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Published May 14, 2004 | public
Journal Article

Geological, geochemical, and microbiological heterogeneity of the seafloor around methane vents in the Eel River Basin, offshore California

Abstract

Marine methane vents and cold seeps are common features along continental margins worldwide, serving as localized sites for methane release and colonization by microbial and chemosynthetic megafaunal communities. The Eel River Basin (ERB), located on the continental slope off Northern California, contains active methane vents and seep-associated chemosynthetic biological communities (CBC) on the crests of anticlines in ∼520-m water depth. Seep-related features on the seafloor have a patchy distribution and include active bubbling vents, chemosynthetic clam beds, and sulfide-oxidizing bacterial mats. Methane sources supplying local seeps are heterogeneous on all spatial scales and support a large and diverse microbial assemblage involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). To develop a comprehensive understanding of the complex biological, geochemical and physical processes associated with, and influencing seafloor methane seepage, a multidisciplinary approach is required. Here we present an integrative, multidisciplinary study that illustrates the diverse processes associated with seafloor methane seepage within the Eel River Basin and the complex interactions defining the geochemistry, mineralogy and microbiology within this environment.

Additional Information

© 2004 Elsevier B.V. Received 1 January 2003; received in revised form 20 September 2003; accepted 23 December 2003. Support for this work was provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. We thank Howard Mendlovitz for the methane and CO_2 δ^(13)C analyses and the pilots of the ROV Ventana and ROV Tiburon for their expert skill in sample collection. We thank Andreas Teske (UNC), Shana Goffredi, Steve Hallam, Peter Girguis, Edward DeLong (MBARI) and Bill Sullivan (UCSC), for their expert assistance with various aspects of this research and Rick Colwell for the helpful comments on this manuscript. VJO is supported by a National Research Council fellowship.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023