Blanca Rincón Tomás

Instituto Geológico y Minero de España | IGME

n recent anoxic sediments manganese(II)carbonate minerals (e.g., rhodochrosite, kutnohorite) derive mainly from the reduction of manganese(IV) compounds by microbial anaerobic respiration. Small particles of rhodochrosite in stromatolite-like features in the Dresser chert Fm (Pilbara supergroup, W- Australia), associated with small flakes of keroge...

Marine sediments impacted by urban and industrial pollutants are typically exposed to reducing conditions and represent major reservoirs of toxic mercury species. Mercury methylation mediated by anaerobic microorganisms is favored under such conditions, yet little is known about potential microbial mechanisms for mercury detoxification. We used cul...

Previous studies have addressed the occurrence of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) affecting La Silva stream due to the generation of large dumps of Middle Ordovician black shales during the construction of a highway close to El Bierzo (León, Spain). This ARD was characterized by sulphated acid waters with high concentration of heavy metals and anomalies i...

The expected growth of the global economy and the projected rise in world population call for a greatly increased supply of materials critical for implementing clean technologies, such as rare earth elements (REEs) and other rare metals. Because the demand for critical metals is increasing and land-based mineral deposits are being depleted, seafloo...

Extensive beds of the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus mauritanicus (currently also known as Gigantidas mauritanicus ) linked to active cold seeps related to fissure-like activity on Al Gacel mud volcano, Gulf of Cádiz, were filmed and sampled for the first time during the oceanographic expedition SUBVENT-2 aboard R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa. Al Gacel mud...

In this work, we integrate five case studies harboring vulnerable deep-sea benthic habitats in different geological settings from mid latitude NE Atlantic Ocean (24–42° N). Data and images of specific deep-sea habitats were acquired with Remoted Operated Vehicle (ROV) sensors (temperature, salinity, potential density, O2, CO2, and CH4). Besides doc...

This work presents a new high-resolution multibeam bathymetric map of a segment of active deep sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean, the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at 45–46º N. New high-resolution bathymetry data were acquired using an Atlas multibeam echosounder onboard the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa during the EXPLOSEA-2 surv...

Hydrothermal iron (Fe)-rich sediments were recovered from the Tagoro underwater volcano (Central Atlantic) that was built during the 2011–2012 volcanic event. Cruises in 2012 and 2014 enabled the monitoring and sampling of the early-stage establishment of a hydrothermal system. Degassing vents produced acoustic flares imaged on echo-sounders in Jun...

This work presents the preliminary result of the multidisciplinary cruise EXPLOSEA2 surveying the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Archipelago from 46° 30′ N to 38° 30′ N aboard the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa and ROV Luso over 54 days (June 11 to July 27, 2019). In this cruise report, we detail the geophysical, hydrographic, geological, oceanogr...

Siboglinids were sampled from four mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cádiz (El Cid MV, Bonjardim MV, Al Gacel MV, and Anastasya MV). These invertebrates are characteristic to cold seeps and are known to host chemosynthetic endosymbionts in a dedicated trophosome organ. However, little is known about their tube as a potential niche for other microorganis...

Siboglinid worms were sampled from four mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cádiz (El Cid MV, Bonjardim MV, Al Gacel MV and Anastasya MV). These invertebrates are characteristic to cold seeps and are known to host chemosynthetic endosymbionts in a dedicated trophosome organ. However, little is known about their tube as a potential niche for other chemosyn...

Azooxanthellate cold-water corals (CWCs) have a global distribution and have commonly been found in areas of active fluid seepage. The relationship between the CWCs and these fluids, however, is not well understood. This study aims to unravel the relationship between CWC development and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cádiz, A...

Extreme deep-sea environments are widespread and intensively studied in the last decades. They are of special interest since living organisms in those habitats happen to live at the expenses of the fluids emitted from the subseafloor via chemosynthesis. Unlike most common ecosystems, which rely on photosynthesis, primary producers obtain their carb...

Azooxanthellate cold-water corals (CWCs) are globally widespread and have commonly been found in areas of active fluid seepage. The relationship between the CWCs and these fluids, however, is not well understood. This study aims at unravelling the relationship between CWC development and hydrocarbon-rich seepage in the Pompeia Province (Gulf of Cád...

Mercator mud volcano has been explored by direct visual observations using a ROV at 350 to 370 m depth. Underwater images, taken mainly at the summit, have allowed characterizing the fluid venting environment, where different microforms, habitats and associated biota, with typical seepage components have been identified. Chemosynthetic bacterial co...

Carbonate minerals such as dolomite, kutnahorite or rhodochrosite are frequently, but not exclusively generated by microbial processes. In recent anoxic sediments, Mn(II)carbonate minerals (e.g. rhodochrosite, kutnahorite) derive mainly from the reduction of Mn(IV) compounds by anaerobic respiration. The formation of huge manganese-rich (carbonate)...