Title: Presentaci
1A NATURAL LABORATORY FOR SHALLOW GAS THE RÍAS
BAIXAS (SPAIN)
Contribution 7, by García-Gil, Soledad
Dpto. Geociencias Marinas, Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad de Vigo, 36200, Vigo, Spain
E-mail sgil_at_uvigo.es
2THE SETTING
G -H
M -PH
G -H
M -PH
M -PH
M -H
RÍAS BAIXAS (GALICIA) and NORTH PORTUGAL
TECTONIC MAP OF IBERIAN PENINSULA.Escale
11.000.000 (FROM IGME, 1980)
M -H
G -H
G -H
Basement in the rías region is mainly composed of
Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks and Hercynian
granites with NNW-SSE trendings.
M -H
LEGEND G H Hercynian Granites M H
Metamorphic Hercynian Rocks (Palaeozoic). M PH
Metamorphic Pre-Hercynian Rocks (Cambrian-
U.Precambrian).
3RIA DE VIGO
Cíes Islands
Rande Narrow
San Simón Bay
4Satellite image from Galicia.
Fault
Trends
u
NW
-
SE (dextral)
v
N
-
S (sinistral)
w
NE
-
SW (dextral)
5Sparker Uniboom seismic lines
Bottom samples
Well
SEISMICS STRATIGRAPHY CONTINENTAL SHELF RÍAS
BAIXAS
6WELL PMB1 (3538 m ) Galicia Shelf
(Data from ENIEPSA, 1984
7multiple
multiple
8Ría de Pontevedra
RSP 1
NE
SW
Ría de Pontevedra
GAS FRONT
multiple
9GAS SEAL IS MAINLY COMPOUND BY THE HOLOCENE MUDS.
GAS ACCUMULATIONS ALWAYS ARE LOCATED UNDERLYING
THESE FINER SEDIMENTS, WHILST ACOUSTIC PLUMES
ALSO OCCURS WITHIN AREAS OF COARSER SEDIMENTS
(SANDS)
RÍA DE AROUSA
10RÍA DE VIGO
SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION ON PRESENT SEA-BED GAS
ESCAPES FEATURES
(From García-García, 1999)
117
6
96
27
37
39
54
97
SANDY MUD (F(a))
BIOCLASTIC SAND (B)
MUDS (F)
BIOTURBATED MUDS (Fdb)
LAMINATED MUDS (Fl)
LAMINATED BIOTURBATED MUDS (Flb)
GRAVITY CORES
CORRELATION OF GAS SEAL FACIES
12RÍA DE VIGO
SHALLOW GAS EVIDENCES
3.5 kHz mud profiler
Ø
13RÍA DE VIGO
ECHO SOUNDER PROFILE
Ø
3.5 KHZ SUBBOTTOM PROFILE
Ø
14MUROS L21
The mounds in the Ría de Muros have been
identified on sidescansonar sonar and are
typically 5 m in diameter and 1 m high, located
in water depths from 10 m to 15 m. (García-Gil et
al. 2001)
15Ría de Vigo Vibrocore ZVC-1 June2001
Bottom 2,52 m
Top
16RIA DE VIGO
Gas filled pores occurs as white elongated spots
with larger deformtion at the edges af the cores
X-RAY GRAVITY CORE CV1
17RIA DE AROUSA
Gas front
Multiples
3.5 kHz
18MULTIBEAM
RIA DE AROUSA
POCKMARK
19SOME QUANTITATIVE DATA FROM GAS ESCAPES
20RÍA DE PONTEVEDRA
Q1
LGM
Q1
LGM
Q2
Q2
DOMES
LGMEROSIVE SURFACE FROM THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUN
21RÍA DE PONTEVEDRA
DOMES (BLACK SPOTS)ARE LOCATED ALONG MAIN FAULT
TRENDS
22THERMAL SPRINGS CLOSE TO THE GALICIAN RÍAS
THE THERMAL SPRINGS ARE ALIGNED ALONG NNW-SSE to
NE-SW TRENDING FAULTS. THE DOMES ALSO COINCIDE
WITH THESE LIGNATIONS AND COULD BE ORIGINED BY
RISING THERMAL FLUIDS.
