Description: The Logatchev hydrothermal field at 14°45′N on the MAR is characterized by gas plumes that are enriched in methane and helium compared to the oceanic background. We investigated CH4 concentration and δ13C together with δ3He in the water column of that region. These data and turbidity measurements indicate that apart from the known vent fields, another vent site exists northeast of the vent field Logatchev 1. The distribution of methane and 3He concentrations along two sections were used in combination with current measurements from lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCP) to calculate the horizontal plume fluxes of these gases. According to these examinations 0.02 μmol s−1 of 3He and 0.21 mol s−1 of methane are transported in a plume that flows into a southward direction in the central part of the valley. Based on 3He measurements of vent fluid (22 ± 6 pM), we estimate a total vent flux in this region of about 900 L s−1 and a total flux of CH4 of 3.2 mol s−1.

Description: The physical, chemical/biological processes that control the methane dynamics in the Weddell Sea are revealed by the distributions of methane (CH4), its stable carbon isotope ratio, δ13C-CH4, and the conservative transient tracer, chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11, CCl3F). In general, a nearly linear correlation between CH4 and CFC-11 concentrations was observed. Air-sea exchange is the major source of methane to this region, and the distribution of methane is controlled mainly by mixing between surface water and methane-poor Warm Deep Water. A significant influence of methane oxidation over the predominant two end-member mixing was only found in the Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) of the deep central Weddell Basin, where the turnover time of methane appears to be about 20 years. Mixing also controls most of the δ13C-CH4 distribution, but lighter than expected carbon isotopic ratios occur in the deep WSBW of the basin. From box model simulations, it appears that this “anomaly” is due to methane oxidation with a low kinetic isotope fractionation of about 1.004. The surface waters in the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current showed a general methane undersaturation of 6 to 25% with respect to the atmospheric mixing ratio. From this undersaturation and model-derived air-sea exchange rates, we estimate a net uptake of CH4 of roughly −0.5 μmol m−2 d−1 during austral autumn.

Description: The concentrations of methane and hydrogen in hydrothermal vent fluids issuing from mid-ocean ridges tend to fall into two groups, one with high concentrations of these gases in ultramafic-hosted vent fields and a second group with relatively lower concentrations in basalt-hosted vent fluids. Ultramafic-hosted systems, however, appear to be restricted to slow-spreading ridges and constitute only a fraction of the hydrothermal systems found there. In this note, the hydrothermal fluxes of methane and hydrogen have been calculated by estimating the percentages of the total subsurface hydrothermal circulation that circulate through each type of host rock. Even though the percentage of the total subsurface flow that is affected by serpentinization appears to be rather small (8%), it still appears that this process produces about 70% of the total mid-ocean flux of these gases. The total production of methane and hydrogen is calculated to be about 20 x 10(9) mol yr(-1) and 190 x 10(9) mol yr(-1), respectively. The hydrogen flux is comparable to that most recently calculated on the basis of the rate of hydration of mantle rock in newly formed crust and the stoichiometry of the serpentinization reaction. This suggests that, except for the production of methane, a major portion of the hydrogen produced in the subsurface is not consumed before venting.

Description: As methane is consumed in the deep sea, its 13C/12C ratio progressively increases because of kinetic isotope fractionation. Many submarine hydrothermal vents emit methane with carbon isotope ratios that are higher than those of background methane in the surrounding ocean. Since the latter exists at low concentrations, mixing of background methane with vent fluid tends to decrease the 13C/12C ratio as concentration decreases, opposite to the trend produced by consumption. We investigated CH4 concentration and δ13C together with δ3He in plumes from the Logatchev hydrothermal field (LHF) located at 14°45′N, 45°W, which generates relatively heavy methane (δ13C ≈ −13‰) by serpentinization of ultramafic rock. The measured methane and δ3He were well correlated at high concentrations, indicating a CH4/3He ratio of 1 × 108 in the vent fluids. These tracer distributions were also simulated with an advection-diffusion model in which methane consumption only occurs above a certain threshold concentration. We utilized δ3He to calculate the methane remaining in solution after oxidation, f, and the deviation of δ13C from the value expected from mixing alone, Δδ13C. Both in the model and in the data, the entire set of Δδ13C values are not correlated with log f, which is due to continuous oxidation within the plume while mixing with background seawater. A linear relationship, however, is found in the model for methane at concentrations sufficiently above background, and many of the samples with elevated CH4 north of LHF exhibit a linear trend of Δδ13C versus log f as well. From this trend, the kinetic isotope fractionation factor in the LHF plumes appears to be about 1.015. This value is somewhat higher than found in some other deep-sea studies, but it is lower than found in laboratory incubation experiments.

