Hydrates, oil seepage, and chemosynthetic ecosystems on the Gulf of Mexico Slope: An update

In 1985, the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University (College Station, Tex.) reported in Eos [Brooks et al, 1985] the discovery of chemosynthetic organisms (bivalves and tube worms) at two sites on the Gulf of Mexico continental slope. The presence of gas hydrates at five sites, some associated with oil‐stained sediments, was also detailed. In the subsequent year, follow‐up cruises and submersible dives (using the Johnson Sea‐Link, owned and operated by the Harbor Branch Foundation, Fort Pierce, Fla., and the Navy NR‐1) investigated the physiology, biochemistry, and distribution of these chemosynthetic organisms.