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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Solid Earth

 

Keywords

  • methane
  • hydrothermal system
  • Suiyo Seamount

Index Terms

  • Geochemistry: Hydrothermal systems
  • Geochemistry: Stable isotope geochemistry
  • Geochemistry: Intra-plate processes
  • Biogeosciences: Hydrothermal systems
Abstract
Cited By (2)
 

Abstract

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, B08S13, 14 PP., 2008
doi:10.1029/2007JB005476

Methane enrichment in low-temperature hydrothermal fluids from the Suiyo Seamount in the Izu-Bonin Arc of the western Pacific Ocean

Tomohiro Toki

Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Urumu Tsunogai

Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Jun-ichiro Ishibashi

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Motoo Utsumi

Institute of Agricultural and Forest Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

Toshitaka Gamo

Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

The gas geochemistries of high-temperature and low-temperature hydrothermal fluids (HTHFs and LTHFs, respectively) were studied for the Suiyo Seamount hydrothermal system (140°39′E, 28°33′N) in the southern Izu-Bonin (Ogasawara) Arc of the western Pacific Ocean. HTHFs (290 ± 20°C) were collected from four active vents using a gas-tight fluid sampler, which prevented the loss of volatile components through degassing during sample processing. The end-member CH4 concentrations were homogeneous across the vent fields. LTHFs were collected from four diffuse flow zones using a funnel, which was deployed on the seafloor with replacement of the seawater inside the funnel by the LTHF. Strong linear relationships were found among the concentrations of CH4, ΣCO2, and Si of the obtained samples, which ensured that the end-member chemical composition of the LTHFs could be accurately estimated. While the ΣCO2 concentrations of the HTHFs and LTHFs were similar, all four LTHFs showed enrichment of CH4 as compared to the HTHFs. The carbon isotopic composition of CH4 also revealed a significant difference: the LTHFs (δ 13C(CH4) = −4.8 ± 0.3‰PDB) showed 13C enrichment, as compared to the HTHFs (δ 13C(CH4) = −5.8 ± 0.4‰PDB). The 13C enrichment can be explained by a combination of microbial CH4 production and oxidation after formation of the LTHFs. On the basis of the observed differences in CH4 concentrations and carbon isotopic compositions of the HTHFs and LTHFs, microbial methane oxidation and production are estimated to have comparable impacts. These results support the notion of a subseafloor microbial consortium of methanogens and methanotrophs.

Received 31 October 2007; accepted 26 June 2008; published 22 August 2008.

Citation: Toki, T., U. Tsunogai, J. Ishibashi, M. Utsumi, and T. Gamo (2008), Methane enrichment in low-temperature hydrothermal fluids from the Suiyo Seamount in the Izu-Bonin Arc of the western Pacific Ocean, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B08S13, doi:10.1029/2007JB005476.

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