Description: The effect of volcanic activity on submarine hydrothermal systems has been well documented along fast- and intermediate-spreading centers but not from slow-spreading ridges. Indeed, volcanic eruptions are expected to be rare on slow-spreading axes. Here we report the presence of hydrothermal venting associated with extremely fresh lava flows at an elevated, apparently magmatically robust segment center on the slow-spreading southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 5°S. Three high-temperature vent fields have been recognized so far over a strike length of less than 2 km with two fields venting phase-separated, vapor-type fluids. Exit temperatures at one of the fields reach up to 407°C, at conditions of the critical point of seawater, the highest temperatures ever recorded from the seafloor. Fluid and vent field characteristics show a large variability between the vent fields, a variation that is not expected within such a limited area. We conclude from mineralogical investigations of hydrothermal precipitates that vent-fluid compositions have evolved recently from relatively oxidizing to more reducing conditions, a shift that could also be related to renewed magmatic activity in the area. Current high exit temperatures, reducing conditions, low silica contents, and high hydrogen contents in the fluids of two vent sites are consistent with a shallow magmatic source, probably related to a young volcanic eruption event nearby, in which basaltic magma is actively crystallizing. This is the first reported evidence for direct magmatic-hydrothermal interaction on a slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge.

Description: During May - August, 1997, the distributions of dissolved methane and CCl3F (CFC11) were measured in the Atlantic between 50° and 60°N. In surface waters throughout the region, methane was observed to be close to equilibrium with the atmospheric mixing ratio, implying that surface ocean methane is tracking its atmospheric history in regions of North Atlantic Deep Water formation. Despite the different atmospheric history and ocean chemistry of CH4 and CFC11, their spatial distribution patterns in the water column are remarkably similar. One-dimensional distributions have been simulated with an advection-diffusion model forced by the atmospheric histories. The results suggest that the similar patterns result from the increasing input of CH4 and CFC11 to newly formed deep waters over time, combined with the effect of horizontal mixing and the oxidation of methane on a 50 year time scale.

Description: The δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon was measured on samples collected at 49°N in the northeast Atlantic in January 1994. Deeper than 2000 m, δ13C exhibits the same negative correlation versus dissolved phosphate that is observed elsewhere in the deep Atlantic. Upward from 2000 m to about 600 m, δ13C shifts to values more negative than expected from the correlation with nutrients at depth, which is likely due to penetration of anthropogenic CO2. From these data, the profile of the anthropogenic δ13C decrease is calculated by using either dissolved phosphate or apparent oxygen utilization as a proxy for the preanthropogenic δ13C distribution. The shape of the anthropogenic anomaly profile derived from phosphate is similar to that of the increase in dissolved inorganic carbon derived by others in the same area. The reconstruction from oxygen utilization results in a lower estimate of the anthropogenic δ13C decrease in the upper water column, and the vertical anomaly profile is less similar to that of the dissolved inorganic carbon increase. A 13C budget for the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere indicates that within the range of probable ocean CO2 uptake the ratio of δ13C to inorganic carbon change should be mostly influenced by the 13C inventory change of the biosphere. However, the uncertainty in the ratio we derive prevents a strong contraint on the size of the exchangeable biosphere.

Description: The effect of volcanic activity on submarine hydrothermal systems has been well documented along fast- and intermediate-spreading centers but not from slow-spreading ridges. Indeed, volcanic eruptions are expected to be rare on slow-spreading axes. Here we report the presence of hydrothermal venting associated with extremely fresh lava flows at an elevated, apparently magmatically robust segment center on the slow-spreading southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 5°S. Three high-temperature vent fields have been recognized so far over a strike length of less than 2 km with two fields venting phase-separated, vapor-type fluids. Exit temperatures at one of the fields reach up to 407°C, at conditions of the critical point of seawater, the highest temperatures ever recorded from the seafloor. Fluid and vent field characteristics show a large variability between the vent fields, a variation that is not expected within such a limited area. We conclude from mineralogical investigations of hydrothermal precipitates that vent-fluid compositions have evolved recently from relatively oxidizing to more reducing conditions, a shift that could also be related to renewed magmatic activity in the area. Current high exit temperatures, reducing conditions, low silica contents, and high hydrogen contents in the fluids of two vent sites are consistent with a shallow magmatic source, probably related to a young volcanic eruption event nearby, in which basaltic magma is actively crystallizing. This is the first reported evidence for direct magmatic-hydrothermal interaction on a slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge.