Mound Growth Research Articles

Perennial frost blisters of the outer Mackenzie Delta, western Arctic coast, Canada

ABSTRACTSaturated floodplains in Arctic deltas provide conditions favourable for frost mound growth. Little work has been reported from these settings to determine the origin of frost mounds and the controls on their distribution, to assess the longevity of individual mounds, or to quantify variation of mound distribution over time. A case study is presented on low mounds in low‐centred syngenetic ice‐wedge polygons of Big Lake Delta Plain, outer Mackenzie Delta. In 2008 and 2009, 12 mounds were examined by drilling to describe their morphologic variations and to investigate their growth processes. The mounds, containing a core of ice 15 to 58 cm thick, were less than 1 m high and 3 · 7 to 8 · 5 m in diameter; other mounds were over 10 m long. Organic inclusions in the ice, bubble densities, electrical conductivity profiles, and ice‐crystal structure indicated that the mounds were hydrostatic frost blisters. Up to six frost blisters were found within individual polygons due to the relatively small volume of water needed to create each mound. Frost‐blister densities, of greater than 1700 km–2, increased toward the wet centres of alluvial islands down gentle topographic gradients. The frost blisters were perennial, with individuals remaining identifiable on aerial photographs and satellite images for up to 10 years. Frost blisters collapsed along dilation cracks opened by hydrostatic uplift and by thawing from their sides caused by snow drifting and water ponding. Cyclical growth and decay of the mounds may degrade the visible polygonal network over time. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Growth of north-east Atlantic cold-water coral reefs and mounds during the Holocene: A high resolution U-series and 14C chronology

We investigated the Holocene growth history of the Mingulay Reef Complex, a seascape of inshore cold-water coral reefs off western Scotland, using U-series and radiocarbon dating methods. Both chronologies revealed episodic occurrences of the reef framework-forming scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa during the late Holocene. Downcore U-series dating revealed unprecedented reef growth rates of up to 12mma−1 with a mean rate of 3–4mma−1. Our study highlighted a persistent hiatus in coral occurrence from 1.4ka to modern times despite present day conditions being conducive for coral growth. The growth history of the complex was punctuated at least twice by periods of reduced growth rates: 1.75–2.8ka, 3.2–3.6ka and to a lesser extent at 3.8–4ka and at 4.2ka. Timing of coral hiatuses and reduced reef growth rates at Mingulay were synchronous with those occurring across the wider northern European region, which suggests a close relationship between these ecosystems and large-scale shifts in palaeoenvironmental regimes associated with changes to the North Atlantic subpolar gyre.

Environmental boundary conditions of cold-water coral mound growth over the last 3 million years in the Porcupine Seabight, Northeast Atlantic

IODP Expedition 307 made it for the first time possible to investigate the entire body of a cold-water coral carbonate mound. Here we provide new insights into the long-term history of Challenger Mound on the European continental margin off Ireland. This study is based on age determinations (230Th/U, 87Sr/86Sr) and geochemical signals (Mg/Li and Ba/Ca) measured in the scleractinian cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa from IODP Site 1317 in the Porcupine Seabight. The paleoceanographic reconstructions reveal that coral growth in the Porcupine Seabight was restricted to specific oceanographic conditions such as enhanced export of primary production and Bottom-Water Temperatures (BWT) between ∼8 and 10°C, related to the water mass stratification of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW). The geochemical signals from the coral skeletons can be explained by the close interaction between cold-water coral growth, sea-surface productivity and the surrounding water masses – the boundary layer between MOW and ENAW. Enhanced sea-surface productivity and the build-up of a stable water mass stratification between ENAW and MOW caused enhanced nutrient supply at intermediate water depths and facilitated a steady mound growth between ∼3.0 and 2.1Ma. With the decrease in sea-surface productivity and related reduced export productivity the food supply was insufficient for rapid coral mound growth between ∼1.7 and 1Ma. During the late Pleistocene (over the last ∼0.5Myr) mound growth was restricted to interglacial periods. During glacials the water mass boundary between ENAW/MOW probably was below the mound summit and hence food supply was not sufficient for corals to grow.

