August 21, 2020: Asphalt Seep
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2017. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).
During the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition, remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer imaged an asphalt seep at ~1,150 meters (~3,775 feet) water depth in an area known as Henderson Ridge. The discovery of this asphalt seep north of the Sigsbee Escarpment expanded the geographic range of known seafloor asphalt deposits in the Gulf of Mexico and further elucidated the mysteries of this leaky petroleum basin.
In this image, high-viscosity oil (black tubules) is seen seeping from the seafloor among white bacterial mats; the oil forms asphalt when the extrusions solidify. The long tubules are bent to the left due to the current.
From: Active Asphalt Seep Discovered in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.