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Fluid venting activity on the Costa Rica margin: new results from authigenic carbonates

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Abstract

Carbonate precipitates on mounds and along tectonic scarps off the Costa Rica margin are manifestations of subduction-induced dewatering. The long-term dewatering history is recorded in mineralogical, petrological and isotope signals of carbonates recovered from these sites. The carbonates are strongly depleted in δ13C (−11 to −53‰ PDB) and enriched in δ18O (+4 to +8‰ PDB). Thermogenic methane and biogenic methane were identified as sources of the carbon. Chemoherm carbonates and seepage-associated carbonates formed in a focused flow regime have lighter δ13C values, while others formed in a more diffusive flow regime have slightly enriched C isotope values. Three fluid components were inferred based on the calculation of equilibrium δ18O: clay dehydration water, gas hydrate water and seawater. Calculated equilibrium δ18O values of carbonates from different down-core depths as well as from different precipitation stages show that the δ18O of the precipitating fluid is progressively depleted with time. Dolostones showing a methane-C source and a well constrained O-isotope signature are thought to have formed at depth in the sediment and subsequently became exhumed. Glauconitic sandstones cemented by methane-derived carbonate provide evidence that fluid and solid material have been expelled by the mud volcano.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the R/V SONNE 163 and R/V METEOR 54 crew and the shipboard scientific parties for their cooperation and help at sea. We also thank Christian Hensen and Susan Mau for providing unpublished data, Ralf Tiedemann for C- and O- isotope analyses, and Jutta Heinze for assistance with XRD analysis. Additional thanks go to Jens Greinert for constructive discussion, to two anonymous reviewers and to Gerhard Bohrmann (RCOM, Bremen) for helpful comments and suggestions and to Zona Suess for help with the English. This study was funded by SFB 574 and partially supported by the National Major Fundamental Research and Development Project of China (973 project, No. G20000467–03). This is SFB contribution Nr. 50.

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  1. Heiko Sahling

    Present address: Research Center for Ocean Margins, University of Bremen, Postfach 330440, 28334, Bremen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sonderforschungsbereich 574 and GEOMAR, Research Center for Marine Geosciences, Wischhofstrasse 1–3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Xiqiu Han, Erwin Suess, Heiko Sahling & Klaus Wallmann

  2. Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences & Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, 310012, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Xiqiu Han

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  1. Xiqiu Han
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Correspondence to Xiqiu Han.

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Han, X., Suess, E., Sahling, H. et al. Fluid venting activity on the Costa Rica margin: new results from authigenic carbonates. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 93, 596–611 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-004-0402-y

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