Mound morphology and growth dynamic of the wedding-cake interfaces

We aimed in this work to study numerically the scaling behavior and the mound morphological properties of the interfaces generated by the multilayer deposition process. We have found that when the diffusion process dominates strongly the deposition one, the obtained interfaces consist of wedding-cake like structures. The width of the surface is a self-affine fractal exhibiting non-trivial scaling with the surface height and the system size, and the obtained interfaces follow the Family–Vicsek law with exponent values more consisting with the Edwards–Wilkinson model.

Alternation of microbial mounds and ooid shoals (Middle Jurasssic, Morocco): Response to paleoenvironmental changes

The occurrence of neritic microbial carbonates is often related to ecological refuges, where grazers and other competitors are reduced by environmental conditions, or to post-extinction events (e.g. in the Late Devonian, Early Triassic). Here, we present evidence for Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) microbial mounds formed in the normal marine, shallow neritic setting of an inner, ramp system from the High Atlas of Morocco. The microbial mounds are embedded in cross-bedded oolitic facies. Individual mounds show low relief domal geometries (up to 3m high and 4.5m across), but occasionally a second generation of mounds exhibits tabular geometries (<1m high). The domes are circular in plan view and have intact tops, lacking evidence of current influence on mound preferred growth direction or distribution patterns, or truncation. The mound facies consists almost entirely of non-laminated, micritic thrombolites with branching morphologies and fine-grained, clotted and peloidal fabrics. Normal marine biota are present but infrequent. Several lines of evidence document that microbial mound growth alternates with time intervals of active ooid shoal deposition. This notion is of general significance when compared with modern Bahamian microbialites that co-exist with active subaquatic dunes. Furthermore, the lack of detailed studies of Middle Jurassic, normal marine shallow neritic microbial mounds adds a strong motivation for the present study. Specifically, Bajocian mounds formed on a firmground substratum during transgressive phases under condensed sedimentation. Furthermore, a transient increase in nutrient supply in the prevailing mesotrophic setting, as suggested by the heterotrophic-dominated biota, may have controlled microbial mound stages.

Mixing of hydrothermal water and groundwater near hot springs, Yellowstone National Park (USA): hydrology and geochemistry

Studies of hot springs have focused mainly on the properties of fluids and solids. Fewer studies focus on the relationship between the hot springs and groundwater/surface-water environments. The differences in temperature and dissolved solids between hot-spring water and typical surface water and groundwater allow interactions to be traced. Electromagnetic terrain (EMT) conductivity is a nonintrusive technique capable of mapping mixing zones between distinct subsurface waters. These interactions include zones of groundwater/surface-water exchange and groundwater mixing. Herein, hydrogeological techniques are compared with EMT conductivity to trace hot-spring discharge interactions with shallow groundwater and surface water. Potentiometric-surface and water-quality data determined the hydrogeochemistry of two thermally influenced areas in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (USA). Data from the sites revealed EMT conductivity contrasts that reflected the infiltration of conductive hot-spring discharge to local groundwater systems. The anomalies reflect higher temperatures and conductivity for Na+–Cl−-rich hydrothermal fluids compared to the receiving groundwater. EMT conductivity results suggested hot springs are fed by conduits largely isolated from shallow groundwater; mixing of waters occurs after hot-spring discharge infiltrates groundwater from the surface and, generally, not by leakage in the subsurface. A model was proposed to explain the growth of sinter mounds.

Slope selection of mounds with permeable steps in homoepitaxy

We study the growth of mounds representing stacks of monolayer islands in homoepitaxy assuming terrace-edge-kink mechanism of attachment of atoms to kink sites and allowing a permeability of the single steps. We show that the latter can result in slope selection of the growing mounds at comparatively small values of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier to down-step diffusion. The value of the permeability coefficient at which a slope selection occurs is always very close to the upper limit for complete step permeability. The latter is in agreement with the row-by-row mechanism of step propagation at which the steps are kink-free for most of the time.

