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Manifestation of carbonate-barite mineralization around methane seeps in the Sea of Okhotsk (the western slope of the Kuril Basin)

  • Marine Geology
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Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

First data are reported on a new manifestation of carbonate-barite mineralization found at a site of methane emanations on the western slope of the Kuril Basin, Sea of Okhotsk. Morphological types of barite, aragonite, and low-magnesian calcite are considered in detail; the results of carbon and oxygen isotope study of carbonate concretions and crusts are presented. It is shown that the barite was formed in sediments owing to the diffusion infiltration of the barium-rich fluids through sedimentary succession. The component and isotope compositions of gases are determined and the relatively elevated content of heavy hydrocarbons is revealed. It was assumed that the relatively heavy isotope composition of carbonates is caused by the influence of fluid released from deep sedimentary horizons owing to the dehydration of clay minerals during post- sedimentation transformations. Obtained data show that the origin of carbonate-barite mineralization is related to the migration of hydrocarbons (mainly methane) and barium-bearing cold gas-fluid flows, which were derived not only from near-surface reservoirs but also from deeper-seated sources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanology Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    A. N. Derkachev, N. A. Nikolaeva & A. V. Mozherovskiy

  2. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    B. V. Baranov

  3. Far East Geological Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    N. N. Barinov

  4. Kitami Institute of Technology, Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan

    H. Minami, A. Hachikubo & H. Shoji

Authors
  1. A. N. Derkachev
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  2. N. A. Nikolaeva
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  4. N. N. Barinov
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  5. A. V. Mozherovskiy
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  6. H. Minami
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Correspondence to A. N. Derkachev.

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Original Russian Text © A.N. Derkachev, N.A. Nikolaeva, B.V. Baranov, N.N. Barinov, A.V. Mozherovskiy, H. Minami, A. Hachikubo, H. Shoji, 2015, published in Okeanologiya, 2015, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 432–443.

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Derkachev, A.N., Nikolaeva, N.A., Baranov, B.V. et al. Manifestation of carbonate-barite mineralization around methane seeps in the Sea of Okhotsk (the western slope of the Kuril Basin). Oceanology 55, 390–399 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437015030029

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437015030029

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