Formation and Ecological Succession
Cold seeps occur over fissures on the seafloor caused by tectonic activity. Oil and methane "seep" out of those fissures, get diffused by sediment, and emerge over an area several hundred meters wide.
Methane (CH4) is the main component of what we commonly refer to as natural gas. But in addition to being an important energy source for humans, methane also forms the basis of a cold seep ecosystem. Cold seep biota below 200 m typically exhibit much greater systematic specialization and reliance on chemoautotrophy than those from shelf depths. Deep-sea seeps sediments are highly heterogeneous. They sustain different geochemical and microbial processes that are reflected in a complex mosaic of habitats inhabited by a mixture of specialist (heterotrophic and symbiont-associated) and background fauna.
Read more about this topic: Cold Seep
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