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Seismic velocities from the Yaquina forearc basin off Peru: evidence for free gas within the gas hydrate stability zone

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Abstract

Multichannel seismic (MCS) data from the Yaquina forearc basin off Peru reveal a complex distribution of gas and gas hydrate related reflections. Lateral variations of the reflection pattern at the assumed base of the gas hydrate stability zone in terms of continuity, amplitude, and signal attenuation underneath are observed, as well as the possible occurrence of paleo-bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs). Phase reversed reflections above the bottom simulating reflector point to free gas within the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). To constrain the interpretation of the observed reflection pattern we calculated the velocity distribution along the MCS line from high-resolution ocean bottom hydrophone recordings with two independent methods. Heat flux values estimated on the basis of the velocity-depth functions increase with decreasing amplitude of the BSR and peak near chemoherms. These results suggest a model of the Yaquina Basin where free gas is trapped under parts of the BSR, and within the GHSZ, particularly under the seafloor and under an erosional unconformity. The hypothesis of a paleo-BSR that reflects the uplift of the base of the hydrate stability zone caused by the deposition of a particular sediment sequence is supported by the estimated heat flux values.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dirk Kläschen for the initial geometry processing of OBH recording. Thanks to Nina Kukowski and Ingo Pecher for fruitful discussions. Special thanks to Tim Minshull for his comments on this manuscript. We also want to thank Ingo Pecher and Kirk McIntosh, the manuscript was greatly improved by their reviews. Further, we are grateful to Captain H. Papenhagen and his crew for the excellent support onboard RV Sonne. The GEOPECO project was funded by BMBF grant 03G0146B/0. Additional funding was supplied by the Marie Curie Training Site at Southampton Oceanography Centre.

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  1. Jan W. G. Grobys

    Present address: Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar- and Marine Research, Am Alten Hafen 26, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geophysik, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstraße 55, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Gesa L. Netzeband, Christian P. Hübscher, Dirk Gajewski & Jan W. G. Grobys

  2. GEOMAR Research Centre for Marine Geosciences, Christian Albrechts University, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Jörg Bialas

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  1. Gesa L. Netzeband
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Correspondence to Gesa L. Netzeband.

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Netzeband, G.L., Hübscher, C.P., Gajewski, D. et al. Seismic velocities from the Yaquina forearc basin off Peru: evidence for free gas within the gas hydrate stability zone. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 94, 420–432 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-005-0483-2

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