Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin

  • Original paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Magellan mound province is one of the three known provinces of carbonate mounds or cold-water coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. It has been studied in detail using a large and varied data set: 2D and 3D seismic data, sidescan sonar imagery and video data collected during ROV deployment have been used to describe the mounds in terms of origin, growth processes and burial. The aim of this paper is to present the Magellan mounds and their setting in an integrated, holistic way.

More than 1,000 densely spaced and mainly buried mounds have been identified in the area. They all seem to be rooted on one seismic reflection, suggesting a sudden mound start-up. Their size and spatial distribution characteristics are presented, together with the present-day appearance of the few mounds that reach the seabed. The underlying geology has been studied by means of fault analysis and numerical basin modelling in an attempt to identify possible hydrocarbon migration pathways below or in the surroundings of the Magellan mounds.

Although conclusive evidence concerning the processes of mound initiation proves to be elusive, the results of both fault analysis and 2D numerical modelling failed to identify, with confidence, any direct pathways for focused hydrocarbon flow to the Magellan province. Diffuse seepage however may have taken place, as drainage area modelling suggests a possible link between mound position and structural features in the Hovland-Magellan area. During mound development and growth, the interplay of currents and sedimentation seems to have been the most important control. Mounds which could not keep pace with the sedimentation rates were buried, and on the few mounds which maintained growth, only a few corals survive at present.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bailey W, Shannon PM, Walsh JJ and Unnithan V (2003) The spatial distributions of faults and deep sea carbonate mounds in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland. Mar Petrol Geol 20(5):509–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Britsurvey (1997) Total Oil Marine plc, site survey Irish Block 35/17–1, 14/11/96–13/12/96, final report. Dublin, Petroleum Affairs Division

  • Cressie NAC (1993) Statistics for spatial data. Wiley, Chichester, pp 900

    Google Scholar 

  • Croker PF, Klemperer SL (1989) Structure and stratigraphy of the Porcupine Basin: relationships to deep crustal structure and the opening of the North Atlantic. In: Tankard AJ, Balkwill HR (eds) Extensional tectonics and stratigraphy of the North Atlantic margins. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, pp 445–459

    Google Scholar 

  • Croker PF, Shannon PM (1987) The evolution and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland. In: Brooks J, Glennie KW (eds) Petroleum geology of North West Europe. Graham and Trotman, London, pp 633–642

    Google Scholar 

  • De Mol B, Van Rensbergen P, Pillen S, Van Herreweghe K, Van Rooij D, McDonnell A, Huvenne V, Ivanov M, Swennen R, Henriet JP (2002) Large deep-water coral banks in the Porcupine Basin, southwest of Ireland. Mar Geol 188:193–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Mol B (2002) Development of coral banks in Porcupine Seabight (SW Ireland). A multidisciplinary approach. PhD Thesis, University of Ghent, Ghent, pp 363

  • Frederiksen R, Jensen A, Westerberg H (1992) The distribution of the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa around the Faroe Islands and the relation to internal tidal mixing. Sarsia 77:157–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Freiwald A (1998) Geobiology of Lophelia pertusa (scleractinia) reefs in the North Atlantic Habilitationsschrift, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften. Universität Bremen, Bremen, p 116

    Google Scholar 

  • Freiwald A, Hühnerbach V, Lindberg B, Wilson JB, Campbell J (2002) The Sula reef complex. Norwegian Shelf. Facies 47:179–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Games KP (2001) Evidence of shallow gas above the Connemara oil accumulation, Block26/28, Porcupine Basin. In: Shannon PM, Haughton PDW, Corcoran DV (eds) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 188:361–373

  • GEBCO (1997) 1997 Edition of the IOC/IHO general bathymetric chart of the oceans – GEBCO digital atlas (GDA). British Oceanographic Data Centre, Bidston Observatory, Merseyside

  • Hargreaves PM (1984) The distribution of decapoda (crustacea) in the open ocean and near-bottom over an adjacent slope in the Northern North-East Atlantic ocean during autumn 1979. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 64:829–857

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriet JP, De Mol B, Pillen S, Vanneste M, Van Rooij D, Versteeg W, Croker PF, Shannon PM, Unnithan V, Bouriak S, Chachkine P and the Porcupine-Belgica ’97 shipboard party (1998) Gas hydrate crystals may help build reefs. Nature 391:648–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henriet JP, De Mol B, Vanneste M, Huvenne V, Van Rooij D and the ’Porcupine-Belgica’ 97, 98 and 99 shipboard parties (2001) Carbonate mounds and slope failures in the Porcupine Basin: a development model involving fluid venting. In: Shannon PM, Haughton PDW and Corcoran DV (eds) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 188:375–383

