Submarine landslide-triggered methane seepage and the onset of cold seep formation: geochemical and geological evidence
Date
2026Author
Peketi, A.
Zatale, A.
Mazumdar, A.
Dewangan, P.
Mitra, A.
Sriram, G.
Verma, S.
Mishra, Subhashree
Mahale, V.
Anugrah, C.
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A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition coupled with a sub-bottom profiler survey was conducted at a recently reported submarine landslide site located in shallow waters of the Krishna-Godavari basin, Bay of Bengal. Multiple seepage locations were identified, characterised by active gas bubbling, white microbial mats, and black sulfidic sediments. Chemical analysis of dissolved gases at the bubbling site revealed the presence of methane, with significantly enhanced concentrations (~?172 nmol/L) close to the seabed when compared to that of seawaters. The generation of microbial mats is possibly driven by sustained methane seepage at the site. However, there are no signs of the presence of any cold seep ecosystem. The recently activated landslides possibly induced methane seepages due to a drop in lithostatic load at the study site. This study signified the role of submarine landslides in the generation of methane seepages from the seabed. The seep site appears to be in an early, evolving stage of cold seep development, characterized by localized microbial mat formation but lacking a fully developed chemosynthetic ecosystem. This offers an unique opportunity to investigate the biogeochemical dynamics and microbial community structure of a nascent cold seep environments.
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