Beschreibung: During the Pleistocene glaciations, Arctic ice sheets on western Eurasia, Greenland and North America terminated at their continental margins. In contrast, the exposed continental shelves in the Beringian region of Siberia are thought to have been covered by a tundra landscape. Evidence of grounded ice on seafloor ridges and plateaux off the coast of the Beringian margin, at depths of up to 1,000 m, have generally been attributed to ice shelves or giant icebergs that spread oceanwards during glacial maxima. Here we identify marine glaciogenic landforms visible in seismic profiles and detailed bathymetric maps along the East Siberian continental margin. We interpret these features, which occur in present water depths of up to 1,200 m, as traces from grounding events of ice sheets and ice shelves. We conclude that the Siberian Shelf edge and parts of the Arctic Ocean were covered by ice sheets of about 1 km in thickness during several Pleistocene glaciations before the most recent glacial period, which must have had a significant influence on albedo and oceanic and atmospheric circulation.

Beschreibung: Despite half a century of research, the biology of dinoflagellates remains enigmatic: they defy many functional and genetic traits attributed to typical eukaryotic cells. Genomic approaches to study dinoflagellates are often stymied due to their large, multi-gigabase genomes. Members of the genus Symbiodinium are photosynthetic endosymbionts of stony corals that provide the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. Their smaller genome sizes provide an opportunity to interrogate evolution and functionality of dinoflagellate genomes and endosymbiosis. We sequenced the genome of the ancestral Symbiodinium microadriaticum and compared it to the genomes of the more derived Symbiodinium minutum and Symbiodinium kawagutii and eukaryote model systems as well as transcriptomes from other dinoflagellates. Comparative analyses of genome and transcriptome protein sets show that all dinoflagellates, not only Symbiodinium, possess significantly more transmembrane transporters involved in the exchange of amino acids, lipids, and glycerol than other eukaryotes. Importantly, we find that only Symbiodinium harbor an extensive transporter repertoire associated with the provisioning of carbon and nitrogen. Analyses of these transporters show species-specific expansions, which provides a genomic basis to explain differential compatibilities to an array of hosts and environments, and highlights the putative importance of gene duplications as an evolutionary mechanism in dinoflagellates and Symbiodinium.

Beschreibung: During drilling in 2010 in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) was conducted for thirteen sites. LWD data shows various characteristics indicating presence of gas hydrate-bearing sediments. In particular, a series seismic chimney sites are characterized by anomalous log data (i.e. high resistivity and velocity values), compared to surrounding marine sediments. At chimney sites, the resistivity and velocity log values are over 200 Ω-m and 3000 m/s, respectively. Moreover, log values of low density (less than 1.1 g/cm3) indicating the presence of massive hydrates also correlate with intervals with the highest resistivity and velocity. Gas hydrates at the seismic inferred chimney sites occurred within inclined fractures in the mud dominated sediments. These gas hydrate-filled fractures were identified on LWD resistivity images and X-ray images of pressure cores. The gas hydrate-filled fracture intervals coincide with high measured resistivity intervals at three sites (Sites UBGH2-3, UBGH2-7, UBGH2-11). In most cases, high measured resistivity translated into high hydrate saturations via Archie's relationship; but the high saturations derived from the Archie's relationship appear to overestimate gas hydrate saturations when compared to pressure core samples and acoustic log measurements. Also, in intervals with inclined gas hydrate-filled fractures (e.g., UBGH2-3), there is notable separation between phase-shift and attenuation resistivity logs, with 2 MHz resistivity measurements being significantly higher than 400 kHz resistivity measurements. In this study, the analysis of fractures with dip angles greater than 30° on the resistivity log-images show dip angles between 43 and 63° in average for the three sites examined. The dip azimuth of the fractures at Sites UBGH2-3 and UBGH2-7 dominate westerly to southwestern direction, while the fractures at Site UBGH2-11 are characterized by no preferred orientation. This fracture pattern indicates that maximum horizontal stress direction at the time of fracture formation was not constant. In addition, the differential compaction of the sediments after deposited may be contributed to the development of fracture.

