Geochemical observations on Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin : July 1999

Abstract

Geophysical and biogeochemical processes associated with fluid venting from active and passive continental margins will receive significant scientific and economic attention into the next century and are of major societal relevance. An important unknown among these interrelated processes is the role played by methane gas hydrates, at and below the seafloor, and their impact on the oceans and atmosphere. Research scientists from institutions in the USA, Germany and Canada have developed a research project dedicated to a long-term study of continental margin gas hydrates on the Cascadia Accretionary Prism, under the acronym "TECFLUX". It is conceived as multi-stage research effort with the eventual goal of measuring the energy and chemical fluxes associated with this system, determining its temporal variability in response to tectonic and oceanographic forcing, and evaluating its impact on marine biogeochemical cycles.