Earthen mound formation in the Uruguayan lowlands (South America): micromorphological analyses of the Pago Lindo archaeological complex

The stratigraphic excavation of the Pago Lindo archaeological complex, in central-eastern Uruguay (La Plata basin), helped to propose an alternative model for mound formation that expresses the intrinsic complexity of prehistoric earthen architecture. This model, known as the spatial–temporal discontinuous model, sees mound complexes as multi-functional areas, with diverse earth works occupied and abandoned intermittently. Since earthen mound sediments are homogeneous, resemble natural soils and show evidences of intense bioturbation, soil micromorphology was used to confirm, refute and further investigate issues raised during field work, related with the prime material used for mound construction, detection of major episodes of mound building, identification of activity areas and taphonomic processes. In this paper, we present the results of the micromorphological analyses of two different earth works from the Pago Lindo archaeological complex (a mound and a micro-relief). Analyses proved the recurrent use of surface horizons for mound and micro-relief building throughout the entire period of site occupation. It also demonstrated the difficulty in identifying discrete depositional episodes and occupation surfaces, because of the intense bioturbation. Two activity areas where recognized: a domestic hut built over a platform, ca. 1600 yrs. BP; and an area of plant residue accumulation over a platform, raised almost 800 hundred year after the domestic hut. The practice of cleaning the occupation surfaces was interpreted from the complete absence of bioarchaeological remains (bones and micro-charcoal). The use of micromorphology as a complementary tool in the stratigraphic excavation of Pago Lindo unraveled evidences that corroborate a newly proposed model for mound growth.

Shallow water mud-mounds of the Early Devonian Buchan Group, East Gippsland, Australia

The Lower Devonian Rocky Camp Member of the Murrindal Limestone, Buchan Group of southeastern Australia consists of a series of carbonate mud-mounds and smaller lagoonal bioherms. The Rocky Camp mound is the best exposed of the mud-mounds and has many characteristics in common with Waulsortian (Carboniferous) mounds. Detailed paleoecological and sedimentological studies indicate that the mound initially accumulated in the photic zone, in contrast to most of the previously recorded mud-mounds. Five facies are present in the mud-mound: a Dasycladacean Wackestone Facies at the base of the mound represents a moderate energy, shallow water bank environment within the photic zone. A Crinioidal Wackestone Facies was deposited in a laterally equivalent foreslope setting. A Poriferan-Crinoidal Mudstone Facies developed in a quiet, deeper water, lee-side mound setting associated with a minor relative sea-level rise. A Stromatoporoid-Coralline Packstone Facies in the upper part of the mound deposited in a high-energy, fair-weather wave base, mound-front environment. The crest of the mound is represented by a Crinoidal-Receptaculitid Packstone Facies indicative of a moderate-energy mound-top environment in the photic zone, sheltered by the mound-front stromatoporoid-coral communities. A mound flank facies is present on the southern side of the mound and this consists of high-energy crinoidal grainstones. Mud-mound deposition was terminated by a transgression that deposited dark gray, fossil-poor marl of the overlying Taravale Formation.The Rocky Camp mound appears to have originated in shallow water photic zone conditions and grew into a high-energy environment, with the mound being eventually colonized by corals and stromatoporoids. The indications of a high-energy environment during later mound growth (growth form of colonial metazoans and grainstones of the flanking facies) suggest that the micrite in the mound was autochthonous and implies the presence of an energy damping mechanism (probably biological) at the mound surface.

Climate-driven deposition of water ice and the formation of mounds in craters in Mars’ north polar region

This paper explores the origins and evolution of ice-rich interior mounds found within craters of the north polar region of Mars. We present a systematic study of impact craters above 65°N, and identify 18 craters that have interior mounds. At least 11 of these mounds are composed of water ice and geometric similarities suggest that dune-covered mounds may also have a water ice core. The mounds are found in the deeper craters in the north polar area and we suggest that these form a specific microclimate favorable for mound initiation and growth. It is likely that at least seven of the mounds have evolved as individual outliers, rather than conterminous with the main polar cap. Our observations suggest that the mounds are built up by atmospheric deposition, similar to that of the north polar layered deposits. Using a combination of remote sensing techniques enabling topographic, spectral, radar and image data analyses, we have documented the morphology, composition and stratigraphy of selected mounds. We advance and test four hypotheses for formation of these mounds: artesian outpouring from a deep aquifer, hydrothermal activation of ground ice, remnants of a more extensive polar cap, and atmospheric deposition on ice caps in meteorologically isolated locations. We propose that during periods when the perihelion was located in northern summer (most recently 10–25ka before present) the microclimate in these craters retarded the sublimation of CO2 and water ice in northern spring, thus creating a cold trap for volatiles released as the seasonal cap retreated. This created a thick enough deposit of water ice to withstand sublimation over the summer and initiate a positive feedback leading to mound-building. Mounds without complete dune-cover may be in dynamic equilibrium with the ambient climate and show evidence of both present-day and past periods of erosion and aggradation. We conclude that the water ice mounds formed in deep impact craters in Mars’ north polar region may contain sensitive records of past polar climate that may enhance our understanding of the CO2–H2O system in the polar regions.