23DIAGENETICAL PROCCESSES.
RÍA DE VIGO. SULPHIDES AND SULFATES
(García, 2001)
AUTHIGENIG PYRITE AND GYPSUM OCCURS WITHIN THE
GAS SEAL FACIES. THESE ANOMALIES ARE SHALLOWER AT
THE INNER PARTS OF THE RÍA AND DEEPER AT THE
EXTERNAL AREAS. THE GAS ALSO ACCUMULATES
SHALLOWER AT THE INNER PARTS THAN AT THE OUTER
AREAS.
24Dissolution of carbonate grains may be enhance by
the occurrence of micro-organisms such as
microboring. EDX analysis shows Al-Si coating on
microtubular structures, indicating
dissolution-recristallization processes.
25KISH BANK SEEP MOUND (SEM)
ARAGONITE
PYRITE
ARAGONITE
AUTHIGENIC ARAGONITE AND PYRITE (SIMILAR
PARAGENESIS THAN IN THE RÍA DE VIGO) APPEARS IN
THE MOUNDS OF THE IRISH SEA WHICH ALSO ARE
RELATED WITH GAS ESCAPES (METHANE)
26FAUNAS and GAS
(Data from Mijón, O., 1998)
(Data from Ramil et al. , 1997)
(Data from Mijón, O., 1998)
2720 cm
Leptogorgia sarmentosa (Esper, 1789). RÍA DE VIGO
See slide 26 for location
CaCO3 Esclerites
28Sponge on present muds in the inner part of Ría
de Vigo
10 cm
Suberites ficus (Linnaeus, 1767)
Domayo area (See slide26 for location)
29Alcyionium digitatum Linnaeus, 1758 (Cnidaria,
Antozoa,Octochorallia), Ophiura Echinoderm
30The high productivity within the Rías Baixas has
been directly related to the upwelings currents
comming into the rías from May to September.
These currents are very rich in nutrients. The
idea about that active seeps enhance this
productivity is proposed in here. The fluid
escapes such as seeps and pockmarks would provoke
the re-suspension from the present sea bed
sediments as well as the whole nutrient
components contained into sediments. The
filter-feeding faunas (eg. mussels) will be
favoured by presence of these seeps.
Mussel Rafts
31Sampling of gas bubbles 29th April 2002
5 cm
Low SPRING TIDE.
32Sampling of gas bubbles 29th April 2002
High SPRING TIDE.
33Abundance
31
GAS ANALYSIS
29
Scan Mode 627 (0.589 min) SOLE9.D
(Total gases)
Methane
15
13
17
33
19
40
44
26
42
24
46
48
22
36
m/z--gt
34INNER RÍA
OUTER RÍA
dls
p.s. b.
YD
ts
HST
U4
Q2
U3
TST
ts
U2
U1
LGM
ts
Q1
Pleistocene Seq.
GB
GB
Hercynian
T2
L. Miocene M. Miocene Seq?
Granite Basement
GB
T1
B
U. Oligocene- Miocene?
Metamorphic Basement Palaeozoic
MB
STRATIGRAPHIC MODEL FOR THE RÍAS BAIXAS
35GAS GENERATION
Organic-rich sediments, in which microbial
methane generation occurs, accumulate in the rías
environments largely controled by relative
sea-level variations (see slide 36). Falling
relative sea-level (about 100 m) during the Last
Glacial Maximum (18 ka) provoked a prominent
unconformity due to subaerial erosion on the
shallower continental shelf and whitin the Rías
Baixas. Relative sea-level rise from its lowest
position allowed the infilling of the existing
incised valleys by the Transgressive System
Tracts (seismic units U1 to U3) and earlier High
Stand System Tract Sedimets (U4 seismic unit, see
slide 34). These sediments (TST) are
characteriscally organic rich due to the high
productivity of such areas. They are inmediately
overlain by the finest sediments of the HST that
act as seal of the gas. The domes appearing on
the Q2 Sequence could be originated by fluid
migration troughtout faults comming from thermal
springs.
36MODEL OF THE RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES FOR RÍAS
BAIXAS FROM THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM (aprox. 18
ky)
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