ALBERT

Description: OS51D-01 The North Alex Mud Volcano (NAMV) is located at a water depth of 500m above a large deep-seated gas reservoir on the upper slope of the western Nile deep-sea fan. It has been the object of an integrated study of fluid and gas flow using existing and newly developed observatory technologies to better constrain and quantify devolatilisation and defluidisation patterns and their long-term variability in relation to underlying hydrocarbon reservoirs. As it is known that the activity of mud volcanoes varies significantly over periods of months and weeks, the assessment of the activity of NAMV focuses on proxies of fluid and gas emanations. Submarine mud volcanoes are usually characterized by fluid formation and fluidization processes occuring at depths of several kilometers below the seafloor, driving a complex system of interacting geochemical, geological and microbial processes. Mud volcanoes are natural leakages of oil and gas reservoirs. Near-surface observations made at such sites can therefore be used to monitor phenomena that occur at greater depth. Since the initiation of the project in 2007, NAMV has arguably become one of the best-instrumented mud volcanoes worldwide with a network of observatories collecting long-term records of chemical fluxes, seismicity, temperature, ground deformation, and methane concentration. In addition five research cruises collected complementary geophysical and geological data and samples. In the summer of 2010 a large number of monitoring systems has been recovered which provide us with a synoptic view of the internal dynamics of an active mud volcano. We will present an integrated analysis based on ship-based and sea-floor observations.

Description: OS53A-1343 The West Nile Delta forms part of the source of the large turbiditic Nile Deep Sea Fan. Since the late Miocene sediments have formed an up to 10 km thick pile, which includes about 1 - 3 km of Messinian evaporates. The sediment load of the overburden implies strong overpressures and salt-related tectonic deformation. Both are favourable for fluid migration towards the seafloor guided by the fractured margin. The western deltaic system, Rosetta branch, has formed an 80 km wide continental shelf. Here at 700 m water depth the mud volcano North Alex (NA) developed his circular bathymetric feature, which proved to be an active gas and mud-expelling structure. A 3-D high-resolution multichannel seismic survey (IFM-GEOMAR P-Cable system) was completed across the mud volcano. 3-D time migration provided a 3-D data cube with a 6.25 m grid. Vertical seismic sections did reveal a large set of faults located within the main mud volcano as well as surrounding the structure. Internal faults are mainly related to episodic mud expulsion processes and continuous gas and fluid production. Deep cutting external faults surround the structure in a half circle shape. Horizontal amplitude maps (time slices) of indicate recent activity of these faults even up to the seafloor. High gas saturation of the sediments is indicated by inverted reflection events. In the centre the gas front cuts into the seafloor reflection while it dips down with increasing radius. Only with the small grid resolution inward dipping reflections become visible, which form an upward opened concave reflector plane underlying the top gas front. The interpretation assumes an oval lens shaped body (conduit) saturated with gas at the top of the mud volcano. It provides the upper termination of the mud chimney. This separation is further supported by passive seismic observations. Distant earthquakes can stimulate long-period harmonic oscillations in mud volcanoes. Such oscillations are detectable with three-component ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) and are best explained by a gas-saturated volume at - or in close proximity to - the surface. The period of these oscillations is directly linked to the composition and dimension of this volume. Further, these oscillations are associated with pressure changes in the gas volume, which are thought to disturb the balance between gas pressure and water pressure strongly enough to cause degassing in the upper sediment layers of the mud volcano. This way, gas transport and release in mud volcanoes might be triggered by external seismic sources. Additionally, tremors of higher frequencies can be observed at NA Mud Volcano, and are most likely generated in the mud chimney beneath the top gas volume. Further evidence for the existence of a rather deep chimney (〉750m) comes from S-wave observations of regional earthquakes. Records from OBS that were placed at the volcano’s centre (1), differ from OBS in greater distance (2). S-wave arrivals suggest the existence of a cylindrical-shaped waveguide beneath OBS of type (1). Such features cannot be seen on OBS of type (2). Thus, S-wave velocities need to be lower in the chimney than in the surrounding, which is a reasonable assumption. Modelling of these waveguides can give the dimension of the chimney (width and depth).

Description: We report total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) abundances and isotope ratios, as well as helium isotope ratios (3He/4He), of cold seep fluids sampled at the Costa Rica fore arc in order to evaluate the extent of carbon loss from the submarine segment of the Central America convergent margin. Seep fluids were collected over a 12 month period at Mound 11, Mound 12, and Jaco Scar using copper tubing attached to submarine flux meters operating in continuous pumping mode. The fluids show minimum 3He/4He ratios of 1.3 RA (where RA is air 3He/4He), consistent with a small but discernable contribution of mantle-derived helium. At Mound 11, δ13C∑CO2 values between −23.9‰ and −11.6‰ indicate that DIC is predominantly derived from deep methanogenesis and is carried to the surface by fluids derived from sediments of the subducting slab. In contrast, at Mound 12, most of the ascending dissolved methane is oxidized due to lower flow rates, giving extremely low δ13C∑CO2 values ranging from −68.2‰ to −60.3‰. We estimate that the carbon flux (CO2 plus methane) through submarine fluid venting at the outer fore arc is 8.0 × 105 g C km−1 yr−1, which is virtually negligible compared to the total sedimentary carbon input to the margin and the output at the volcanic front. Unless there is a significant but hitherto unidentified carbon flux at the inner fore arc, the implication is that most of the carbon being subducted in Costa Rica must be transferred to the (deeper) mantle, i.e., beyond the depth of arc magma generation.

Description: Sediments deposited on deep-sea fans are an excellent geological archive to reconstruct past changes in fluvial discharge. Here we present a reconstruction of changes in the regime of the Nile River during the Holocene obtained using bulk elemental composition, grain-size analyses and radiogenic strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes from a sediment core collected on the Nile deep-sea fan. This 6-m long core was retrieved at View the MathML source water-depth and is characterized by the presence of a 5-m thick section of finely laminated sediments, which were deposited between 9.5 and 7.3 ka BP and correspond to the African Humid Period (AHP). The data show distinct changes in eolian dust inputs as well as variations in discharge of the Blue Nile and White Nile. Sedimentation was mainly controlled by changes in fluvial discharge during the Holocene, which was predominantly forced by low-latitude summer insolation and by the location of the eastern African Rain Belt. The changes in relative contribution from the Blue Nile and White Nile followed changes in low-latitude spring/autumn insolation, which highlights the role of changes in seasonality of the precipitation on the Nile River regime. The relative intensity of the Blue Nile discharge was enhanced during the early and late Holocene at times of higher spring insolation (with massive erosion and runoff during the AHP at times of high summer insolation), while it was reduced between 8 and 4 ka at times of high autumn insolation. The gradual insolation-paced changes in fluvial regime were interrupted by a short-term arid event at 8.5–7.3 ka BP (also associated with rejuvenation of bottom-water ventilation above the Nile fan), which was likely related to northern hemisphere cooling events. Another arid event at 4.5–3.7 ka BP occurred as the apex of a gradually drier phase in NE Africa and marks the end of the AHP.