Research paperShallow plumbing systems inferred from spatial analysis of pockmark arrays

- 3D seismic data and spatial statistics are used to study pockmark distributions.
- 3410 seabed pockmarks and 570 feeding pipes were mapped.
- Pockmarks fed by a shallow source interval, identified by pipe basal reflections.
- Polygonal faults control linear arrays of pockmarks, but faults are not conduits.
- Pockmark occurrence is not random at short distances to their nearest neighbours.

This study describes and analyses an extraordinary array of pockmarks at the modern seabed of the Lower Congo Basin (offshore Angola), in order to understand the fluid migration routes and shallow plumbing system of the area. The 3D seismic visualization of feeding conduits (pipes) allowed the identification of the source interval for the fluids expelled during pockmark formation. Spatial statistics are used to show the relationship between the underlying (polarised) polygonal fault (PPFs) patterns and seabed pockmarks distributions. Our results show PPFs control the linear arrangement of pockmarks and feeder pipes along fault strike, but faults do not act as conduits. Spatial statistics also revealed pockmark occurrence is not considered to be random, especially at short distances to nearest neighbours (<200 m) where anti-clustering distributions suggest the presence of an exclusion zone around each pockmark in which no other pockmark will form. The results of this study are relevant for the understanding of shallow fluid plumbing systems in offshore settings, with implications on our current knowledge of overall fluid flow systems in hydrocarbon-rich continental margins.