Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait
Hydrocarbon gases formed from biotic and abiotic processes are released through the seafloor at different locations around the world. They have been widely observed directly in video and photo data, and indirectly on echosounder data. Even though biotic gas generation is a very common process, abiot...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33558 https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/33558 2024-06-23T07:52:54+00:00 Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait Chand, Shyam Knies, Jochen Manfred Geissler, Wolfram H. Plaza Faverola, Andreia Aletia Thorsnes, Terje 2024-04-16 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33558 https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 eng eng Frontiers Media Frontiers in Earth Science Chand S, Knies J, Geissler WH, Plaza Faverola A, Thorsnes T. Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait. Frontiers in Earth Science. 2024;12 FRIDAID 2267830 doi:10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 2296-6463 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33558 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2024 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2024 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 2024-05-29T00:47:55Z Hydrocarbon gases formed from biotic and abiotic processes are released through the seafloor at different locations around the world. They have been widely observed directly in video and photo data, and indirectly on echosounder data. Even though biotic gas generation is a very common process, abiotic gas generation is limited to regions where serpentinization of ultramafic rocks occur. Indications of abiotic gas occurrences are therefore sparse and much speculated upon. Here, we investigated the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, the Molloy Ridge, the Molloy Deep, and the Molloy Transform Fault/Fracture Zone, (a transform fault-bounded pull-a-part region offshore western Svalbard) where both processes may be active. Multiple acoustic gas flares, ∼1,770 and ∼3355 m high above the seafloor (tallest ever recorded), were observed indicating active migration and seepage of hydrocarbons. The proximity to the mid oceanic ridge and the documented high heat flow suggests the influence of high temperatures on organic-rich sedimentary deposits. Deep seismic data and other geological information available indicate that the main source of gas could be from thermal cracking of either pre- or syn-rift source rock organic material, potentially mixed with methane from serpentinization of mantle rocks (peridotites). Correlation with seismic stratigraphy from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 910 and 912 on the adjacent Yermak Plateau suggests that the sedimentary source rocks may be present at the northern flank of the Molloy Ridge and within the deep graben along the Spitsbergen Transform Fault. The ∼3 km thick sedimentary succession in high heat flow zones within the transform fault and the active bounding faults allow generation and migration of hydrocarbons to the seafloor and sustains present day seepage. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fram Strait Svalbard Yermak plateau Spitsbergen University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Svalbard Yermak Plateau ENVELOPE(5.000,5.000,81.250,81.250) Molloy ENVELOPE(70.065,70.065,-49.360,-49.360) Molloy Deep ENVELOPE(2.500,2.500,76.000,76.000) Molloy Ridge ENVELOPE(2.750,2.750,79.500,79.500) Frontiers in Earth Science 12 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
description |
Hydrocarbon gases formed from biotic and abiotic processes are released through the seafloor at different locations around the world. They have been widely observed directly in video and photo data, and indirectly on echosounder data. Even though biotic gas generation is a very common process, abiotic gas generation is limited to regions where serpentinization of ultramafic rocks occur. Indications of abiotic gas occurrences are therefore sparse and much speculated upon. Here, we investigated the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, the Molloy Ridge, the Molloy Deep, and the Molloy Transform Fault/Fracture Zone, (a transform fault-bounded pull-a-part region offshore western Svalbard) where both processes may be active. Multiple acoustic gas flares, ∼1,770 and ∼3355 m high above the seafloor (tallest ever recorded), were observed indicating active migration and seepage of hydrocarbons. The proximity to the mid oceanic ridge and the documented high heat flow suggests the influence of high temperatures on organic-rich sedimentary deposits. Deep seismic data and other geological information available indicate that the main source of gas could be from thermal cracking of either pre- or syn-rift source rock organic material, potentially mixed with methane from serpentinization of mantle rocks (peridotites). Correlation with seismic stratigraphy from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 910 and 912 on the adjacent Yermak Plateau suggests that the sedimentary source rocks may be present at the northern flank of the Molloy Ridge and within the deep graben along the Spitsbergen Transform Fault. The ∼3 km thick sedimentary succession in high heat flow zones within the transform fault and the active bounding faults allow generation and migration of hydrocarbons to the seafloor and sustains present day seepage. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chand, Shyam Knies, Jochen Manfred Geissler, Wolfram H. Plaza Faverola, Andreia Aletia Thorsnes, Terje |
spellingShingle |
Chand, Shyam Knies, Jochen Manfred Geissler, Wolfram H. Plaza Faverola, Andreia Aletia Thorsnes, Terje Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
author_facet |
Chand, Shyam Knies, Jochen Manfred Geissler, Wolfram H. Plaza Faverola, Andreia Aletia Thorsnes, Terje |
author_sort |
Chand, Shyam |
title |
Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
title_short |
Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
title_full |
Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
title_fullStr |
Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
title_full_unstemmed |
Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait |
title_sort |
acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the spitsbergen transform fault, north of the molloy ridge, fram strait |
publisher |
Frontiers Media |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33558 https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(5.000,5.000,81.250,81.250) ENVELOPE(70.065,70.065,-49.360,-49.360) ENVELOPE(2.500,2.500,76.000,76.000) ENVELOPE(2.750,2.750,79.500,79.500) |
geographic |
Svalbard Yermak Plateau Molloy Molloy Deep Molloy Ridge |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Yermak Plateau Molloy Molloy Deep Molloy Ridge |
genre |
Fram Strait Svalbard Yermak plateau Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Fram Strait Svalbard Yermak plateau Spitsbergen |
op_relation |
Frontiers in Earth Science Chand S, Knies J, Geissler WH, Plaza Faverola A, Thorsnes T. Acoustic evidence of hydrocarbon release associated with the Spitsbergen Transform Fault, north of the Molloy Ridge, Fram Strait. Frontiers in Earth Science. 2024;12 FRIDAID 2267830 doi:10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 2296-6463 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33558 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2024 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1347252 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
12 |
_version_ |
1802644323605413888 |