Heat Flow Measurements at the Danube Deep-Sea Fan, Western Black Sea

Abstract

Seafloor heat flow measurements are utilized to determine the geothermal regime of the Danube deep-sea fan in the western Black Sea and are presented in the larger context of regional gas hydrate occurrences. Heat flow data were collected across paleo-channels in water depths of 550–1460 m. Heat flow across levees ranges from 25 to 30 mW m−2 but is up to 65 mW m−2 on channel floors. Gravity coring reveals sediment layers typical of the western Black Sea, consisting of three late Pleistocene to Holocene units, notably red clay within the lowermost unit cored. Heat flow derived from the bottom-simulating reflector (BSR), assumed to represent the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), deviates from seafloor measurements. These discrepancies are linked either to fast sedimentation or slumping and associated variations in sediment physical properties. Topographic effects account of up to 50% of heat flow deviations from average values. Combined with climate-induced variations in seafloor temperature and sea-level since the last glacial maximum large uncertainties in the prediction of the base of the GHSZ remain. A regional representative heat flow value is ~30 mW m−2 for the study region but deviations from this value may be up to 100%.