AUTHOR=Feng Xia , Jia Zice , Wang Xudong 

TITLE=Uncovering the temporal carbon isotope (δ13C) heterogeneity in seep carbonates: a case study from Green Canyon, northern Gulf of Mexico

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1187594

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1187594

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Authigenic carbonates that form at hydrocarbon seeps, known as seep carbonates, are direct records of past fluid flow close to the seafloor. Stable carbon isotopes of seep carbonates (δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>carb</sub>) have been widely used as a proxy for determining fluid sources and seepage mode. Although the spatial heterogeneity of δ<sup>13</sup>C in seep carbonates is increasingly understood, the temporal heterogeneity of δ<sup>13</sup>C in seep carbonates is not well studied. In this study, we report δ<sup>13</sup>C values of different components (clasts, matrix, and pore-filling cements) for 124 subsamples drilled across an authigenic carbonate block from Green Canyon block 140 (GC140) of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope. High-Mg calcite is the dominant mineral regardless the types of components. The δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>carb</sub> values range from −39.6‰ to 3.6‰, indicating multiple dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) sources that include methane carbon (<sup>13</sup>C-depleted), seawater DIC, and residual CO<sub>2</sub> from methanogenesis (<sup>13</sup>C-enriched). Specifically, the clasts show large variability in δ<sup>13</sup>C values (−39.6‰ to 2.3‰; mean: −27.6‰, n = 71), demonstrating the dominance of methane-derived fluids during formation at the initial seepage stage. The δ<sup>13</sup>C values of the matrix vary between −29.4‰ and 3.4‰ (mean: −11.6‰, n = 21). The carbon isotopes of pore-filling cements that formed most recently vary narrowly, with δ<sup>13</sup>C values of −3.2‰ to 3.6‰ (mean: 1.7‰, n = 28). Isotopic variations within individual samples were observed in seep carbonate. However, common trends occur across components of carbonates that formed during different seepage stages. This suggests that the temporal evolution of local fluid sources may play an important role in determining carbonate isotope geochemistry. Studies regarding seeps must take into account the highly variable fluids that leave their geochemical imprints on the seep carbonate.</p>