Accessing the records of methane passage in ancient sediments

Abstract

The goal of this study was to utilize the calcium carbonate tests (shells) of foraminifera to develop a proxy for identifying and characterizing methane seepage in ancient sediments. Samples from fossil methane seeps of Eocene through Pliocene age were obtained from the Cascadia Margin of northwest Oregon, western Washington, U.S.A. and southern Vancouver Island, Canada. Samples from a modern analogue were recovered from the Hikurangi Margin off the east coast of New Zealand