Abstract
Fluids discharged from subaerial springs along faults on a sediment diapir near the mouth of the Mississippi River are derived from buried marine pore waters which have been extensively altered chemically by processes of bacterial respiration, mineral precipitation and, possibly, by fractionation due to the presence of clays of high exchange capacity.
Vertical mass transport of dissolved components in many shallow marine sediments is controlled by long-term compaction, diffusion and bioturbation. In areas of rapid sediment deposition, however, these processes can be overwhelmed by catastrophic episodes of sediment failure, vertical mixing and upward discharge of water, gas and dissolved species.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Whelan, T. and others. 1975. The geochemistry of recent Mississippi River delta sediments: gas concentration and sediment stability. Proceedings Offshore Technology Conference, Paper 2342, p. 71–77.
Prior, D. B., and Coleman, J. M., 1978. Submarine landslides on the Mississippi River delta-front slope. Geoscience and Man, v. 19, p. 41–53.
Morgan J. P. 1961. Mudlumps at the mouths of the Mississippi River. Louisiana Geol. Surv. Bull 35, Part 1. 116 p.
Morgan, J. P., Coleman, J. M., and Gagliano, S. M., 1968. Mudlumps: diapiric structures in Mississippi River delta sediments. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 8, p. 154–161.
Shaw, E. W., 1913. Gasfrom mudlumps at the mouths of the Mississippi River. U. S. Geological Surgery Bulletin, 541-A, p. 19–22.
Murthy, A. S. P., and Ferrell, R. E., 1972. Comparative chemical composition of sediment interstitial waters. Clays and Clay Mineralogy, v. 20, p. 317–321.
Sayles, F. L., and Manheim, F. T., 1975. Interstitial solutions and diagenesis in deeply buried marine sediments: results from the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 39, p. 103–127.
Geiskes, J. M., 1975. Chemistry of interstitial waters of marine sediments. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, v. 3, p. 433–453.
Berner, R. A., 1980. Early diagenesis, a theoretical approach, Princeton, N. J., Princeton University Press, 241 p.
Presley, B. J. and Kaplan, I. R., 1968. Changes in dissolved sulfate, calcium, and carbonate from interstitial water of nearshore sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 32, p. 1037–1048.
Claypool, G. and Kaplan, I. R., 1974. The origin and distribution of methane in marine sediments. In: I. R. Kaplan (ed.), Natural Gases in Marine Sediments. Plenum Press, New York, p. 99–139.
Rieke, H. H., III, and Chilingarian, G. V., 1974. Compaction of argillaceous sediments. Elsevier, New York, 424 p.
Rieke, H. H., III, Chillingarian, G. V., and Robertson, J. O., Jr., 1964. High-pressure (up to 500.000 p.s.i.) compaction studies on various clays. 22nd International Geological Congress, New Dehli, v. 15, p. 22–38.
Smith, D. A., 1980. Sealing and nonsealing faults in Louisiana Gulf Coast basin. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 64, p. 145–172.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hanor, J.S. Composition of fluids expelled during compaction of Mississippi delta sediments. Geo-Marine Letters 1, 169–172 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462429
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462429