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Santorini Island (Greece) is an active volcano which has alternated between dormant and active periods over the last 650,000 years with the latest volcanic unrest occurring in 2011–2012. Here we report a geochemical survey of fumarolic gases collected at Nea Kameni islet located in the center of the caldera over the period 2015–2022 in order to study the activity of the volcano and changes in hydrothermal conditions. This period is marked by the absence of significant geochemical anomalies compared to the unrest of 2011–2012, implying that no new magma upwelling has occurred. This is evident from the low CO2/CH4 ratio and H2 concentration of fumaroles. An increase of the atmospheric contribution in gases after the 2011–2012 unrest suggests a decrease of the deep gas flow and the chemical and C-He-isotope compositions are compatible with a model of Rayleigh fractionation in which CO2 dissolves in water at decreasing temperatures over time. These results are consistent with temperature estimates obtained using the H2/N2 geothermometer, seismic and geodetic evidences. This implies a slowing of the degassing of the hydrothermal/volcanic system and a cooling of the magma injected at shallow depth in 2011–2012. All these conclusions support a quiescent state of the Santorini volcano over the period 2015–2022.

The Mozambique and Madagascar margins present major rivers that are responsible for the discharge of large amounts of terrestrial organic matter (OM) which can influence carbon cycling in marine environments. Therefore, the Mozambique channel represents a unique case to study the fate of the organic carbon in deep-water domains. Using a new and extensive data set of sedimentary OM collected from sediment traps, seafloor sediments and core sediments, we address the origin of the OM that is transported and deposited in the Mozambique Channel, its degradation state and preservation conditions. A Rock-Eval 6 survey allowed us to characterize the origin and amount of OM from shallow to deep-water turbidite systems, between 500 and 4400 m water depth. Rock-Eval 6 performed on suspended sediments within particle traps at 47 m above the seabed show that the OM is transported into the deep-water domain with relatively high TOC (between 1.5 and 2.5%). However, the OM is largely oxidized close to the water-sediment interface (Oxygen Index >300 mg CO2/g TOC). Seafloor sediments sampled to a maximum depth of 40 cm show lower TOC values compared to those collected from particle traps suggesting that the degradation of the OM is mainly active at the water-sediment interface. Small concentrations of OM are preserved within the recent sediments of the distal area of the Zambezi turbidite system below 2500 m water depth (TOC < 0.5%). Rock-Eval results show that core sediments from the Majunga slope (NW margin of Madagascar) and the Zambezi slope (Mozambique margin) contain the highest concentration of terrestrial OM (TOC between 1 and 2%). However, the OM within core sediments from the deep-water domain is largely oxidized and degraded, probably due to the conjugate effect of low sediment accumulation rates (SAR) and high permeabilities of the coarse-grained sediments. Consequently, the deep-water domain of the Mozambique Channel does not seem to be an important sink of terrestrial O

The Haiti region – bounded by two strike-slip faults expressed both onshore and offshore – offers a unique opportunity for an amphibious drilling project. The east–west (EW)-striking, left lateral strike-slip Oriente–Septentrional fault zone and Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone bounding Haiti have similar slip rates and also define the northern and southern boundaries of the Gonâve Microplate. However, it remains unclear how these fault systems terminate at the eastern boundary of that microplate. From a plate tectonic perspective, the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone can be expected to act as an inactive fracture zone bounding the Cayman spreading system, but, surprisingly, this fault has been quite active during the last 500 years. Overall, little is understood in terms of past and present seismic and tsunami hazards along the Oriente–Septentrional fault zone and Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, their relative ages, maturity, lithology, and evolution – not even the origin of fluids escaping through the crust is known. Given these unknowns, the Haiti-Drill workshop was held in May 2019 to further develop an amphibious drilling project in the Haiti region on the basis of preproposals submitted in 2015 and their reviews. The workshop aimed to complete the following four tasks: (1) identify significant research questions; (2) discuss potential drilling scenarios and sites; (3) identify data, analyses, additional experts, and surveys needed; and (4) produce timelines for developing a full proposal. Two key scientific goals have been set, namely to understand the nature of young fault zones and the evolution of transpressional boundaries. Given these goals, drilling targets were then rationalized, creating a focus point for research and/or survey needs prior to drilling. Our most recent efforts are to find collaborators, analyze existing data, and to obtain sources of funding for the survey work that is needed.

Evidences for active fluid seepages have been discovered along the Zambezi continental slope (offshore Southern Mozambique). These seepages are mostly associated with pockmarks which are aligned along a trend parallel to the slope and running closely upstream of the headwall scarp of a wide zone of slope destabilization. Fluid seepages are interpreted as a potential trigger for the slope destabilization. Acoustic anomalies within the water column have been interpreted as related to moderate bubble seepages mostly located outside and only punctually inside the destabilization zone. Exploration with the SCAMPI towed camera system in the widest pockmark (diameter 200 m wide) has shown fluid seepages associated toauthigenic carbonate crusts and bacterial mats. These fluid seepages are also associated to the presence of chemiosynthetic organisms (Vesicomyidae and Thyasiridae bivalves, Siboglinidae tubeworms). The sampled gas in the sediment corresponds mainly to CH4 of microbial origin, generated by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis from a substrate of organic origin, i.e. a conventional process of genesis of microbial gas in the marine domain. No evidence for thermogenic gas was detected. Another type of pockmarks has been observed within the core of the slope destabilization zone. Most of these pockmarks are inactive in terms of fluid seepage at present time and are associated to carbonate buildups forming chimney geometries. They probably correspond to diagenetic chimneys of former fluid migration pathways that have been exhumed during the mass sliding and the surrounding depression are related to recurrent activity of strong lateral slope currents which have scoured the sediments around. The spatial organization of the slope destabilization features is considered as representative of the temporal evolution of the landslide giving information about the dynamics of slope instability processes. This proposed evolution started by scattered seepages of formation water with

