Abstract
The concepts of CO2 emission, global warming, climate change, and their environmental impacts are of utmost importance for the understanding and protection of the ecosystems. Among the natural sources of gases into the atmosphere, the contribution of geogenic sources plays a crucial role. However, while subaerial emissions are widely studied, submarine outgassing is not yet well understood. In this study, we review and catalog 122 literature and unpublished data of submarine emissions distributed in ten coastal areas of the Aegean Sea. This catalog includes descriptions of the degassing vents through in situ observations, their chemical and isotopic compositions, and flux estimations. Temperatures and pH data of surface seawaters in four areas affected by submarine degassing are also presented. This overview provides useful information to researchers studying the impact of enhanced seawater CO2 concentrations related either to increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere or leaking carbon capture and storage systems.
Introduction
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is increasing mainly due to fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution at the end of the eighteenth century, its level increased from about 280 ppm and exceeded the average yearly value of 413 ppm during the year 2021 (NOAA, 2021). Being one of the major greenhouse gases, such rapid increase has severe consequences on earth’s climate (). About one third of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere in the past two centuries has been taken up by the ocean (Sabine et al., 2004; ; ). In aquatic systems CO2 gas dissolves, hydrates and dissociates to form weak carbonic acid (), and the pH is lowered according to the following reaction:
Current CO2 emission rates exceed the buffering capacity of the oceans and cause a shift of marine carbonate chemistry and a decrease of pH that has been quantified in 0.1 units compared to the pre-industrial period (; ; ; ). Depending on different emission scenarios, models predicted that further CO2 increase would cause an additional reduction of pH between 0.3 and 0.5 units by the end of the century (; ; ). Business-as-usual CO2 emission scenarios predict that atmospheric CO2 will reach 750 ppm and pH levels will decrease to 7.8 by the year 2100 (). In addition to this, both surface temperature and heat content of the ocean have increased. Specifically at the ocean surface, temperature increased by 0.88°C on average from 1850–1900 to 2011–2020. Possible future scenarios anticipate that it will arrive at 0.86°C from 1995–2014 to 2081–2100 (). Similarly, ocean heat content increased by 0.28–0.55 YJ between 1971 and 2018 and will probably continue to increase until at least 2300 (). This projection applies also for low emission scenarios due to the slow circulation of the deep ocean.
Many studies evidenced that ocean acidification (OA) will exert significant and sometimes unexpected effects on marine ecosystems (). Because these changes decrease the saturation state of the carbonate ion (CO32–) in seawater, organisms relying on calcification for growth or protection are assumed to be most severely affected (). On the contrary, photosynthetic organisms, such as seagrass and algae, may benefit from the increasing pCO2 which is an essential resource for their photosynthesis and survival (; ; Russell et al., 2013). It should be mentioned that even though laboratory experiments documented the benefits of OA on seagrass growth, anthropogenic stressors might counterbalance positive effects of increased CO2 and have likely blocked potential beneficial responses of OA (; ). To face the problem of atmospheric CO2 increase, apart from the most logical solution remaining the strong reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emission, one remedy proposed is the geologic carbon sequestration. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) systems concentrate and transfer liquid CO2 into storage sites, including sub-seabed deep geological formations such as exhausted oil or gas reservoirs. This approach is considered promising, since technically feasible (), but as with all other human technologies, it is not exempt from drawbacks. One of these drawbacks is the possibility that the chosen reservoir is not perfectly sealed and undergoes CO2 leakage (Monastersky, 2013). If these reservoirs are offshore, CO2 leakages from CCS can drive strong local seawater acidification (), exceeding the values predicted by the worst scenario of climate change. Moreover, in the case of a CO2 leak from a storage site, the gas will also acidify the pore water in the sediments surrounding the storage site (Millero et al., 2009). This may also increase the release of harmful elements from the sediments creating an additional negative impact on the marine environment (; ). simulated CO2 leakage from an offshore CO2 storage site in the British sector of the central North Sea. The CO2 release experiment (; ) lasted for 1 month and the authors illustrated that different approaches can detect, attribute and quantify the release.
