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Asphalt Volcanism

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Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

Definition

Asphalt volcanism is a type of hydrocarbon seepage associated with submarine mounds found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Santa Barbara Basin. The term asphalt volcanism was introduced because of the lavalike appearance of the asphalt flows and several other indications, which resemble magmatic eruptions.

Asphalt Seepage Versus Asphalt Volcanism

Although asphalt deposits have been described from several places of the ocean floor, the term asphalt volcanism has been introduced as a novel type of hydrocarbon seepage by MacDonald et al. (2004) after an area of approximately 1 km2solidified asphalt was found on top of one of the Campeche Knolls in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The knoll was subsequently named Chapopote which is the Aztec word for tar. Those knolls in the Gulf of Mexico are clearly associated with salt tectonism which controls the development of hydrocarbon reservoirs and faults that allow oil and gas to escape at the seafloor. Guided by satellite data that showed...

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Bibliography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, MARUM, 330 440, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Gerhard Bohrmann

Authors
  1. Gerhard Bohrmann
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Correspondence to Gerhard Bohrmann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. Leibiniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Lit c/o Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Jörn Thiede

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Bohrmann, G. (2014). Asphalt Volcanism. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_1-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_1-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6644-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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