Cold seep formation from salt diapir-controlled deep biosphere oases.

ABSTRACT: Deep sea cold seeps are sites where hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other hydrocarbon-rich fluids vent from the ocean floor. They are an important component of Earth's carbon cycle in which subsurface hydrocarbons form the energy source for highly diverse benthic micro- and macro-fauna in what is otherwise vast and spartan sea scape. Passive continental margin cold seeps are typically attributed to the migration of hydrocarbons generated from deeply buried source rocks. Many of these seeps occur over salt tectonic provinces, where the movement of salt generates complex fault systems that can enable fluid migration or create seals and traps associated with reservoir formation. The elevated advective heat transport of the salt also produces a chimney effect directly over these structures. Her

SUBMITTER: Chowdhury A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10963010 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature