Mineralogy and stable isotopic composition of carbonates and sulfide minerals from ODP Leg 164 sites

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 164, gas hydrates were recovered in the Blake Ridge where the top of the gas hydrate zone lies at about 200 meters below seafloor (mbsf) and the bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) is located at about 450 mbsf. There is no sedimentological discontinuity crossing the BSR. The BSR is disrupted by the salt piercement of the Cape Fear Diapir. The authigenic carbonates (dolomite and siderite) are always present in small amounts (a few weight percent) in the sediments; they are also concentrated in millimeter- to centimeter-sized nodules and layers composed of dolomite above the top of the gas hydrate reservoir, and of siderite below the BSR. In the Blake Ridge, the dolomite/siderite boundary is located near 140 mbsf. The distribution with depth of the d18O values of dolomite and siderite shows a sharp decrease from high values (maximum 7.5 per mil) in the topmost 50 m, to very low values (minimum -2.7 per mil) at 140 mbsf, and at greater depth increase to positive values within the range of 1.8 per mil to 5.0 per mil. The d13C distribution is marked by the rapid increase with greater depth from low values (-31.3 per mil to -11.4 per mil) near 50 mbsf to positive values at 110 mbsf, which remain in the range of 1.7 to 5.4 down to 700 mbsf. Diagenetic carbonates were precipitated in pore waters in which d18O and d13C values were highly modified by strong fractionation effects, both in the water and in the CO2-CH4 systems associated with the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates.

Oxygen isotopic composition of G. ruber and G. sacculifer in ODP Hole 164-994C sediments

The purpose of this study is to establish the oxygen isotopic stratigraphy of the last 0.8 m.y. at Hole 994C, drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 164. Hole 994C (31º47.1'N, 75º32.8'W) is on the Blake Ridge off the coast of the southeast United States, at a water depth of 2799 m. The sediments from Hole 994C consist of light pale brown calcareous nannofossil clay containing relatively abundant and well-preserved foraminifers. Because the sediment on the Blake Ridge is composed of contourites derived from north by the Western Boundary Undercurrent beneath the Gulf Stream, the oxygen isotopic record is expected to be a mixture of the indigenous and reworked components. However, normal oxygen isotopic curves since the last 20 k.y. have already been reported from the Blake Ridge (Keigwin and Jones, 1989 doi:10.1016/0198-0149(89)90032-0; Haskell et al., 1991, doi:10.1029/90PA01939). The oxygen isotopic data obtained through this study is also correlatable to the standard oxygen isotopic stratigraphy, although some abnormality exists in certain intervals.