ALBERT

Description: Petroleum systems located at passive continental margins received increasing attention in the last decade mainly because of deep- and ultra‐deep-water hydrocarbon exploration and production. The high risks associated with these settings originate mainly from the poor understanding of inherent geodynamic processes. The new priority program SAMPLE (South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolution), established by the German Science Foundation in 2009 for a total duration of 6 years, addresses a number of open questions related to continental breakup and post‐breakup evolution of passive continental margins. 27 sub‐projects take advantage of the exceptional conditions of the South Atlantic as a prime “Geo‐archive.” The regional focus is set on the conjugate margins located east of Brazil and Argentina on one side and west of Angola, Namibia and South Africa on the other (Figure 1) as well as on the Walvis Ridge and the present‐day hotspot of Tristan da Cunha. The economic relevance of the program is demonstrated by support from several petroleum companies, but the main goal is research on fundamental processes behind the evolution of passive continental margins.

Description: The Arctic changes rapidly in response to global warming and is expected to change even faster in the future (IPCC 2001, 2007, 2013). Large areas of the shelves and continental slopes bordering the Arctic Ocean are characterized by permafrost and the presence of gas hydrates. Future global warming and potential hydrate dissociation in the Arctic Ocean challenge the slope stability of these areas. This may lead to slope failures. The first, and so far only reported, largescale slope failure in the Arctic Ocean is the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide (HYM). Following our previous studies, we wanted to investigate this giant slope failure and the deeper structure of the Sophia Basin in detail to elucidate the potential causes of the main and following failure events as well as to test existing hypotheses on the generation of this giant submarine landslide. Our investigations focused on (1) pre-site survey of proposed IODP drill sites, (2) deep tectonic structure and seismicity of the Sophia Basin and (3) future failure potential north of Svalbard. Furthermore, we extended measurements along the Spitsbergen Fracture Zone in the Fram Strait, where a new deep-sea slide was discovered in 2012 during cruise MSM 21/4. Also, we tied existing ODP drill holes on top of the southern Yermak Plateau to our new and existing seismic networks. We applied a combination of hydro-acoustic mapping, deep and high-resolution multichannel seismic reflection profiling and a wide-angle seismic survey with broad-band oceanbottom seismometers (BB-OBS). We mapped two headwall and sidewall areas of the HYM for indication of gas seepage including sampling. In addition, we sampled sediments to characterize the young sedimentation record, for dating and for geo-technical analysis.

Description: According to classical plume theory, the Tristan da Cunha hotspot is thought to have played a major role in the rifting of the South Atlantic margins and the creation of the aseismic Walvis Ridge by impinging at the base of the continental lithosphere shortly before or during the breakup of the South Atlantic margins. However, Tristan da Cunha is enigmatic as it cannot be clearly identified as a hot spot but may also be classified as a more shallow type of anomaly that may actually have been caused by the opening of the South Atlantic. The equivocal character of Tristan is largely due to a lack of geophysical data in this region. It is of central importance to characterize the region around Tristan da Cunha with geophysical data in a more coherent way to understand the tectonic processes of the opening of the South Atlantic and the formation of the Walvis Ridge, i.e. to understand whether Tristan da Cunha is the cause or the consequence of the rifting. We therefore staged a multi-disciplinary geophysical study of the region by acquiring passive marine electromagnetic and seismic data, bathymetric data as well as gravity data from which we will derive an electrical resistivity, seismic velocity and density model down to a depth of several hundred kilometres. These models will be interpreted in the context of geochemical data and tectonic models developed within the SPP1375 South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolution (SAMPLE). On the cruise MSM24 we acquired bathymetric data within the Tristan da Cunha region and recovered 26 out of 26 ocean-bottom magnetotelluric stations (OBEM), 22 out of 24 broadband ocean-bottom seismometers (BBOBS) as well as two seismic and one magnetotelluric (MT) land stations from the uninhabited Nightingale Island. These stations were deployed one year ago during cruise MSM20/2. The cruise also offered the opportunity for a colleague from the University Heidelberg to conduct geological sampling on Tristan da Cunha.