  • Hovland M, Croker PF, Martin M (1994) Fault-associated seabed mounds (carbonate knolls?) off western Ireland and north-west Australia. Mar Petrol Geol 11(2):232–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huthnance JM (1986) The Rockall slope current and shelf-edge processes. Proc R Soc Edinb 88B:83–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Huvenne VAI, Croker PF, Henriet JP (2002) A refreshing 3D view of an ancient sediment collapse and slope failure. Terra Nova 14:33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huvenne VAI, De Mol B, Henriet JP (2003) A 3D seismic study of the morphology and spatial distribution of buried coral banks in the Porcupine Basin, SW of Ireland. Mar Geol 198(1–2):5–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huvenne VAI (2003) Spatial geophysical analysis of the Magellan carbonate build-ups and the interaction with sedimentary processes: key to a genetic interpretation? PhD Thesis, University of Ghent, Ghent, p 285

  • Kenyon NH, Ivanov MK and Akhmetzhanov AM (eds) (1998) Cold water carbonate mounds and sediment transport on the Northeast Atlantic Margin IOC Technical Series 52. UNESCO, Paris, p 178

  • Kenyon NH, Akhmetzhanov AM, Wheeler AJ, van Weering TCE, de Haas H, Ivanov MK (2003) Giant carbonate mud mounds in the Southern Rockall Trough. Mar Geol 195:5–30

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell A (2001) Comparative Tertiary basin development in the Porcupine and Rockall Basins. Unpublished PhD thesis, National University of Ireland, University College Dublin, Dublin, 201 pp

  • McDonnell A, Shannon PM (2001) Comparative Tertiary stratigraphic evolution of the Porcupine and Rockall basins. In: Shannon PM, Haughton PDW, Corcoran DV (eds) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 188:323–344

  • Mohn C, Beckmann A (2002) Numerical studies on flow amplification at an isolated shelfbreak bank, with application to Porcupine Bank. Cont Shelf Res 22:1325–1338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JG, Shannon PM (1992) Palaeocene-Eocene deltaic sedimentation, Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland-a sequence stratigraphic approach. First Break 10(12):461–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortensen PB, Hovland M, Brattegard T, Farestveit R (1995) Deep water bioherms of the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa(L.) at 64°N on the Norwegian shelf: structure and associated megafauna. Sarsia 80:145–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Naeth J (2003) Formation of carbonate mounds in the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland: evaluating transport of substrates for microbial processes from deep sources using numerical simulation and organic geochemistry. PhD Thesis, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, pp 268

  • Naeth J, di Primio R, Horsfield B, Shaefer RG, Shannon PM, Bailey WR, Henriet JP (2005) Modelling hydrocarbon migration in the Porcupine Basin with focus on Carbonate Mound SP46. In: Henriet JP, Dullo C (eds) North Atlantic carbonate mounds: clues towards their genesis, development and significance. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York (this volume)

  • Naylor D, Shannon P, Murphy N (2002) Porcupine-Goban region—a standard structural nomenclature system. Petroleum Affairs Division. Special Publication 1/02. 65pp and 2 Enclosures

  • New AL, Barnard S, Herrmann P, Molines J-M (2001) On the origin and pathway of the saline inflow to the Nordic Seas: insights from models. Progress Oceanogr 48:255–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olu-Le Roy K, Caprais J-C, Crassous P, Dejonghe E, Eardley D, Frelwald A, Galeron J, Grehan A, Henriet J-P, Huvenne V, Lorance P, Noel P, Opderbecke J, Pitout C, Sibuet M, Unnithan V, Vacelet J, van Weering T, Wheeler A, Zibrowius H (2002) CARACOLE cruise report. 30/07/2001(Cobh)-15/08/2001(Foynes) N/O L’Atalante & ROV Victor, Vois. 1&2. Internal report, IFREMER, Brest

  • O’Reilly BM, Readman PW, Shannon PM, Jacob AWB (2003) The development of a carbonate mound population in the Rockall Trough. Mar Geol 198:55–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pingree RD, Le Cann B (1989) Celtic and Armorican slope and shelf residual currents. Prog Oceanogr 23:303–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pingree RD, Le Cann B (1990) Structure, strength and seasonality of the slope currents in the Bay of Biscay region. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 70:857–885

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabaute A, Van Rensbergen P, Colpaert A, Mathys M (2005) Fluid expulsion from source to surface: imaging and modelling in the Connemara Field, Porucpine Basin. In: Henriet JP, Dullo C (eds) North Atlantic carbonate mounds: clues towards their genesis, development and significance. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, New York (this volume)

  • Rice AL, Thurston MH, New AL (1990) Dense aggregations of a hexactinellid sponge, Pheronema carpenteri, in the Porcupine Seabight (northeast Atlantic Ocean), and possible causes. Prog Oceanogr 24:179–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice AL, Billet DSM, Thurston MH, Lampitt RS (1991) The Institute of Oceanographic Sciences biology programme in the Porcupine Seabight: background and general introduction. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 71:281–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Ripley BD (1976) The second-order analysis of stationary point processes. J Appl Probab 13:255–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts HH, Aharon P (1994) Hydrocarbon-derived carbonate buildups of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope; a review of submersible investigations. Geomar Lett 14:135–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers AD (1999) The biology of Lophelia pertusa(LINNAEUS 1758) and other deep-water reef-forming corals and impacts from human activities. Int Rev Hydrobiol 84(4):315–406

