Description: Highlights • We examine interplay between historical seismicity, mass failures and turbidites during sapropel S1 deposition; • We reconstruct chronology of earthquake triggered turbidites in the Ionian Sea during sapropel depostion; • We reconstruct the age of sapropel S1 in our core (6.0-10.2 kyr cal. BP) through Oxcal age modeling; • Turbidite emplacement time was deduced through age modeling. • We compiled a catalogue of mass flow events during several earthquake cycles. Abstract The recurrence of mass-flow units within sapropel S1, an organic carbon-rich lower Holocene marker bed in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, was used to study the interplay between earthquakes and sedimentation along the seismically active Calabrian Arc (Ionian Sea). Nine turbidite beds interrupt anoxic conditions during the deposition of sapropel S1. Each of these turbidites is associated with sharp grain size and geochemical elemental anomalies (high Al and Si, low Ca and coarse-grained basal part marked by Zr peaks), and with displaced foraminiferal species from different bathymetric ranges. We used these proxies to identify turbidite beds also above and below the sapropel, where turbidite signature is less clear due to the absence of major color changes. Turbidite structure and composition, as well as comparison with historical seismoturbidites, suggest a seismic triggering for such mass flow events. The peculiar color, well-known composition, geochemistry and age of sapropel S1, make this unit a key bed within which turbidites may be considered a sort of sedimentary “bar code” recording high-energy events within the background pelagic sedimentation; deciphering this code will reconstruct paleo-seismicity in this well-defined stratigraphic interval. The pelagic units bracketing turbidite beds were radiometrically dated, and the age of the sapropel S1, deduced through age modeling, is between 6.0 and 10.2 kyr cal BP. The emplacement age of each turbidite was estimated considering the average time-interval between successive turbidite beds (from pelagic sediment thickness and sedimentation rate). Subsequently these ages were further refined through age modeling. In this way, we compiled a catalogue of mass flow events during sapropel S1 deposition, a time span long enough to include several earthquake cycles and allow reliable seismic and tsunami hazard assessment in this area.

Description: Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the seismicity along the submerged section of North Anatolian Fault within the Sea of Marmara (comprising the “Istanbul seismic gap”) has been extensively studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25th 2011 in the western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the 1.5–5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-seismicity (~M 〈 3) within the Istanbul offshore domain.

Description: Episodic gas seepage occurs at the seafloor in the Gulf of Izmit (Sea of Marmara, NW Turkey) along the submerged segment of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), which ruptured during the 1999 Mw7.4 Izmit earthquake, and caused tectonic loading of the fault segment in front of the Istanbul metropolitan area. In order to study gas seepage and seismic energy release along the NAF, a multiparametric benthic observatory (SN-4) was deployed in the gulf at the western end of the 1999 Izmit earthquake rupture, and operated for about 1 yr at 166 m water depth. The SN-4 payload included a three-component broad-band seismometer, as well as gas and oceanographic sensors. We analysed data collected continuously for 161 d in the first part of the experiment, from 2009 October to 2010 March. The main objective of our work was to verify whether tectonic deformation along the NAF could trigger methane seepage. For this reason, we considered only local seismicity, that is, within 100 km from the station. No significant (ML ≥ 3.6) local earthquakes occurred during this period; on the other hand, the seismometer recorded high-frequency SDEs (short duration events), which are not related to seismicity but to abrupt increases of dissolved methane concentration in the sea water that we called MPEs (methane peak events). Acquisition of current velocity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, temperature and salinity, allowed us to analyse the local oceanographic setting during each event, and correlate SDEs to episodic gas discharges from the seabed. We noted that MPEs are the result of such gas releases, but are detected only under favourable oceanographic conditions. This stresses the importance of collecting long-term multiparametric time-series to address complex phenomena such as gas and seismic energy release at the seafloor. Results from the SN-4 experiment in the Sea of Marmara suggest that neither low-magnitude local seismicity, nor regional events affect intensity and frequency of gas flows from the seafloor.

