{"id":28980,"date":"2019-04-08T15:21:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T14:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coreblog.prod.adnc.cambridge.org\/?p=28980"},"modified":"2019-05-24T16:32:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T15:32:48","slug":"deep-sponges-from-the-mud-volcanoes-of-the-gulf-of-cadiz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/2019\/04\/08\/deep-sponges-from-the-mud-volcanoes-of-the-gulf-of-cadiz\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep sponges from the mud volcanoes of the Gulf of Cadiz"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\r\n\r\nOne of the most extensive seepage areas of the North-East Atlantic was discovered in the bathyal bottoms of the Gulf of Cadiz during the nineteen nineties. A variety of seafloor structures, formed as a consequence of the gas-saturated fluid seeping, have been recorded since then in this area. These include more than sixty mud volcanoes \u00a0located between 300 and 1200 m depth.\u00a0 Some microorganisms, living in fluid venting areas like this, can indirectly shape this already peculiar deep environment. They consume the hydrocarbon gases released from the seabed, and this process leads to precipitation of carbonates, forming new structures\u2013 called authigenic carbonates \u2013which are available for colonization by other benthic organisms.\r\n\r\nSeveral oceanographic campaigns provided data on the characteristics\u00a0of mud volcano habitats, included remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV)\u00a0transects and the collection of sponge samples by beam trawl along 8 mud\u00a0volcanoes between 380 and 1146 m depth.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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