Description: According to classical plume theory, the Tristan da Cunha hotspot is thought to have played a major role in the rifting of the South Atlantic margins and the creation of the aseismic Walvis Ridge by impinging at the base of the continental lithosphere shortly before or during the breakup of the South Atlantic margins. But Tristan da Cunha is enigmatic, as it cannot be clearly identified as a hot-spot but classifies also highly as a more shallow type of anomaly that may actually have been caused by the opening of the South Atlantic. The equivocal character of Tristan is largely due to lack of geophysical data in this region. To understand the tectonic processes of the opening of the South Atlantic, the formation of the Walvis ridge and to understand whether Tristan da Cunha is the cause or the consequence of rifting, it is of central importance to characterize the region around Tristan da Cunha in a more coherent way. Within this research cruise we deployed 26 ocean bottom electromagnetic stations (OEBM) and 24 ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) for a long term acquisition (1 year) of magnetotelluric and seismological data, acquired bathymetry and gravity data and performed geological sampling on Tristan da Cunha. The data will be interpreted in the context of geochemical data and tectonic models developed within the SPP1375 South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolution (SAMPLE).

Description: The Arctic changes rapidly in response to global warming and is expected to change even faster in the future (IPCC 2001, 2007, 2013). Large areas of the shelves and continental slopes bordering the Arctic Ocean are characterized by permafrost and the presence of gas hydrates. Future global warming and potential hydrate dissociation in the Arctic Ocean challenge the slope stability of these areas. This may lead to slope failures. The first, and so far only reported, large-scale slope failure in the Arctic Ocean is the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide (HYM), which is located in front of the Hinlopen glacial trough north of Svalbard. During cruise MSM31 onboard the German R/V MARIA S. MERIAN we investigated this giant slope failure and the deeper structure of the Sophia Basin in detail to elucidate the potential causes of the main and following failure events as well as to test existing hypotheses on the generation of this giant submarine landslide. We studied the megaslide and the adjacent so far not failed shelf areas by means of multibeam swath bathymetry, Parasound sediment echo sounder, low- and high-resolution multichannel seismic reflection profiling. The seismic data image bottom-simulating reflectors beneath not failed areas of the slope, as well as a buried gas escape pipe. On the shelf, shallower than the gas hydrate stability zone, we observed widespread gas seepage as flares in the Parasound echo sounder data. These flares rise from a seafloor highly disturbed by iceberg scouring. Therefore, we could not identify pockmarks in the multibeam data. At one location, we sampled a flare by means of a CTD probe close to the seafloor and proofed that the emanating gas has a high methane concentration. The new data indicate that the existence of gas and gas hydrates beneath the shelf north of Svalbard was one key factor causing slope instability in the past and may also cause further slope failures in the future.

Description: The modern polar cryosphere reflects an extreme climate state with profound temperature gradients towards high-latitudes. It developed in association with stepwise Cenozoic cooling, beginning with ephemeral glaciations and the appearance of sea ice in the late middle Eocene. The polar ocean gateways played a pivotal role in changing the polar and global climate, along with declining greenhouse gas levels. The opening of the Drake Passage finalized the oceanographic isolation of Antarctica, some 40 Ma ago. The Arctic Ocean was an isolated basin until the early Miocene when rifting and subsequent sea-floor spreading started between Greenland and Svalbard, initiating the opening of the Fram Strait / Arctic-Atlantic Gateway (AAG). Although this gateway is known to be important in Earth’s past and modern climate, little is known about its Cenozoic development. However, the opening history and AAG’s consecutive widening and deepening must have had a strong impact on circulation and water mass exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. To study the AAG’s complete history, ocean drilling at two primary sites and one alternate site located between 73°N and 78°N in the Boreas Basin and along the East Greenland continental margin are proposed. These sites will provide unprecedented sedimentary records that will unveil (1) the history of shallow-water exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic, and (2) the development of the AAG to a deep-water connection and its influence on the global climate system. The specific overarching goals of our proposal are to study: (1) the influence of distinct tectonic events in the development of the AAG and the formation of deep water passage on the North Atlantic and Arctic paleoceanography, and (2) the role of the AAG in the climate transition from the Paleogene greenhouse to the Neogene icehouse for the long-term (~50 Ma) climate history of the northern North Atlantic. Getting a continuous record of the Cenozoic sedimentary succession that recorded the evolution of the Arctic-North Atlantic horizontal and vertical motions, and land and water connections will also help better understanding the post-breakup evolution of the NE Atlantic conjugate margins and associated sedimentary basins.