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Seismic and geoacoustic evidence for subsurface fluid flow and seepage offshore Akçakoca, Southwestern Black Sea, Turkey

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Abstract

Widespread indications of free and hydrate gas accumulations and mud volcanoes were imaged using multichannel seismic reflection, chirp sub-bottom profiler, multibeam bathymetry, and deep-towed side-scan sonar data collected along the Southwestern Black Sea margin, offshore Akçakoca. These indications are typically associated with sedimentary ridges along the continental slope and rise, particularly with the “Ereğli Plateau” (850–1350 m water depth), where 20 mud volcanoes were found. Two types of bottom-simulating reflections (BSR) were identified, both mimicking the seafloor relief: Type-1 crosscuts the sedimentary reflections with amplitudes similar to the surrounding strata, while Type-2 shows higher amplitudes that terminate against the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. These types were observed over large portions of the continental rise, indicating the base of gas hydrate accumulations. Analyses of the BSR depth indicate that thermogenic gas is possibly present in the gas hydrates. A fault-driven hypothetical model was then developed to describe the formation of gas hydrate and mud volcanoes and the effect of submarine fluid flow in the area. According to this model, Type-1 BSRs form through biogenic gas accumulations. The presence of fault regions with Type-2 BSRs suggests active fluid transfer between permeable and impermeable units, where the fault surfaces act as possible conduits for thermogenic gases produced in the deeper sediments and transported into the shallower subsurface where then thermogenic biogenic gases coexist.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the scientific parties and crews of R/V K. Piri Reis and R/V Poseidon for their valuable efforts during data acquisition. Landmark Graphics and IHS are thanked for providing academic licenses of their SeisSpace Promax and Kingdom Suite software packages. This study was carried out as a part of Dokuz Eylül University Department of Scientific Research Project (2015.KB.FEN.028). This work is a part of PhD thesis of Özkan ÖZEL. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions which helped us to significantly improve the quality of the manuscript. We keep a strong memory of Heiko Sahling, who initiated and led the R/V Poseidon cruise but could not see the completion of this study.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Dokuz Eylül University Department of Scientific Research Projects (2015.KB.FEN.028). Side-scan sonar data were collected within the METRO project (grant 03G0604A) funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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  1. Natural and Applied Sciences Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey

    Özkan Özel

  2. Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey

    Özkan Özel & Derman Dondurur

  3. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Ingo Klaucke

Authors
  1. Özkan Özel
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  2. Derman Dondurur
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  3. Ingo Klaucke
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Contributions

Ö. Özel contributed to the collection of the seismic data, processed all acoustic data sets, interpreted the seismic data, and wrote the manuscript with contributions of all authors. D. Dondurur conceived and coordinated the project and led the expeditions with R/V K. Piri Reis. I. Klaucke collected the side-scan data and contributed to the interpretation of the seismic data.

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Correspondence to Özkan Özel.

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Özel, Ö., Dondurur, D. & Klaucke, I. Seismic and geoacoustic evidence for subsurface fluid flow and seepage offshore Akçakoca, Southwestern Black Sea, Turkey. Geo-Mar Lett 42, 17 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-022-00740-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-022-00740-z

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