 pmol cm−3 d−1 at about 1 m below the seafloor. Molecular analyses indicate that methanotrophic archaea related to ANME-3 are the most likely candidates mediating AOM in sediments of the Larsen B seep.

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