The Western Mediterranean basin has been formed by Miocene back-arc extension and is underlain by a thin and young lithosphere. This young lithosphere is warm, as testified by an overall elevated offshore heat flow. Heat flow within the Western Mediterranean is, however, highly variable and existing data are unevenly distributed and poorly studied in the central part of the Liguro-Provençal and Algero-Balearic basins. This central part is floored by a young oceanic crust, bordered by different continental margins, cut by transform faults, and filled by up to 8 km of sediments. We present a total of 148 new heat flow data collected during the MedSalt and WestMedFlux cruises in 2015 and 2016 and aligned along seven regional profiles that show an important heat flow variability on the basin-scale, but also locally on the margins. A new heat flow map for the Western Mediterranean outlines the following regional features: (1) a higher average heat flow in the Algero-Balearic basin compared to the Liguro-Provençal basin (94 ± 13 mW/m2 and 78 ± 16 mW/m2, respectively), and (2) a regional thermal asymmetry in both basins, but with opposed heat flow trends. Up to 20% of this heat flow difference can be explained by sediment blanketing, but age and heterogeneity of ocean crust due to an asymmetric and polyphased opening of the basins are believed to have given the major thermal imprint. Estimates of the age of the oceanic crust based on the new heat flow suggest a considerably younger West Algerian basin (16–23 Ma) compared to the East Algerian basin and the West Sardinia oceanic floor (31–37 Ma). On the margins and ocean-continent transitions of the Western Mediterranean the new heat flow data point out the existence of two types of local anomalies (length scale 5–30 km): (1) locally increased heat flow up to 153 mW/m2 on the Gulf of Lion margin results from thermal refraction of large salt diapirs, and (2) the co-existing of both low (<50 mW/m2) and high (>110 mW/m2) heat f

The Western Mediterranean basin has been formed by Miocene back-arc extension and is underlain by a thin and young lithosphere. This young lithosphere is warm, as testified by an overall elevated offshore heat flow. Heat flow within the Western Mediterranean is, however, highly variable and existing data are unevenly distributed and poorly studied in the central part of the Liguro-Provençal and Algero-Balearic basins. This central part is floored by a young oceanic crust, bordered by different continental margins, cut by transform faults, and filled by up to 8 km of sediments. We present a total of 148 new heat flow data collected during the MedSalt and WestMedFlux cruises in 2015 and 2016 and aligned along seven regional profiles that show an important heat flow variability on the basin-scale, but also locally on the margins. A new heat flow map for the Western Mediterranean outlines the following regional features: (1) a higher average heat flow in the Algero-Balearic basin compared to the Liguro-Provençal basin (94 ± 13 mW/m2 and 78 ± 16 mW/m2, respectively), and (2) a regional thermal asymmetry in both basins, but with opposed heat flow trends. Up to 20% of this heat flow difference can be explained by sediment blanketing, but age and heterogeneity of ocean crust due to an asymmetric and polyphased opening of the basins are believed to have given the major thermal imprint. Estimates of the age of the oceanic crust based on the new heat flow suggest a considerably younger West Algerian basin (16–23 Ma) compared to the East Algerian basin and the West Sardinia oceanic floor (31–37 Ma). On the margins and ocean-continent transitions of the Western Mediterranean the new heat flow data point out the existence of two types of local anomalies (length scale 5–30 km): (1) locally increased heat flow up to 153 mW/m2 on the Gulf of Lion margin results from thermal refraction of large salt diapirs, and (2) the co-existing of both low (<50 mW/m2) and high (>110 mW/m2) heat f

We explored the submarine portions of the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden Fault zone (EPGFZ) and the Septentrional–Oriente Fault zone (SOFZ) along the Northern Caribbean plate boundary using high-resolution multibeam echo-sounding and shallow seismic reflection. The bathymetric data shed light on poorly documented or previously unknown submarine fault zones running over 200 km between Haiti and Jamaica (EPGFZ) and 300 km between the Dominican Republic and Cuba (SOFZ). The primary plate-boundary structures are a series of strike-slip fault segments associated with pressure ridges, restraining bends, step overs and dogleg offsets indicating very active tectonics. Several distinct segments 50–100 km long cut across pre-existing structures inherited from former tectonic regimes or bypass recent morphologies formed under the current strike-slip regime. Along the most recent trace of the SOFZ, we measured a strike-slip offset of 16.5 km, which indicates steady activity for the past ~1.8 Ma if its current GPS-derived motion of 9.8 ± 2 mm a−1 has remained stable during the entire Quaternary.