T228 Mass Extinctions II: Past, Present, and Future?

Tuesday, 24 October 2017
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 608

SILL INDUCED HYDROTHERMAL VENTING AS A CLIMATE TRIGGER: A SUMMARY OF OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING

Paper number: T228-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Hydrothermal vent structures which are predominantly related with the emplacement of large (>1000 km3) intrusions into the sub-volcanic basins have been implicated in earth crisis, where climate-forcing gases can be transferred into the atmosphere and hydrosphere. As these occur as part of the emplacement of large igneous provinces, these gases and the gases from the volcanic eruptions provide a combined effect on the climate forcing. In the case of intrusion induced venting, the types and volumes of gas produced by intrusions is heavily dependent on the host-rock sediment properties that they intrude through. The distribution of vent structures can be shown to be widespread in Large Igneous Provinces for example on both the Norwegian and the Greenland margins of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). In this overview we assess the distribution, types and occurrence of hydrothermal vent structures associated with LIPs. There is particular focus on those within the NAIP using mapped examples from offshore seismic data as well as outcrop analogues, highlighting the variability of these structures and their deposits. As the availability of 3D data from offshore and onshore increases, the full nature of the volcanic stratigraphy from the subvolcanic intrusive complexes, through the main eruption cycles into the piercing vent structures, can be realised along the entirety of volcanic rifted margins and LIPs. This will help greatly in our understanding of the evolving palaeo-environments, and climate contributions during the evolution of these short lived massive volcanic events.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-305405

© Copyright 2017 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.