RRS 'Charles Darwin' Cruise 178, 14 Mar - 11 Apr 2006. 3D seismic acquisition over mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz and submarine landslides in the Eivissa Channel, western Mediterranean Sea

摘要

The major aims of Charles Darwin Cruise 178 were to obtain (i) 3D seismic imagery, video transects and swath bathymetry maps of mud volcanoes in the southern Gulf of Cadiz, (ii) video transects across suspected cold water coral reefs in the Alboran Sea and (iii) 3D seismic imagery of submarine landslides in the Eivissa Channel, immediately east of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. The cruise was in support of the EU Framework 6 ‘HERMES’ project (Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas). A total of four 3D seismic cubes and 10 successful video transects were completed. Live chemosynthetic communities found on one mud volcano in the Gulf of Cadiz appear to indicate active methane seepage. Images of gas-charged sediments in areas of submarine landsliding in the Eivissa Channel appear to indicate a direct linkage between landsliding and fluid escape.