Beschreibung: Logging-while-drilling (LWD) and wire-line (WL) velocity data from the second Korean Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition in 2010 (UBGH2) were used to predict gas hydrate saturations using the effective medium theory (EMT) at four representative sites: We used Sites UBGH2-10 and UBGH2-6 where gas hydrate occurs mostly within strata-bound sandy turbidite layers. Sites UBGH2-2_1 and UBGH2-2_2 are used to investigate a typical cold vent setting and fracture-dominated systems. We first use a new technique to correct the LWD velocity data within the shallower portions of the borehole (typically upper 60–100 m below seafloor, mbsf) where the nature of soft sediments often results in erroneous low velocity readings of the LWD tool around values between 1350 m/s and 1400 m/s. Using the Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) data, a smooth background velocity trend is defined, onto which the LWD data is projected. After this correction, the LWD velocity data of all four sites were used to estimate gas hydrate saturation values using the EMT for a 2-phase mineral-assemblage of 90% clay and 10% quartz only, as well as a detailed mineralogy based on the core XRD data. Both these estimates are then compared to the estimates from the electrical resistivity data using an empirical Archie-analysis. The results from EMT and Archie are on average the same, when gas hydrate occurs as a pore-filling medium within thick sediment layers of homogenous nature, such as that encountered at Site UBGH2-10 where saturations are about 60% of the pore space in an interval of 124–128 mbsf. If gas hydrate occurs in thin sand layers where the thickness of the layer is at or smaller than the vertical resolution of the velocity logging tool, Archie-based results are higher than the EMT-based results due to the higher resolution of the resistivity logging-tool. In cold vent settings with fracture-dominated gas hydrate settings (such as that investigated at Sites UBGH2-2_1 and 2-2_2). Archie-based results are non-reliable and strongly over-estimated due to the anisotropic effect of near-vertical hydrate-filled fractures. In such cold vent settings, velocity-based techniques using the EMT are the preferred method to estimate the gas hydrate saturations. At Site UBGH2-2_1, hydrate saturations are on average 5–10% of the pore-space and even lower at Site UBGH2-2_2 (less than 5% on average).

Beschreibung: Expedition ARA04C (conducted from September 10 - September 26, 2013 in Canadian waters) on the Korean icebreaker IBRV Araon was laid out to investigate the Beaufort Sea shelf and slope region and collect geo-scientific data for various aspects relevant to the GSC's mandated regional geo-hazard assessment of the offshore Beaufort region. A critical element of the geohazards is the distribution of permafrost across the submerged shelf. To address this question and to verify data from earlier attempts made by the GSC in the mid 1980ies, a set of multichannel seismic (MCS) lines were collected across and along the shelf edge. Refracted arrivals were picked on all MCS lines acquired and velocities for the first and where occurring, second and even third refractions were determined. The depth to the first refractor was determined using simple ray-path geometry for a refracted, planar 2 layer case, with a fixed velocity of the upper layer (ocean water) of 1450 m/s determined from measurements of physical properties in the water column using a standard Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) tool. Using this velocity value creates a fully flat direct arrival when the shot-gather is reduced by this velocity value, confirming that this value is appropriate. Depths to 2nd or 3rd refractor where not determined in this study. Arrivals from deeper refractions are often masked by the occurrence of refractions generated by multiples and from strong linear noise occurring along the streamer. The results from the refraction velocity analysis allow verification of major boundaries of permafrost or icebearing sediment occurrences from previous work, but also define several critical corrections, especially near the shelf edge zone. Correlation of the MCS refraction data and the coincident 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiler data reveal that a regional unconformity (~5 to ~15 meter below seafloor) often is the source of the first detectable refraction instead of the seafloor.

Beschreibung: Expedition ARA04C (conducted from September 10 - September 26, 2013 in Canadian waters) on the Korean icebreaker IBRV Araon was laid out to investigate the Beaufort Sea shelf and slope region and collect geo-scientific data for various aspects relevant to the GSC's mandated regional geo-hazard assessment of the offshore Beaufort region. A critical element of the geohazards is the distribution of permafrost across the submerged shelf. To address this question a set of six Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) were deployed in a grid pattern across the near shelf-edge zone, and a set of three OBS was used in a second deployment along a central shelfcrossing north-east to south-west oriented line. Initial data processing was carried out, which is required for any follow-up detailed velocity analysis. The processing included definition of exact shot times, geometry calculation, OBS position re-location, and OBS orientation analysis. A preliminary analysis of the hydrophone and vertical-component data from the OBS stations reveals a P-wave-velocity structure with values ranging from 1800 m/s to over 4000 m/s indicative of wide-spread ice-bearing sediments. This open-file report also contains the digital OBS data for all stations in standard SEGY format, together with the required raw and processed geometry information.