Notwithstanding the increasing number of studies on the ecological consequences of OA and CCS leakage, many issues remain unexplored and, until now, the vast majority of them have been performed in laboratories mainly as short-term and univariate experiments (). To have a more realistic picture, experiments should be made on marine organisms in their natural ecosystems. In this sense, areas with natural CO2 vents represent useful experimental locations to investigate the impact of OA on entire ecosystems (). Natural underwater vents of volcanic origin release gases composed mainly of CO2 and may therefore represent a natural analog to study the impact of seawater acidification. The CO2 vent areas are also perfect natural laboratories to study the impact of CO2 leakage from CCS systems.
Few of these “natural laboratories” have already been used to study the effects of elevated CO2 on ecosystems (Vizzini et al., 2010; ; Linares et al., 2015) sometimes evidencing the adaptation of complex ecosystems such as coral reefs (; Teixidó et al., 2020).
These vent sites allow to study different habitats, including shallow coral reefs in Papua New Guinea, Japan, and Northern Mariana Islands (; ); seagrass meadows, macroalgae stands, and coralligenous in the Mediterranean Sea (Columbretes Islands, Spain—Linares et al., 2015; Ischia, Italy—; Vulcano, Italy—; Panarea, Italy—Rogelja et al., 2016; Methana, Greece—); as well as in the subtropical North East Atlantic reefs (La Palma, Canary Islands—). However, a larger representation of environments is needed to predict the biological and ecological consequences of OA.
Our study will give a first catalog of the gas vents within the Aegean Sea comprising a description of the areas. It will provide important information to researchers who study the impact of enhanced seawater CO2 concentrations related to increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere or even to leaking CCS systems like (i) extension and morphology of the exhaling area; (ii) preliminary gas flux estimations and geochemical characterization of the gases; (iii) presence of possible confounding factors as for example emission of thermal waters and/or hydrogen sulfide, iron oxi-hydroxide flocculation. The geochemical characterization is based almost exclusively on literature data that are gathered together with some new results and are made available to the reader in Supplementary Table 1, while a description of the degassing sites and a rough estimation of the gas fluxes are available in Table 1. We also present unpublished data on pH and temperature measurements of surface seawaters in four areas affected by the submarine degassing (Supplementary Table 2).
TABLE 1
| Sampling site | Place | Depth of the vents (m) | Seabed | Degassing areas features | Flux estimation |
| Therma port | Samothraki island | 0–2 | Sand | Isolated bubble trains | Low |
| Agia Paraskevi 1 | Chalkidiki peninsula | 0.5–1 | Boulders | Diffuse bubbling | Low |
| Agia Paraskevi 2 | 5 | Sand with white Stains | Aligned bubble trains and diffuse bubbling with hot waters | Medium | |
| Xyna | 0.5–1 | Pebbles | Isolated bubble trains | Low | |
| Ilion | Euboea island | 0.5–2 | Sand and boulders | Diffuse bubbling with hot waters | Low |
| Pausanias | Methana peninsula | 0.5–2 | Boulders | Diffuse bubbling | Low |
| Thiafi bay | 1.5–5 | Sand and boulders | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| Mandrakia | Milos island | 2.5 | Sand, boulders and posidonia seagrass | Diffuse bubbling | Low |
| Voudia | 2 | Sand, boulders and posidonia seagrass | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| Paleochori | 4 | Sand with yellow and white stains | Aligned bubble trains and diffuse bubbling with hot waters | High | |
| Spathi bay | - | - | - | - | |
| Agia Kyriaki | 3 | Sand | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| DEH (Kanavas) | 2 | Sand | Diffuse bubbling | High | |
| Skinopi | 1.5 | Sand and posidonia seagrass | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| Agios Nikolaos (Palea Kameni) | Santorini island | 0.5–1 | Rocks, boulders | Bubble trains | Medium |
| Agios Giorgios (Nea Kameni) | 0.5–1 | Rocks, boulders | Bubble trains | - | |
| Irinia (Nea Kameni) | 0.5–1.5 | Rocks, boulders | Isolated bubble trains | Low | |
| Kolumbo | Kolumbo submarine volcano | about 500 | - | Degassing chimneys, hot waters | - |
| Paradise beach | Kos island | 1–1.5 | Sand | Aligned bubble trains and diffuse bubbling | High |
| Kefalos | 2 | Sand | Aligned bubble trains and diffuse degassing | Medium-low | |
| Therma | 0.5–4 | Rocks, boulders and Posidonia seagrass | Aligned bubble trains and diffuse bubbling with hot waters | Medium | |
| Agia Irini 1 | 0.5–4 | Boulders and sand | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| Agia Irini 2 | 9 | Sand | Isolated bubble trains | Low | |
| Lies | Nisyros island | 1.5 | Rocks, boulders | Diffuse bubbling | Low |
| Katsouni | 0.5–2 | Rocks, boulders | Small isolated bubble trains | Low | |
| Gyali West | Gyali island | 11 | Sand | Aligned bubble trains | High |
| Gyali South | 1.5 | Sand | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
| Gyali North | 0.5–1.5 | Boulders | Diffuse bubbling | Low | |
List and general characteristics of the underwater degassing areas.