Clay and shaly claystones in the Upper Triassic Siliceous sponge-microbe reef mounds and oolitic bank complex in NW Sichuan, China

The Upper Triassic Carnian siliceous sponge-microbe reef mounds and oolitic bank complex is located in the northwestern part of Sichuan province, China. The Carnian hexactinellid-thrombolite reef mound tract and its underlying oolitic bank were developed in a deeper marine gulf. The oolitic bank overlain by a bioclastic bank, corresponding to the Lower Carnian served as the foundation for growth of the reef mounds. The reef mounds, inter-mound strata and caprocks correspond to the Upper Carnian. There are some occurrences of clay and claystones in the reef mound–bank complex. The reef mounds contain a certain ratio of clay content. The clay content in reef mounds is originated from the turbid and muddy water in the Carnian gulf. It is conjectured that alive siliceous sponges preferred to grow in marine water with more silica content to be supplied to their skeletons, and that thrombolite preferentially dwelt in marine water containing a certain content of clayey mud with more organic matter, for cyanobacteria were heterotrophs in Mesozoic. The inter-mound and caprock facies consist mostly of claystones. There exist clay-filling neptunian dikes, karstic clay, and fault clay. Most of the clay is originated from claystone coating of the reef mounds, and fault clay is caused by earthquake.

Diagenesis and Geochemistry of Upper Muschelkalk (Triassic) buildups and associated facies in Catalonia (NE Spain): a paper dedicated to Francesc Calvet

Carbonate buildups are well developed in the Triassic Upper Muschelkalk of eastern Spain in the La Riba Unit, but they are completely dolomitised. These mud-mounds with reefal caps have well-developed fibrous and botryoidal marine cements which were probably high-Mg calcite and aragonite originally. The dolomite is fabric retentive indicating an early origin, but the d18O values are quite negative (average -3.‰), interpreted as indicating recrystallisation during shallow burial, but without fabric destruction. Low Sr and Na contents support this. The d13C signature is quite uniform (~ +1‰) and this is probably the inherited, original marine CaCO3 value. The Alcover Unit, deposited between and above the La Riba buildups after a sea-level fall terminated mound growth, is an organic-rich laminated dolomicrite with exquisitely-preserved fossils. The d18O signature (average –3.4‰) is similar to the La Riba dolomites, also interpreted as suggesting recrystallisation. The d13C values, however, show a stratigraphic trend of increasingly negative (to –5.5‰) and then more positive to marine values (~0‰), over a thickness of 10 metres. This is interpreted as a reflection of increasing stratification and developing anoxia, which would have led to the preservation of the special fossils, and then a return to conditions of more open-marine circulation. The dolomicrites of the Alcover unit may well have been formed on or close to the sea-floor. Recrystallisation of the dolomites took place during shallow to moderate burial, with the resetting of the d18O signatures and loss of Sr. The dolomitisation of the La Riba Unit is attributed to circulating seawater, probably driven by sea-level change, during deposition of the Alcover Unit or shortly thereafter.

Preboreal onset of cold-water coral growth beyond the Arctic Circle revealed by coupled radiocarbon and U-series dating and neodymium isotopes

