(Table 1) Summary of horizon, lithology, and paleomagnetic of ODP Hole 126-791B basaltic mousse samples

A paleomagnetic study was made on the highly vesiculated basaltic tuff breccia (the basaltic mousse) drilled by Ocean Drilling Program Leg 126 from the Izu-Bonin backarc, Sumisu Rift, to estimate the mode of its emplacement. Thirty-four 10-cm**3 minicore samples were collected from almost all the horizons of the basaltic mousse. Stepwise thermal and alternating-field demagnetization experiments show that the natural remanent magnetizations of many samples are mainly composed of a single stable component. Although remanence inclinations are not expected to be disturbed by rotary drilling, the measured inclinations of remanence show a random directional distribution as a whole. The remanence inclinations, however, show directional consistency on a smaller scale. High-density sampling and measurements from a limited interval of drilled cores, and the measurement of small disks cut from a single minicore sample show that there is directional consistency over several centimeters. Strong and stable remanent magnetization, the existence of remanence direction consistency, and the fresh lithology of the samples suggest the thermal origin of remanence. Combining the paleomagnetic results with other geological, petrographical, and paleontological characters, the Hole 791B basaltic mousse can be interpreted as a subaqueous explosion breccia produced by deep-sea pyroclastic fountaining.

Ocean bottom seismometer sgy-files of refraction seismic profiles from Professor Logachev cruise TTR16/3

Over the last decade pockmarks have proven to be important seabed features that provide information about fluid flow on continental margins. Their formation and dynamics are still poorly constrained due to the lack of proper three dimensional imaging of their internal structure. Numerous fluid escape features provide evidence for an active fluid-flow system on the Norwegian margin, specifically in the Nyegga region. In June-July 2006 a high-resolution seismic experiment using Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) was carried out to investigate the detailed 3D structure of a pockmark named G11 in the region. An array of 14 OBS was deployed across the pockmark with 1 m location accuracy. Shots fired from surface towed mini GI guns were also recorded on a near surface hydrophone streamer. Several reflectors of high amplitude and reverse polarity are observed on the profiles indicating the presence of gas. Gas hydrates were recovered with gravity cores from less than a meter below the seafloor during the cruise. Indications of gas at shallow depths in the hydrate stability field show that methane is able to escape through the water-saturated sediments in the chimney without being entirely converted into gas hydrate. An initial 2D raytraced forward model of some of the P wave data along a line running NE-SW across the G11 pockmark shows, a gradual increase in velocity between the seafloor and a gas charged zone lying at ~300 m depth below the seabed. The traveltime fit is improved if the pockmark is underlain by velocities higher than in the surrounding layer corresponding to a pipe which ascends from the gas zone, to where it terminates in the pockmark as seen in the reflection profiles. This could be due to the presence of hydrates or carbonates within the sediments.

Molecular and isotopic properties of gases from ODP Holes of ODP Leg 204

We report and discuss molecular and isotopic properties of hydrate-bound gases from 55 samples and void gases from 494 samples collected during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 204 at Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon. Gas hydrates appear to crystallize in sediments from two end-member gas sources (deep allochthonous and in situ) as mixtures of different proportions. In an area of high gas flux at the Southern Summit of the ridge (Sites 1248-1250), shallow (0-40 m below the seafloor [mbsf]) gas hydrates are composed of mainly allochthonous mixed microbial and thermogenic methane and a small portion of thermogenic C2+ gases, which migrated vertically and laterally from as deep as 2- to 2.5-km depths. In contrast, deep (50-105 mbsf) gas hydrates at the Southern Summit (Sites 1248 and 1250) and on the flanks of the ridge (Sites 1244-1247) crystallize mainly from microbial methane and ethane generated dominantly in situ. A small contribution of allochthonous gas may also be present at sites where geologic and tectonic settings favor focused vertical gas migration from greater depth (e.g., Sites 1244 and 1245). Non-hydrocarbon gases such as CO2 and H2S are not abundant in sampled hydrates. The new gas geochemical data are inconsistent with earlier models suggesting that seafloor gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge formed from gas derived from decomposition of deeper and older gas hydrates. Gas hydrate formation at the Southern Summit is explained by a model in which gas migrated from deep sediments, and perhaps was trapped by a gas hydrate seal at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Free gas migrated into the GHSZ when the overpressure in gas column exceeded sealing capacity of overlaying sediments, and precipitated as gas hydrate mainly within shallow sediments. The mushroom-like 3D shape of gas hydrate accumulation at the summit is possibly defined by the gas diffusion aureole surrounding the main migration conduit, the decrease of gas solubility in shallow sediment, and refocusing of gas by carbonate and gas hydrate seals near the seafloor to the crest of the local anticline structure.

Magnetostratigraphic synthesis of ODP Leg 123 sites

During ODP Leg 123, Sites 765 and 766 were drilled to examine the tectonic evolution, sedimentary history, and paleoceanography of the Argo Abyssal Plain and lower Exmouth Plateau. At each site, the quality of magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic records varies because of complicating factors, such as the predominance of turbidites, the presence of condensed horizons, or deposition beneath the CCD. Based primarily on the presence of nannofossils, the base of the sedimentary section at Site 765 was dated as Tithonian. A complete Cretaceous sequence was recovered at this site, although the sedimentation rate varies markedly through the section. The Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary is represented by a condensed horizon. The condensed Cenozoic sequence at Site 765 extends from the upper Paleocene to the lower Miocene. A dramatic increase in sedimentation rate was observed in the lower Miocene, and a 480-m-thick Neogene section is present. The Neogene section is continuous, except for a minor hiatus in the lower Pliocene. The base of the sedimentary section at Site 766 is Valanginian, in agreement with the site's position on marine magnetic anomaly Mil. Valanginian to Barremian sediments are terrigenous, with variable preservation of microfossils, and younger sediments are pelagic, with abundant well-preserved microfossils. Sedimentation rate is highest in the Lower Cretaceous and decreases continually upsection. Upper Cenozoic sediments are condensed, with several hiatuses.