Publication Date:
2013-02-21
Description:
RV Sonne cruise 206 started on the 31st of May in Caldera (Costa Rica) and ended there on the
18th of June 2010. An international group of 23 scientists and 2 guests from Costa Rica set out to
perform geophysical, biogeochemical, and sedimentological investigations at and around a
number of submarine cold seeps that are ubiquitous along this convergent continental margin.
The cruise was predominantly conducted as a pre-site survey for IODP (proposal 633Full-2;
Costa Rica Mounds) in order to fill existing gaps in the seismic record at two of the proposed
drill locations. A 2D seismic survey was conducted running over the large-scale seamount
subduction slide “Jaco Scarp” yielding a highly improved image of the structural pattern within
the upper 1000 m of the sedimentary sequence. In addition, high-resolution 3D seismic data,
roughly covering the uppermost 300 m, could be obtained in the Mound 11/12 area, which will
allow for a detailed analysis of the internal structure of these mud volcano-like features and help
to understand the complex relation to the upward directed material flow. Moreover, a total
number of 36 sediment cores (TV-guided multicorer, gravity corer) were successfully retrieved
from active cold seeps and submarine slides and a large number of sub-samples were taken for
subsequent geochemical and microbiological analyses. Overall, all major tasks of this cruise
could successfully be fulfilled and the results will help to further our understanding of
mechanisms controlling fluid flow in the deep subsurface of active continental margins.
Type:
Report
,
NonPeerReviewed
Format:
text