Cold-water coral mounds of Lophelia pertusa are widespread across the Scandinavian shelf, which was completely ice-covered during the Last Glacial Maximum between 22 to 18ka BP. Rapid deglacial meltdown of the Fennoscandian inland ice and the retreat of its ice-streams freed most of the shelf of ice by ∼15ka BP. However, cold-water coral growth commenced only after the Pleistocene–Holocene transition at 11.65ka BP, when modern-like climatic patterns and oceanographic conditions were established. A tight climatic coupling has been constrained with U-series ages. Coupled 14C ages provide local reservoir ages from various gravity cores in a fjord-setting in Stjernsund at 70°N and on the open shelf in Trænadjupet at 66°N. Reinvestigation of earlier 14C coral chronologies suggests that coral ecosystems widely established themselves across the entire 3000km long Scandinavian shelf prior to ∼10ka BP. The earliest occurrence of Madrepora oculata at ∼2.4ka BP suggests a late Holocene colonization of the Norwegian shelf, which is linked to a prominent mound growth hiatus in Trænadjupet (64°N). Mound growth rates near the northern biogeographic boundary of L. pertusa with up to ∼614cmka−1 during certain growth periods are much higher than the previously reported fastest rates of ∼220cmka−1 from the Irish margin. Contemporaneous rapid fjordbasin sedimentation is slower with ∼63cmka−1. Matrix 14C ages overlap with coral 14C ages from the same horizon. This indicates rapid framework construction and efficient trapping of background sediment. Hiatuses are frequent in on-mound sediments and only short periods of coral growth are recorded. Coupled Δ14C and εNd values indicate a persistent Holocene inflow of the North Atlantic Current in Stjernsund, but also deglacial meltwater mixing during the early Holocene prior to ∼9.5ka BP. Reservoir ages are overall close to the surface marine reservoir age, but ΔR is highly localized.

Variability of cold‐water coral mounds in a high sediment input and tidal current regime, Straits of Florida

AbstractCold‐water coral mound morphology and development are thought to be controlled primarily by current regime. This study, however, reveals a general lack of correlation between prevailing bottom current direction and mound morphology (i.e. footprint shape and orientation), as well as current strength and mound size (i.e. footprint area and height). These findings are based on quantitative analyses of a high‐resolution geophysical dataset collected with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle from three cold‐water coral mound sites at the toe of slope of Great Bahama Bank. The three sites (80 km2 total) have an average of 14 mounds km−2, indicating that the Great Bahama Bank slope is a major coral mound region. At all three sites living coral colonies are observed on the surface of the mounds, documenting active mound growth. Morphometric analysis shows that mounds at these sites vary significantly in height (1 to 83 m), area (81 to 6 00 000 m2), shape (mound aspect ratio 0·1 to 1) and orientation (mound longest axis 0 to 180°). The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle measured bottom current data depict a north–south flowing current that reverses approximately every six hours. The tidal nature of this current and its intermittent deviations during reversals are interpreted to contribute to the observed mound complexity. An additional factor contributing to the variability in mound morphometrics is the sediment deposition rate that varies among and within sites. At most locations sedimentation rate lags slightly behind mound growth rate, causing mounds to develop into large structures. Where sedimentation rates are higher than mound growth rates, sediment partially or completely buries mounds. The spatial distribution and alignment of mounds can also be related to gravity mass deposits, as indicated by geomorphological features (for example, slope failure and linear topographic highs) in the three‐dimensional bathymetry. In summary, variability in sedimentation rates, current regime and underlying topography produce extraordinarily high variability in the distribution, development and morphology of coral mounds on the Great Bahama Bank slope.

Geochemical methods for inferring seasonal occupation of an estuarine shellmound: a case study from San Francisco Bay

Seasonal patterns of Native American residence and use of shell mounds of the San Francisco Bay area, California are of great interest. This work investigates seasonal occupation by means of a new method for interpretation of geochemical data from Mytilus trossulus specimens recovered from one of these structures, the Ellis Landing Shell Mound (CA-CCO-295). The approach, which is suitable for relatively small shell fragments from a variety of archaeological contexts, is used to infer the environmental conditions (temperature and salinity of ambient water) at harvest time, compared with average conditions for the period, and thus estimate the season during which the shells were harvested. This information, in turn, is employed to evaluate current models about the growth and construction of prehistoric shell mounds in San Francisco Bay. The method was applied to seven different lenses in the shell mound ranging in age from ∼240 cal yr BP to ∼3510 cal yr BP. We found that, although seasonal occupation varied over time, it generally was confined to summer through late fall, with little indication of winter gathering. Our findings suggest that California shell mounds, such as Ellis Landing, were constructed in a very different manner than some other mounded places used by contemporaneous hunter-gatherers elsewhere in North America.