Estimated gas fluxes are divided into low (0.1 – 0.5 L/min), medium (0.5 – 1 L/min), and high fluxes (> 1 L/min).
Study Area
The Aegean Sea (Figure 1) is located in the eastern Mediterranean and is a rift formed in a “backarc” setting. It is situated in the upper plate of the Hellenic subduction zone and west of Anatolia, where active tectonics is observed. In fact, the northern Aegean Sea is a part of the Eurasian plate and the boundary with the Aegean microplate is called the North Anatolian Trough (NAT). The latter is the continuation of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) and is a ∼300 km long system of tectonically active marine basins, up to 1,000 m deep (; Taymaz et al., 1991; ).
FIGURE 1
The thinning of various tectonic units mainly emplaced during the Upper Cretaceous– Paleocene convergence–collision processes has resulted in the creation of the basin (; Robertson et al., 1991). It should be noted that the Hellenic subduction system was active since at least the Late Cretaceous, while the “backarc” rift was developed during Eocene-Early Miocene (; ). Despite the long-lasting formation of the Aegean basin (∼40 Ma), the extension rate is relatively low, so that the oceanic crust was not generated ().
Nowadays, the extension is seemingly localized around the Corinth-Patras rift (southern Greece), however; it was widespread during the Miocene (Sébrier, 1977; Mercier et al., 1979). Oligo-Miocene extensional metamorphic complexes outcrop in the Cyclades archipelago and the northern Aegean Sea (Lister et al., 1984; ). The extension has proceeded from north to south, while the subduction front was retreating southward ().
This geodynamically active regime is also characterized by intense seismic activity (Taymaz et al., 2007), by the presence of the south Aegean active volcanic arc (SAAVA) () and anomalous geothermal gradients (). Similar to other regions of intense geodynamic activity, extensive geogenic degassing takes place (, ) with gas manifestations being widespread both on land and underwater.
Geological and Geochemical Description of the Submarine Degassing Areas and in situ Observations
A total of 10 areas characterized by submarine degassing were documented and sampled along the Aegean Sea. Table 1 summarizes the general characteristics of the underwater sampling sites. A brief description of the degassing sites and in situ observations documented during the field campaigns are presented in this paragraph. Where possible, underwater filming allowed us to document and describe the degassing areas, and estimate the gas fluxes (as described in Supplementary Material).
Samothraki Island
The island of Samothraki is located at the NE part of the Aegean Sea of Greece (Figure 1) and belongs to the Circum Rhodope Zone (). It comprises five lithological units, which include: (i) low-grade metamorphic rocks (basement unit), (ii) an ophiolitic complex, (iii) a granite intrusion with biotite and a contact metamorphic event, (iv) Cenozoic volcanic rocks, and (v) Quaternary clastic sedimentary rocks (; St. Seymour et al., 1996). The rough relief with steep slopes characterizing the SSE part of the island is the result of the tectonic uplift movements, whereas natural weathering and erosion are responsible for the geomorphology (Pavlidis et al., 2005).
Sparse emission points characterized by ambient temperatures are found within the fisherman port of Therma (Figure 2A). The manifestations are rich in CH4 (72.7% on average-Supplementary Table 1), while CO2 is also present (23.8% on average-Supplementary Table 1). The flux of the bubbles is low (Table 1), and the gas manifestations, which are spread on an area of a few hundred m2, are permanent.
