KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Ocean Bottom Gas and Fluid Seeps – An Unexpected World Stranger Than Science Fiction!!

Jean Whelan

Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

Over the last 20 years, an explosion has taken place in our knowledge of fluid and gas venting from the ocean floor, both in hydrothermal areas which pepper the global oceanic spreading network, and at natural oil and gas vents in the seafloor which are widespread in the ocean, particularly in continental margins, river deltas, and over many oil and gas producing areas. Yet we have only begun to explore this vast realm. A pictorial tour of this mysterious and relatively unexplored world will be presented.