The Moira Mounds, small cold-water coral mounds in the Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic: Part B—Evaluating the impact of sediment dynamics through high-resolution ROV-borne bathymetric mapping

Large cold-water coral carbonate mounds are well-known from several locations along the north-east Atlantic continental margin. With these mound structures, which can measure up to 350m in height, often smaller mounds are found in the same hydrodynamic settings. This paper illustrates the importance of local sediment dynamics on the morphology and development of small-sized mounds, the Moira Mounds, in the Belgica Mound Province (Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland) through ROV-borne microbathymetry and video data. The data set illustrates the sedimentary setting of small mounds in the Porcupine Seabight, gives new insights in the sedimentary processes acting around the small mounds and sheds more light on the interaction between hydrodynamics, sedimentation and erosion, cold-water coral mound initiation and mound growth. The high-resolution bathymetry over the Moira Mounds reveals the presence of several well-delineated zones, each characterized by typical sedimentary structures bearing witness of active sediment transport. The most important ones are: (1) regular E–W directed sediment waves, (2) irregular overgrown sediment waves, and (3) furrows and ridges associated with straight-crested sediment waves. The Moira Mounds appear as small-mounded features, subcircular in shape, measuring 30–50m across and up to ~5m tall. The evolution of the Moira Mounds can be explained by the interaction between cold-water coral growth and sediment baffling through a positive feedback mechanism. However, it is suggested that the small mound build-ups represent nowadays rather a way of mound formation under stressed conditions due to high sediment fluxes, than an initial phase of extensive mound growth.

Productivity controlled cold-water coral growth periods during the last glacial off Mauritania

Cold-water corals are widely distributed along the Atlantic continental margin with varying growth patterns in relation to their specific environment. Here, we investigate the long-term development of cold-water corals that once thrived on a low-latitude (17°40′N) cold-water coral mound in the Banda Mound Province off Mauritania during the last glacial–interglacial cycle. U/Th dates obtained from 20 specimens of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, revealed three distinct periods of coral growth during the last glacial at 65 to 57kyrBP, 45 to 32kyrBP and 14kyrBP, thus comprising the cool periods of Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 2–4. These coral growth periods occur during periods of increased productivity in the region, emphasizing that productivity seems to be the major steering factor for coral growth off Mauritania, which is one of the major upwelling regions in the world. This pattern differs from the well studied coral mounds off Ireland, where the current regime predominantly influences the prosperity of the cold-water corals. Moreover, coral growth off Ireland takes place during rather warm interglacial and interstadial periods, whereas off Mauritania coral growth is restricted to glacial and stadial periods. However, the on-mound sedimentation patterns off Mauritania largely resemble the observations reported from the Irish mounds. The bulk of the preserved sediments derives from periods of coral growth, whereas during periods without corals hardly any net sedimentation or mound growth took place.

The Pleistocene Cooling Built Challenger Mound, a Deep-water Coral Mound in the NE Atlantic: Synthesis from IODP Expedition 307

IODP Expedition 307 revealed the interior of a deep-water coral mound in NE Atlantic for the first time and improved our understanding of these intriguing structures. From the summit of our drilling target, Challenger Mound at ~800 m deep in the Porcupine Seabight, south west of Ireland, we recovered the entire mound section of 155 m long, which almost entirely consists of coral-bearing sediments and rests on the Miocene siliciclastics. The mound initiation is temporally correlated to the global cooling at the beginning of Pleistocene, when modern circulation was established in Atlantic.A key oceanographic feature of the mound provinces is the density gradient that developed above the saline Mediterranean Outflow Water where organic particles persist for a longer time and fuel the coral communities. Growth of the deep-water mounds reflected the glacial/interglacial change. Our age model recognized two growth stages separated by a substantial hiatus; the depositionally continuous lower mound (2.61.7 Ma) accumulated under the low-amplitude relative sea-level change, and the discontinuous upper mound (1.0 Ma to midHolocene) developed under the high-amplitude relative sea-level change. Low cellular abundances in the geochemical features of the mound sediments did not support the hypothesis that hydrocarbon seepage and associated microbial activity significantly enhanced mound initiation and development.

