Eruption of a deep-sea mud volcano triggers rapid sediment movement.
Submarine mud volcanoes are important sources of methane to the water column. However, the temporal variability of their mud and methane emissions is unknown. Methane emissions were previously proposed to result from a dynamic equilibrium between upward migration and consumption at the seabed by methane-consuming microbes. Here we show non-steady-state situations of vigorous mud movement that are revealed through variations in fluid flow, seabed temperature and seafloor bathymetry. Time series data for pressure, temperature, pH and seafloor photography were collected over 431 days using a benthic observatory at the active Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano. We documented 25 pulses of hot subsurface fluids, accompanied by eruptions that changed the landscape of the mud volcano. Four major events triggered rapid sediment uplift of more than a metre in height, substantial lateral flow of muds at average velocities of 0.4 m per day, and significant emissions of methane and CO₂ from the seafloor.
1] MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany [2] GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel 24148, Germany.
Tomas
T
Feseker
1] MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany [2] HGF-MPG Group for Deep Sea Ecology and Technology, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven 27515, Germany [3] Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen 28359, Germany.
Antje
A
Boetius
1] HGF-MPG Group for Deep Sea Ecology and Technology, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven 27515, Germany [2] Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen 28359, Germany.
Frank
F
Wenzhöfer
Ifremer, Institut Carnot EDROME, RDT/SI2M, Plouzané F-29280, France.
Jerome
J
Blandin
Ifremer, Institut Carnot EDROME, REM/EEP, Laboratoire Environnement Profond, Plouzané F-29280, France.
Karine
K
Olu
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
Dana R
DR
Yoerger
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
Richard
R
Camilli
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
Christopher R
CR
German
Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen 28359, Germany.
Dirk
D
de Beer