Submarine fluid and gas flow is ubiquitous along active and passive continental margins and a significant pathway for the exchange of heat, fluids and volatile elements between the deeply buried sediments, basement rocks, and the ocean. Fluid flow is controlled by overpressure and largely depends on overburden, the subsurface temperature field, and the contents of volatile compounds. Frequently, surface expressions of fluid flow are tied to subsurface hydrocarbon systems. Typical indicators of focussed fluid and gas seepage at the seafloor are morphological features such as mud volcanoes, mounds or pockmarks. Despite growing evidence for the widespread occurrence of subsurface fluid flow at continental margins interactions of relevant control processes and rates are still poorly constrained. Only limited information is available on the quantification of flow rates over time or the interpretation of geochemical signatures combining information on fluid formation processes, water-rock interactions, and the tectonic setting.

To this session we invite geologists, geophysicists, geochemists and physical modellers working on fluid flow, gas hydrate dynamics, and seep processes. Merging the different disciplines and techniques should result in cross-fertilization of ideas and leading edge research, and will hopefully result in some vigorous discussions on the following topics:

• structural control on fluid flow/emanation
• use of (isotope) geochemical tracers to decipher fluid formation/alteration processes
• variations in the temperature regime controlling fluid mobilization
• relation to hydrocarbon and gas hydrate reservoirs
• geophysical tools and techniques to characterize fluid migration pathways
• long-term seafloor observatories and innovative monitoring technologies
• proxies of fluid flow in the sedimentary record
• fluid flow in the deep subsurface – indications from deep sea-drilling (ODP/IODP)
• application of numerical models to improve the understanding of coupled reaction (e.g. degradation, water-rock interaction) and transport processes
• linkage between fluid flow and slope instabilities (submarine slides)
• role of fluid/gas flow at submarine seeps and its role in global element cycles

Invited speaker:
- Henrik Svensen - University of Oslo