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Challenger Mound initiation in the Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic

The understanding of the paleoenvironment during initiation and early development of deep cold-water coral carbonate mounds in the NE Atlantic is currently a focus of international research. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 307 drilled the 155m high Challenger Mound in the Porcupine Seabight (SW off Ireland) in order to investigate for the first time sediments from the base of a giant carbonate mound. In this study we focus in high resolution on 12m of sediments from Site 1317 encompassing the mound base. The mound initiation and start-up phase coincide with the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (INHG) at around 2.7Ma. Further carbonate mound development seems to be strongly dependent on rapid changes in paleoceanographic and climatic conditions at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary, especially characterized and caused by the interaction of intermediate water masses, the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW), the Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW) and the influence of Southern Component Water (SCW).This study is based on well-established proxies such as δ18O and δ13C of planktonic (Globigerina bulloides) and benthic foraminifera (Fontbotia wuellerstorfi, Discanomalina coronata, Lobatula lobatula, Lobatula antarctica, and Planulina ariminensis) as well as grain size parameters to identify the paleoenvironmental and paleoecological setting favourable for the initial coral colonization on the mound. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope records of benthic foraminiferal species indicate that L. lobatula provides a reliable isotopic signature for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. In particular, δ18O values of L. lobatula indicate that initial mound growth started in a glacial mode with moderate excursions in δ18O values. Carbon isotope values of D. coronata are significantly offset compared to other epibenthic species. This offset may be related to vital effects. Bottom water temperatures, calculated using standard equations based on δ18O of foraminiferal tests, range between 7 and 11°C, consistent with the known temperature range conducive for cold-water coral growth and development.Bottom currents transporting intermediate water masses of southern origin (Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay) enhanced at 2.6Ma supporting first coral settlements with the INHG. The benthic δ13C and the sortable silt records indicate that the early Pleistocene hydrodynamic regime was characterized by weaker current intensities associated with vertical movements of MOW or its replacement by SCW at intermediate depth. After these sluggish phases enhanced MOW flow dominated again and led to stronger current intensities and most probably sediment erosion on Challenger Mound. Erosion in combination with early diagenetic (oxidation) processes overprinted the sediment layers as indicated by dissolved coral skeletons, the increase in Ca-content and sediment density, minimum δ13Cplanktonic values, as well as the occurrence of gypsum and pyrite, implying a careful evaluation of original and overprinted geochemical signals. We conclude that the Challenger Mound development was already influenced by short-term variability of water masses from southern origin and possible erosional events comparable to the late Pleistocene setting.

Cold-water coral mounds on the Pen Duick Escarpment, Gulf of Cadiz: The MiCROSYSTEMS project approach

Here we present a case study of three cold-water coral mounds in a juvenile growth stage on top of the Pen Duick Escarpment in the Gulf of Cadiz; Alpha, Beta and Gamma mounds. Although cold-water corals are a common feature on the adjacent cliffs, mud volcanoes and open slope, no actual living cold-water coral has been observed. This multidisciplinary and integrated study comprises geophysical, sedimentological and (bio)geochemical data and aims to present a holistic view on the interaction of both environmental and geological drivers in cold-water coral mound development in the Gulf of Cadiz. Coring data evidences (past or present) methane seepage near the Pen Duick Escarpment. Several sources and pathways are proposed, among which a stratigraphic migration through uplifted Miocene series underneath the escarpment. The dominant morphology of the escarpment has influenced the local hydrodynamics within the course of the Pliocene, as documented by the emplacement of a sediment drift. Predominantly during post-Middle Pleistocene glacial episodes, favourable conditions were present for mound growth. An additional advantage for mound formation near the top of Pen Duick Escarpment is presented by seepage-related carbonate crusts which might have offered a suitable substrate for coral settling. The spatially and temporally variable character and burial stage of the observed open reef frameworks, formed by cold-water coral rubble, provides a possible model for the transition from cold-water coral reef patches towards juvenile mound. These rubble “graveyards” not only act as sediment trap but also as micro-habitat for a wide range of organisms. The presence of a fluctuating Sulphate–Methane Transition Zone has an important effect on early diagenetic processes, affecting both geochemical and physical characteristics, transforming the buried reef into a solid mound. Nevertheless, the responsible seepage fluxes seem to be locally variable. As such, the origin and evolution of the cold-water coral mounds on top of the Pen Duick Escarpment is, probably more than any other NE Atlantic cold-water coral mound province, located on the crossroads of environmental (hydrodynamic) and geological (seepage) pathways.