Beschreibung: Research experiments conducted and preliminary findings The Expedition ARA04C is a multidisciplinary research program in the Beaufort Sea, carried out in collaboration between the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Department of Fisheries and Ocean (DFO), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). The Expedition ARA04C on the IBRV Araon took place from September 6 to September 24, 2013 (Figure 0.1). Multiple research experiments were undertaken to study geological processes related to degrading permafrost, fluid flow and degassing, and associated geohazards, paleo-oceanography of the Beaufort shelf and slope region, as well as physical and chemical oceanography measurement of the Arctic Ocean linked with continuous atmospheric studies. The expedition focused on two main research areas: offshore Barrow, Alaska, from September 7 to September 9, 2013, and the Canadian Beaufort Sea from September 10 to September 24, 2013. Multichannel seismic data, in conjunction with an ocean-bottom-seismometer (OBS) study were collected to support drilling proposals especially IODP pre-proposal #806 (Dallimore et al., 2012), and to verify distribution and internal structures of the offshore permafrost occurrences (Figure 0.2). The multi-channel seismic data were acquired on the outer continental shelf of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, totaling 14 lines with ~435 line-kilometers and ~4,500 shot gathers (Chapter 3). The combined multichannel seismic and OBS data will be processed post-expedition at KOPRI and the GSC, and will allow detailed velocity analyses to investigate the permafrost signature and help mapping zones of high-velocity sediments indicative of the presence of ice (Chapter 4). Individual shot gathers collected during the multichannel seismic program show clear refraction arrivals with velocities around 2000m/s in areas of expected permafrost occurrence, and shot gathers lacked such arrivals in zones where the permafrost was predicted to be absent. It is therefore expected that the OBS data, once processed, will also show clear refracted arrivals for velocity analyses. Continuous sub-bottom profiler (SBP) and multibeam data were collected along all ship tracks for detailed subsurface imaging of sediment structures and permafrost, as well as for core-site location verification (Chapter 5 and 6). During Expedition ARA04C, more than 3000 line-kilometers of SBP data were collected, co-located with multibeam and backscatter data. These data are an essential part of the study of sub-seafloor permafrost distribution and provide insights into sediment dynamics at critical boundaries, such as the shelf edge. Along the shelf edge, the occurrence of pingo-like features (PLFs) result in a rugged landscape with thousands of PLFs piercing through the otherwise laminated sediments. More than 30 crossings of this critical shelf-edge boundary were made during this expedition, which complement data acquired in 2012 with the Huntec system and 3.5 kHz data provided by ArcticNet as part of the regional multibeam map of the study area. High resolution data provided critical new insights in deep-water fluid expulsion zones. Key new data were acquired over the area of the "Gary Knolls", where PLF structures occur at the shelf edge in water depth of only 50 to 60 m. All SBP data from this expedition will be post-processed and analyzed for the presence of sub-seafloor permafrost, occurrence of the PLF structures and indications for fluid and gas migration. Multibeam and backscatter data were collected along all ship tracks, adding to the database of existing information gathered through previous expeditions to the study region. Heat flow measurements were undertaken at eight stations (Figure 0.3) to study the thermal structure of fluid expulsion features, as well as degrading permafrost along a slope-shelf transect in the eastern Mackenzie Trough (Chapter 7). The data provide critical constraints on the distribution of sub-seafloor permafrost as well as the gas hydrate stability zone around fluid expulsion features. A very important finding is the observation made at the mud volcano in 420 m water depth, where seafloor temperatures are the highest in all observed stations, indicating active mud volcanism. Geological sampling using gravity coring and multi-coring tools was performed at strategic sites to support two research objectives. The first objective was to provide key data towards ongoing international research linked to IODP pre-proposals #753 (O'Regan et al., 2010) and #806 (Dallimore et al., 2012). The second objective was to collect core to define key seismo-stratigraphic horizons critical to the understanding of geohazards in the region (Chapter 8). In total, 21 gravity cores and 12 multi-cores were taken (Figure 0.4, Table 8.3). All cores were scanned with a multi-sensor core-logger to measure physical properties (Chapter 9). Most sediment analyses on the cores will be performed post-expedition at KOPRI, GSC, and laboratories of other University-based collaborators in Canada and Germany. Onboard, sub-samples were taken from all shallow multi-cores and selected gravity cores. On selected cores from the Canadian Beaufort study region pore-waters were extracted using rhizones. These samples will be analyzed postexpedition at MBARI. Water sampling and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) profiling was undertaken at most core sites to study physical and chemical properties of the seawater (Figure 0.5). These station-measurements were complemented by continuous waterproperty and atmospheric measurements when the Araon was underway. Most samples taken will be analyzed post-expedition at KOPRI for DIC/TA, nutrients, DOC, and POC. The pH of seawater, underway data of pCO2, CH4, and N2O, as well as a variety of subsequent calculations is required for accurate estimates in the above listed parameters. Methane was also measured with a methane sensor attached to the CTD tool and at the mud volcano in 420 m water depth, methane concentrations of more than 100-times ocean background were seen. The methane plume was also acoustically imaged with the echo sounder systems on board the IBRV Araon. Further details on the water sampling and atmospheric measurements are given in Chapter 10 and 11.