FIGURE 2
This manifestation seems to have no relationship with the nearby (800 m south) on-land hydrothermal system of Therma (Figure 2A) that reaches emission temperatures up to 74°C (
Chalkidiki Peninsula
Chalkidiki peninsula is located at NNW part of the Aegean Sea (Figure 1) and is a part of the Vardar-Axios Zone, and the Serbomacedonian and Rhodope Massif (from west to the east) (
Underwater degassing takes place in two areas at the Kassandra Peninsula (Figure 2B). The first emission site is found in Agia Paraskevi in front of “Halkidiki Thermal Spa” hotel. The two neighboring main degassing points can be visually recognized from the hotel due to a lighter color with respect to the main sea body; they appear like large stains in the sea. One of the main degassing areas is next to the coast close to the thermal springs on land. The springs are at sea level within some small caves (
The second degassing spot is found on the eastern coast of the Chalkidiki peninsula in Xyna. It is near the shoreline at the eastern end of a 3 km long sandy beach at the border with a private luxury resort. The gas flux is very low (Table 1). In correspondence to the bubbling site, on the beach (5 m from the shore) there is a small hypothermal spring (23°C) captured with a shallow well.
Euboea Island
The island of Euboea is found at the western part of the Aegean Sea (Figure 1) and is the second largest island of Greece. It consists of formations from the Sub-Pelagonian structural zone, while its southern part belongs to the Atticocycldic massif. Volcanism of Pliocene and Quaternary age took place in the area (
Widespread underwater manifestations are found a few meters by the coast in the area of Ilion (Figure 2C). The widespread bubbling is constant and the flux, according to our estimation, is classified intense (Table 1). Hydrogen sulfide is present in minor concentrations (Supplementary Table 1), while the rusty color of the sediments suggests the existence of iron oxides deposition. It is worth noting that low pH values have been documented along the coast, with the lowest values being found in front of a high temperature and intensely degassing spring on land 10 m from the sea (Supplementary Table 2).
Methana Peninsula
Methana peninsula is located in Saronikos Gulf and represents the northwestern, still active part of the SAAVA (Figure 1). It belongs to the Atticocycladic zone and consists of Quaternary calc-alkaline volcanic rocks (andesites to dacites;
Around the peninsula, two areas of submarine gas emissions have been recognized so far (Figure 3A). The first one is located in the northern part of the peninsula, where the “Pausanias baths” are found. These baths are associated with hydrothermal degassing emissions composed of almost pure CO2 (
FIGURE 3

(A) Map of the Methana Peninsula that shows the locations and names of the emission points. (B) Map of the western section of Milos Island that shows the locations and names of the emission points. (C) Map of the Kammeni Islands that shows the locations and names of the emission points.
The second submarine vent is situated in the eastern part of the peninsula in a small bay called by the locals “Thiafi bay.” This area is nearly 300 m long and is demonstrating on the beach widespread alteration from recent fumarolic activity. The alteration is particularly evident at its northern and southern ends, where it is expressed as native S and sulfates (alunite, gypsum, and alunogen) (Rahders et al., 1997). CO2 fluxes on land are sometimes elevated and account for the whole area for about 500 t/a (
In both degassing sites, CO2 is the prevailing gas component (up to ∼98%), while H2S was documented only in Thiafi (Supplementary Table 1).
Milos Island
Milos Island is found in the center of SAAVA (Figure 1) in the convergence zone between the African and the Aegean plates. It belongs in the Atticocycladic zone and comprises Upper Pliocene submarine and Upper Pleistocene to Holocene submarine-to-subaerial calc-alkaline volcanic domes, lavas, and pyroclastic deposits (andesites, dacites, and rhyolites;
The little center of Mandrakia stands just on the prominent central part of a gulf oriented to the north. In the eastern part of the gulf, just close to some boulders, in a sandy seabed with a large Posidonia grassland, some sparse emissions are present tens of meters away from the shoreline, at a depth of about 3 m (Table 1). The vents stand exactly on the direction of the impluvium present on land and emit mainly CO2 (about 98%).
Voudia bay has two submarine hydrothermal vents. One of them is situated few meters away from the shoreline aligned with altered rocks on the beach, while the other one is found in the southern part of the bay. According to Megalovasilis (2020), the temperatures of the vents range from 28 to 78°C.
Paleochori Bay is an 800 m long bay with apparent fumarolic activity at its eastern and western parts. Numerous intensively degassing seeps of elevated temperatures (up to 122°C;
Spathi bay is located in the south-eastern sector of the island and extends for about 400 m. The coastline is characterized by pebbles and is bordered to the west by an imposing promontory and to the east by striking stacks. We do not have detailed information on the underwater emissions as the gas sample was kindly taken by colleagues.