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair IK, Shannon PM, Williams BPJ, Harker SD, Moore JG (1994) Tectonic control on sedimentary evolution of three North Atlantic borderland Mesozoic basins. Basin Res 6:193–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Shannon PM, Corcoran DV, Haughton PDW (2001) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins: introduction. In: Shannon PM, Haughton PDW, Corcoran DV (eds) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins, Geological Society, vol 188. Special Publications, London, pp 1–8

  • Shannon PM, McDonnell A, Bailey W, Croker PF, Naeth J, Di Primio R, Horsfield B (2005) The geological evolution of the Porcupine and Rockall region, offshore Ireland: the structural template for carbonate mound development. In : Henriet JP and Dullo C (eds) North Atlantic carbonate mounds: clues towards their genesis, development and significance. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, New York (this volume)

  • Stoker MS, van Weering TCE, Svaerdborg T (2001) A Mid- to Late Cenozoic tectonostatigraphic framework for the Rockall Trough. In: Shannon PM, Haughton PDW, Corcoran DV (eds) The petroleum exploration of Ireland’s offshore basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 188:411–438

  • van Weering TCE, Andersen H-L, de Haas H, Akhmetzanov A, Kenyon NH, Ivanov M (2003) Structure and development of giant carbonate mounds at the SW and SE Rockall Trough Margins, NE Atlantic Ocean. Mar Geol 198(1–2):67–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wessel P, Smith WHF (1991) Free software of the Generic Mapping Tools released. EOS Transact AGU 72:441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White M (2001) Hydrography and physical dynamics at the NE Atlantic margin that influence the deep water cold coral reef ecosystem EU ACES-ECOMOUND internal report. Department of Oceanography NUI, Galway, pp 31

  • White M (2005) The hydrographic setting for the carbonate mounds of the Porcupine Bank and Seabight. In : Henriet JP, Dullo C (eds) North Atlantic carbonate mounds: clues towards their genesis, development and significance. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York (this volume)

  • Wilson JB (1979) ‘Patch’ development of the deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa(L) on Rockall Bank. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 59:165–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Ltd., its partners Conoco (UK) Ltd., Enterprise Energy Ireland Ltd. and Dana Petroleum plc., and Chevron UK Ltd. for the kind provision of the 3D seismic data volume. Thanks also to the Petroleum Affairs Division (P.F. Croker) for the use of the MV Svitzer-Magellan site survey seismic data. Furthermore, this study used data and survey results (TOBI) acquired during a project undertaken with support of the European Union (EASSS III programme, ‘Improving Human Potential’, contract HPRI-CT-1999-00047) and on behalf of the Porcupine Studies Group (PSG) of the Irish Petroleum Infrastructure Programme Group 3. The PSG comprises: Agip Ireland BV, Chevron UK Ltd., Elf Petroleum Ireland BV, Enterprise Energy Ireland Ltd., Marathon International Hibernia Ltd., Philips Petroleum Company United Kingdom Ltd., Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Ltd. and the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of the Communication, Marine and Natural Resources. This research is carried out in the framework of the EC-funded Fifth Framework project ‘GEOMOUND’ (Contract No. EVK3-CT-1999-00016). The authors would like to thank D. Hebbeln and C. Ravenne for their constructive reviews. Veerle Huvenne, as PhD student, was funded through a grant of the ‘Fund for Scientific Research - Flanders’.

Author information

Author notes

  1. V. A. I. Huvenne

    Present address: Challenger Division for Seafloor Processes, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

  2. W. R. Bailey

    Present address: CSIRO Petroleum, PO Box 1130, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia

  3. J. Naeth

    Present address: Fugro Robertson Limited, Tyn-y-coed Site, Llanrhos, Llandudno, North Wales, LL30 1SA, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8, 9000, Gent, Belgium

    V. A. I. Huvenne & J. P. Henriet

  2. Department of Geology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    W. R. Bailey & P. M. Shannon

  3. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    J. Naeth, R. di Primio & B. Horsfield

  4. Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands

    H. de Haas

  5. Department of Geology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    A. Wheeler

  6. Centre de Brest, IFREMER, BP 70, 29280, Plouzané, France

    K. Olu-Le Roy

Authors
  1. V. A. I. Huvenne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. R. Bailey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. M. Shannon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Naeth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R. di Primio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. P. Henriet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. B. Horsfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. H. de Haas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. A. Wheeler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. K. Olu-Le Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. A. I. Huvenne.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Huvenne, V.A.I., Bailey, W.R., Shannon, P.M. et al. The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 96, 85–101 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-005-0494-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-005-0494-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation