Abstract
Gas hydrate systems in the Scotia Sea, the deep-water oceanic gateway between Antarctica and South America, exist in a unique polar setting characterized by: (1) Very low bottom water temperatures (e.g., as low as −0.5 °C at water depths of 2000–4000 m); (2) strong bottom currents sourced both from the ice stream discharge in the Weddell Sea and from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that, combined with high sediment supply, generates giant contourite drifts; (3) high lateral variability of the geothermal gradient due to near-surface magmatism and hydrothermal activity, which is associated with a system of oceanic ridges and relict subduction arcs within the Scotia plate. In this area, the base of the gas hydrate stability zone as inferred from a gas hydrate-related bottom simulating reflector adapt to this changing environment, producing a peculiar association with gas-related structures in the subsurface.
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Acknowledgements
Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation as part of the EXPLOSEA (grant CTM201675947-R) and SCAN (SCotia-ANtartic) projects, which have been active in the region since 1992. Thanks go to the crew of the R/V Hespérides for the successful cruises to the Antarctic region, and to Andreia Plaza-Faverola and Angelo Camerlenghi for their helpful comments and suggestions on improving this work. Special thanks to Jürgen Mienert and Christian Berndt and the other editors of this issue, for their interest and dedication.
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Somoza, L., Medialdea, T., Gonzalez, F.J. (2022). Bottom Simulating Reflectors Along the Scan Basin, a Deep-Sea Gateway Between the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) and Scotia Sea. In: Mienert, J., Berndt, C., Tréhu, A.M., Camerlenghi, A., Liu, CS. (eds) World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates in Continental Margins. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81186-0_41
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