Agia Kyriaki is located in the southern sector of Milos, in a bay that stretches for about 500 m. The coast is predominantly sandy and the seabed is characterized by alternating sandy areas and reefs. The only underwater gas manifestation in this area is found at less than 10 m from the shoreline, where a few isolated bubble-trains with a low flux outcome from a substrate of rock blocks, at a depth of about 2–3 m (Table 1). H2S was present in concentrations lower than 10 μmol/mol (Supplementary Table 1).
DEH is located in the sea along Kanavas coast close to the power plant of the Hellenic Public Power Corporation. The degassing area is about 400 m2 with a CO2 output estimated at 1.06 t/d (
Skinopi is a small bay with a 100 m long pebble beach on which stand some characteristic houses and small jetties for fishermen’s boats. It is located 1,500 m west of Adamas, the main port of the island. Close to the coast (tens on meters) there are many bubbling areas. The degassing area is shallow (<2 m) and not very active (low fluxes) (Table 1), while the sandy and boulders sea bottom is mostly covered by Posidonia grasslands. The gases are mainly composed of CO2 (>82%), and H2S is undetectable (Supplementary Table 1).
Santorini Island
Santorini volcanic complex is found in the center of the SAAVA (Figure 1). It comprises the islands of Thera, Thirasia, Palea Kammeni, Nea Kammeni, and Aspronisi, and belongs to the Atticocycladic zone. The complex consists of volcanic rocks (mainly pumice and glass) and metamorphic formations (mainly marbles and phyllites) (
Submarine gas vents are located in Palea and Nea Kammeni islets (Figure 3C). The emission point in Palea Kammeni is in the bay of Agios Nikolaos and is located close to the coast in the eastern part of the island. Two emissions have been documented in the Nea Kammeni island. One is called Agios Giorgios and is found on the western side of the island, while Irinia is on the eastern side where most of the island visitors are disembarked. Both Agios Nikolaos and Agios Giorgios are CO2 dominated (
Kolumbo
Kolumbo is a submarine volcano found 7 km northeast off Santorini island (Figure 1). It is a high-temperature hydrothermal field (Sigurdsson et al., 2006) characterized by numerous vents of CO2-rich gases (<97%) and fluids of ∼220°C (
Kos Island
Kos Island is located in the eastern part of the SAAVA (Figure 1). It comprises alluvial deposits with greenschists and flysch in the north, lacustrine and terrestrial deposits of the Pliocene age in the central part, while tuffs and ignimbrites of the Quaternary age are found in the south (
FIGURE 4

(A) Map of the southern sector of Kos Island that shows the locations and names of the emission points. (B) Map of the NE sector of Nisyros Island that shows the locations and names of the emission points. (C) Map of Gyali Island that shows the locations and names of the emission points.
The submarine emissions of Paradise beach are rich in CO2. H2S is always below detection limit (Supplementary Table 1). The vents are found at approximately 20 m from the coast at 1–1.5 m depth. They are widespread and having elevated gas flows (Table 1).
The marine area of Kefalos at the SW of the island is interested by diffuse degassing, with a lot of bubble streams mainly concentered just to the east of the harbor area. Hundreds of little vents that emit trains of little bubbles are present in a sandy seabed at a depth of few meters.
Submarine gases of Therma present similar chemical characteristics to the gases of Paradise. However, they are found by the coast and are characterized by elevated temperatures (up to 45°C).
Two degassing vents have been recognized in the sea in front of the Agia Irini church. Despite the vicinity of the emission points, their prevailing gas components differ significantly. One (Agia Irini 1) is rich in CO2 (>95%), while the other (Agia Irini 2) is rich in N2 (34–99%). At both sites, H2S is generally below detection limit (Supplementary Table 1).
Nisyros Island
Nisyros Island is found at the eastern end of the SAAVA (Figure 1) and is a quiescent active stratovolcano with intense fumarolic activity that is generated by the presence of a high enthalpy geothermal system (Marini et al., 1993). It belongs to the Atticocycladic unit and consists of Quaternary volcanic rocks and alternations of lava flows, pyroclastic deposits and lava domes. The island has an area of 47 km2 and forms a truncated cone with a base diameter of 8 km and a 4 km wide central caldera (
Two points of submarine vents have been recognized in Nisyros (Figure 4B). Lies and Katsouni are two gas manifestations rich in CO2 (Supplementary Table 1). They are found few meters from the coast in < 2 m depth, where the sea bottom is mostly covered by boulders and pebbles. Both sites are characterized by low temperatures and medium to low gas fluxes.