Beschreibung: The identification of areas of natural gas hydrate occurrence, defining its concentration and regional distribution, as well as understanding the processes that control gas hydrate formation is a crucial component of regional gas hydrate assessments. In this study, we incorporate an additional element into a regional assessment strategy by including the depositional environment defined through seismic facies classes. The seismic facies classification is attempted using regional 2D seismic data and a 3D seismic volume, as well as core and log-data from two gas hydrate drilling expeditions carried out in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, to conduct a fully integrated gas hydrate assessment. The facies classification described in this study is part of a procedure to conduct an assessment including: (1) Lithologic description of the recovered core and describe the deposition character of the sediment facies identified; (2) seismic facies classification using 2D and 3D seismic data and their derived various seismic attributes; (3) Linking seismic facies classes to core-derived sedimentological descriptions to define the host-strata most favourable for gas hydrate occurrences; (4) Defining reservoir physical properties and linking these to seismic facies classes for reservoir property description; (5) Calculating regional elements of the gas hydrate petroleum system (top of gas hydrate occurrence and base of gas hydrate stability); (6) Merging seismic facies and reservoir properties, definition of the top and base of the gas hydrate stability zone, to calculate gas hydrate saturations in each seismic facies and the total volume of gas hydrate present in the study area; (7) Defining probabilistic elements of the predicted volume of gas hydrate by combining statistical information of the individual input parameters through exhaustive Monte Carlo simulations. The seismic facies classification algorithm used in this study is based on identifying clusters (classes) that show similar properties in the seismic data and derived attribute characteristics. Our classification scheme uses seven seismic attributes (amplitude, instantaneous frequency and amplitude (also referred to as envelope), sweetness, acoustic impedance, thin-bed- and parallel-bedding indicator) and incorporates the use of principle component analysis for data reduction. The achieved classifications are overall robust and yield identical facies classes for the co-located 2D and 3D data. Linking the seismic facies classes to the recovered core and sedimentological descriptions results in a sedimentological interpretation of the seismic facies. Cross-plots of individual components as well as analysing the Eigen-vectors and -values from the principle component analysis (PCA) helps understand the physical meaning of these seismic facies classes and their seismic character. The five facies classes assigned to the 3D volume and 2D seismic line after PCA represent the mass transport deposit (MTD) units (class #1), hemipelagic mud with some sandy turbidite (class #2), hemipelagic mud with many sandy turbidites (class #3), as well as water-bearing mud with few sand layers and occurring mostly at shallow depth near the seafloor or beneath the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (classes #4 and #5). Within the study area and seismic data sets used, gas hydrate occurrences are only linked to facies classes #2 and #3.