Description: High-resolution 3-D seismic data acquired in the Sea of Marmara on the Western High, along the northwestern branch of the North Anatolian Fault (also known as the Main Marmara Fault), shed new light on the evolution of the deformation over the last 500–600 ka. Sedimentary sequences in ponded basins are correlated with glacioeustatic cycles and transitions between marine and low sea/lake environments in the Sea of Marmara. In the 3 × 11 km2 of the 3-D seismic survey, deformation over the last 405–490 ka is localized along the main fault branch and north of it, where N130°–N140° trending normal faults and N40°–N50° folding accommodated strike-slip deformation associated with active argillokinesis. There is some evidence that deformation was more distributed further back in the past, at least over the depth range (〈600 m below seafloor) of our survey. A N110° basin and buried ridge system were eventually cut by the presently active fault. The southern part of the basin was then uplifted, while the northern part was folded but continued to subside along the fault. A mass transport deposits complex dated between 405–490 ka shows a lateral displacement of 7.7 ± 0.3 km, corresponding to an estimated slip rate of 15.1–19.7 mm/a. We conclude that this strand of the Main Marmara Fault on the Western High has taken up most of the strike slip motion between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates over the last 405 ka at least.

Description: We carried out a combined geophysical and gas-geochemical survey on an active fault strand along the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) system in the Gulf of İzmit (eastern Sea of Marmara), providing for the first time in this area data on the distribution of methane (CH4) and other gases dissolved in the bottom seawater, as well as the CH4isotopic composition. Based on high-resolution morphobathymetric data and chirp-sonar seismic reflection profiles we selected three areas with different tectonic features associated to the NAF system, where we performed visual and instrumental seafloor inspections, including in situ measurements of dissolved CH4, and sampling of the bottom water. Starting from background values of 2–10 nM, methane concentration in the bottom seawater increases abruptly up to 20 nM over the main NAF trace. CH4 concentration peaks up to ∼120 nM were detected above mounds related probably to gas and fluids expulsion. Methane is microbial (δ13CCH4: −67.3 and −76‰ versus VPDB), and was found mainly associated with pre-Holocene deposits topped by a 10–20 m thick draping of marine mud. The correlation between tectonic structures and gas-seepages at the seafloor suggests that the NAF in the Gulf of İzmit could represent a key site for long-term combined monitoring of fluid exhalations and seismicity to assess their potential as earthquake precursors.

Description: In this paper we provide an overview of new knowledge on oxygen depletion (hypoxia) and related phenomena in aquatic systems resulting from the EU-FP7 project HYPOX ("In situ monitoring of oxygen depletion in hypoxic ecosystems of coastal and open seas, and landlocked water bodies", www.hypox.net). In view of the anticipated oxygen loss in aquatic systems due to eutrophication and climate change, HYPOX was set up to improve capacities to monitor hypoxia as well as to understand its causes and consequences. Temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of hypoxia were analyzed in field studies in various aquatic environments, including the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, Scottish and Scandinavian fjords, Ionian Sea lagoons and embayments, and Swiss lakes. Examples of episodic and rapid (hours) occurrences of hypoxia, as well as seasonal changes in bottom-water oxygenation in stratified systems, are discussed. Geologically driven hypoxia caused by gas seepage is demonstrated. Using novel technologies, temporal and spatial patterns of water-column oxygenation, from basin-scale seasonal patterns to meter-scale sub-micromolar oxygen distributions, were resolved. Existing multidecadal monitoring data were used to demonstrate the imprint of climate change and eutrophication on long-term oxygen distributions. Organic and inorganic proxies were used to extend investigations on past oxygen conditions to centennial and even longer timescales that cannot be resolved by monitoring. The effects of hypoxia on faunal communities and biogeochemical processes were also addressed in the project. An investigation of benthic fauna is presented as an example of hypoxia-devastated benthic communities that slowly recover upon a reduction in eutrophication in a system where naturally occurring hypoxia overlaps with anthropogenic hypoxia. Biogeochemical investigations reveal that oxygen intrusions have a strong effect on the microbially mediated redox cycling of elements. Observations and modeling studies of the sediments demonstrate the effect of seasonally changing oxygen conditions on benthic mineralization pathways and fluxes. Data quality and access are crucial in hypoxia research. Technical issues are therefore also addressed, including the availability of suitable sensor technology to resolve the gradual changes in bottom-water oxygen in marine systems that can be expected as a result of climate change. Using cabled observatories as examples, we show how the benefit of continuous oxygen monitoring can be maximized by adopting proper quality control. Finally, we discuss strategies for state-of-the-art data archiving and dissemination in compliance with global standards, and how ocean observations can contribute to global earth observation attempts.