Deep-sea gas hydrate mounds and chemosynthetic fauna discovered at 3640 m on the Molloy Ridge, Greenland Sea
Abstract
Abstract Methane seepage at the seafloor can form gas hydrate and sustain chemosynthetic communities of deep-sea animals. Most known hydrate seeps occur shallower than 2000 m on continental slopes, whereas hydrothermal vents are found at greater depths along active spreading centres. Here we report the discovery of hydrate mounds with cold-seep fauna at 3640 m deep on the Molloy Ridge. The mounds display seafloor morphologies resulting from progressive stages of hydrate dissociation. Gas bubbles from the mounds rise to within 300 m of the ocean surface, and isotopic analysis shows the hydrates contain thermogenic gas. Crude oil sampled from the hydrate deposits indicates a young Miocene source rock formed in a fresh-brackish water paleo-environment. The hydrate mounds are inhabited by taxa including siboglinid and maldanid tubeworms, skeneid and rissoid snails, and melitid amphipods. Family-level composition of the fauna is similar to that of Arctic hydrothermal vents at similar depths, including the Jøtul vent field on the Knipovich Ridge, and less similar to nearby methane seeps at shallower depths. The overlap between seep and vent fauna in the Arctic has implications for understanding ecological connectivity across deep-sea habitats and assessing their vulnerability to future impacts from seafloor resource extraction in the region.
Article Details
Authors (37)
Jonathan T. Copley
Katrin Linse
Eva Ramirez-Llodra
Claudio Argentino
Bénédicte Ferré
Alejandra Saenz de Tejada
Alex David Rogers
Alfredo Rosales Ruiz
Asgeir Steinsland
Carlotta Redaelli
Clarisse Goar
Daniel Despujois
Ewan McEvoy
Fereshteh Hemmateenejad
Giuliana Panieri
Ida Søhol
Ines Barranchea Angeles
Jack Hogan
Jessica Michelle Webster
Joe Sharman
Laura Warmuth
Lawrence Hislop
Leif Johan Ohnstad
Leighton Rolley
Martin Hartley
Nuria Rico Seijo
Pamela Rivadeneira
Patricia Esquete Garrote
Patrick Vågenes
Pedro Furtado Costa Rodrigues
Raissa Hogan
Stig Vågenes
Tor-Arve Lunde
Usha Parameswaran
Verity Nye
Will West
Alex D. Rogers