The Asphalt Ecosystem of the Southern Gulf of Mexico: Results from F/S METEOR Cruise M114

Abstract:

Asphalt volcanism in the deep ocean can generate substantial areas of hard substratum and hydrocarbon fluxes that support chemosynthetic communities. The process was first described in the southern Gulf of Mexico following the discovery in 2003 of Chapopote, a knoll at 3200m depth that includes large asphalt flows. F/S METEOR returned to the region in February and March, 2015 to quantify the extent and characteristics of Chapopote and other asphalt-hosting knolls using the SEAL AUV, QUEST ROV, shipborne acoustics, and autonomous instrument landers. Preliminary findings have greatly expanded the number of confirmed asphalt volcanoes, as well as sites where seepage was detected as gas flares in the water column. The morphology of asphalt flows, which was investigated using large-scale photo-mosaicking techniques, indicated that they form with a complex interplay of gravity flows, buoyant uplift, and chemical weathering. Geochemical analysis of asphalt samples is underway to investigate the ages of material and the time-constants of alterations after exposure at the seafloor. Rapid gas hydrate formation had generated massive seafloor deposits at several sites. Notably, gas hydrate mounds had been colonized by aggregations of 2m long tubeworms that extended over areas approaching 1000 sq m in some cases. The biological community comprised an abundant assemblage in which the caridean shrimp Alvinocaris muricola and the squat lobsters Munidopsis geyeri and M. exuta were numerically dominant. Chemosynthetic fauna were primarily the tubeworm Escarpia laminate, observed on asphalt surfaces and gas hydrate substrate and the mussel Bathymodiolus heckarae, observed around active gas vents. Prospects for oil and gas development in the region raise questions regarding appropriate measures for safeguarding lush chemosynthetic communities.