Isotopic Constraints on Sources and Benthic Turnover at Mound 12, Western Costa Rican Margin

During several expeditions, we investigated the emission and isotopic signature of methane at several mounds of the western continental margin off Costa Rica and Nicaragua. All of the mounds investigated, either created by mud volcanism or mud diapirism, show indications of fluid venting, including authigenic carbonates, chemoautotrophic consortia, salt depleted pore waters, and methane plumes in the water column. However, the amount of methane released as well as the stable carbon isotopic ratio (del C-13) vary considerably. Here we report on results from Mound 12, a mound with a very weak morphological expression; that is only 30 m high and elongated in northeast-southwest direction with diameters of about 1 to 1.6 km. Data were gathered using standard CTD/rosette equipment, a bottom water sampler enabling to resolve the methane distribution within the lowermost meter of the water column, a benthic chamber lander (BCL), multicorer and piston corer deployments. Data show a very light biogenic methane source (del C-13 < -90 permil within the sediments), -76 permil in the lowermost water samples with concentrations up to 100 nmo/L, and a methane background of - 45 permil 20 m above the vent site. High oxygen demand immediately at a site with bacterial mats in connection to lower carbon stable isotopic ratios with increasing sediment depth is in contrast to low oxygen demand and heavier stable isotopic ratios with increasing sediment depth only one meter apart. Moreover, the relation of methane concentration vs. isotopic signature above the vent sites implies considerable oxidation and fractionation in the benthic boundary layer (BBL) above the vent site, which is supported by some biomarker investigations at the same site. Significant oxidation of methane above vent sites within the BBL has not been reported so far. An alternative explanation, which is the existence of an additional methane source with an isotopic signature similar to the background ( del C-13 =-45 permil) is unlikely, based on the investigations of numerous piston cores taken at Mound 12. However, such a heavier isotopic signature, in connection to higher amounts of higher hydrocarbons, was encountered at Mound 11, a very similar structure only a couple of hundred meters apart.