Large CO2 seeps and hydrate field on the seafloor offshore Mayotte Island
Gas hydrates modulate methane and carbon dioxide benthic fluxes into the ocean and usually occur embedded in the sediment. Here we use acoustic surveys alongside optical and geochemical observations from remotely operated vehicles to show that CO2 hydrate mounds are forming directly on the seafloor atop a large liquid CO2 vent field offshore Mayotte Island. The venting, which initiated following volcanic activity in 2018, deleteriously impacts surrounding coral communities due to local acidification. Carbon dioxide hydrates on the seafloor are sustained by the venting of liquid CO2 associated with volcanic activity near Mayotte Island, according to observations from remotely operated vehicles and geochemical analyses.
Authors
- Manon Mastin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7600-218X)
- Christophe Rabouille (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1211-717X)
- Valérie Chavagnac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7535-6568)
- Andrea Luca Rizzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2225-3781)
- Emmanuel Rinnert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1524-5505)
- Vivien Guyader (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7296-1335)
- Nathalie Feuillet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6497-817X)
- Morgan Tardivel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9591-2138)
- Carla Scalabrin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9276-980X)
- Olivier Rouxel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1431-222X)
- T. Giunta
- Olivia Fandiño (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4043-9937)
- Marjolaine Matabos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1983-9896)
- N. Feuillet
- Cécile Cathalot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0868-7201)
- S. L. Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8135-6791)
- V. Puzenat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6498-0832)
- B. Bombled
- H. Ondreas
- J. P. Donval
- M. Manoux
- G. Page
- J. P. Dumoulin
- E. Prado
- on behalf of the GEOFLAMME scientific cruise party
- A. S. Alix
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR)
- Institut de physique du globe de Paris (FR)
- Ifremer (FR)
- Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR)
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (US)
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (IT)
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR)
- Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Laboratoire de Mesure du Carbone 14 (FR)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Geoscience
- Published
- 2026-06-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02004-2
- Primary Topic
- Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00