Distribution
Cold seeps were discovered in 1983 by Dr. Charles Paull in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 3,200 meters (10,500 ft). Since then, seeps have been discovered in other parts of the world's oceans. They have also been grouped into several biogeographic provinces: Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Mediterranean, East Pacific, West Pacific and under an ice shelf in Antarctica. Those localities include the Monterey Canyon just off Monterey Bay, California, the Sea of Japan, off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in the Atlantic off of Africa and in waters off the coast of Alaska. The deepest seep community known is found in the Japan trench at a depth of 7,326 m (24,035 ft). With the recent discovery of a methane seep in the Southern Ocean, methane seeps are now known in all oceans. Cold seeps are patchily distributed and they occur most frequently near ocean margins from intertidal to hadal depths. Methane seeps are common along continental margins in areas of high primary productivity and tectonic activity, where crustal deformation and compaction drive emissions of methane rich fluid.
- Map of some cold seeps (marked with a star)
Read more about this topic: Cold Seep
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