Gyali Island
Gyali Island is located between the Islands of Kos and Nisyros (Figure 1). The small island is uninhabited except by workers for the extraction of pumice and occasional tourists visiting the picturesque bays. It consists of a thick rhyolitic pumice succession to the south (Gyali pumice breccia and overlying units) and rhyolitic lava to the north. These two formations are separated by an isthmus, which is found in the center of the island. According to
Three submarine vents have been recognized in the island (Figure 4C), in the area where the fault zones are located (
Geochemistry of Submarine Gas Vents
In the current study, a total of 122 data from submarine gas manifestations are presented. This dataset comprises both literature (
FIGURE 5

Gas sampling with the use of the inverted funnel method at Kefalos (Kos Island). Note that the funnel was constructed at the mechanical laboratory of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Palermo (INGV-Palermo). Additional photos regarding the sampling technique are provided in Supplementary Figure 1. Photo courtesy of SC.
No samples plot close to the atmospheric point (
FIGURE 6

Ternary plot of (A) CO2-N2-O2 and (B) CH4-N2-CO2. Processes impacting the gases are drawn with an arrow. The abbreviation “ASW” stands for air saturated water. Values of air and air saturated water (ASW) after
An important atmospheric contribution for He is noticed for the gases of Samothraki Island as they plot close to the atmospheric point (Figure 7A, after Sano and Wakita, 1985). As expected, the vents located at the SAAVA present an enhanced MORB-type mantle contribution arriving up to ∼90% (Kolumbo), while the gases of non-volcanic areas show a more crustal origin for He (up to ∼95%). Figure 7B (Sano and Marty, 1995) reveals a mixed mantle-limestone origin for C for the great majority of the gases. The contribution of the organic sediment is relatively negligible. Some gases present CO2/3He ratios that fall below the Mantle field, indicating CO2 loss. This is likely due to the dissolution of CO2 in water or to the precipitation of carbonates (
FIGURE 7

Binary plot of (A) R/RA vs. 4He/20Ne of the Hellenic gas emissions. The mixing lines between Atmosphere and Mantle and between Atmosphere and Crust are also plotted. Dashed lines represent mixing between atmosphere and end-members with different percentages of mantle contribution (after Sano and Wakita, 1985); (B) CO2/3He vs. δ13C-CO2. The composition for Sediments, MORB-like Mantle and Limestones end-members are, as follows: δ13C-CO2 = −30‰, −5‰ and 0‰ and CO2/3He = 1 × 1013, 2 × 109 and 1 × 1013, respectively (after Sano and Marty, 1995); and (C) modified Schoell binary diagram (
The CO2 loss is more evident in the binary plots of Figure 8. The positive correlation between He and N2 indicates the impact of the CO2 dissolution on the gases (Figure 8A). He and N2, as well as CH4 (Figure 8B), are less soluble respect to CO2, hence the strong solubility difference between the gases in the marine environment may has resulted in CO2 loss (Reid et al., 1987). In fact,
FIGURE 8

Binary plot of (A) He-N2 and (B) CO2/He-CH4. Processes impacting the gases are drawn with an arrow. Literature data from
Figure 9 further evidences the impact of solubility-related processes on gas composition. The elevated CO2/H2S ratios of the gases in Kos, Gyali and Santorini demonstrate the interaction between magmatic gases and hydrothermal systems (Supplementary Table 1). This process, known as magmatic scrubbing (Symonds et al., 2001), occurs when ascending gases encounter any aquifer interposed between the source magma stored at depth and the surface (
FIGURE 9

Ternary plot of CO2-H2S-CH4. Processes impacting the gases are drawn with arrows. Values of air after
In order to further demonstrate the impact of water-gas interactions on the gas content, two samples for each site were collected at the degassing centers of Agia Paraskevi (Chalkidiki) and Agia Irini 2 (Kos). One of the two samples was taken in the usual manner from the emission site at sea bottom (for details see “Material and Methods” section in Supplementary Data Sheet 1), while the second at the sea surface after the gas bubbles have risen through the entire water column. Results evidence that sea bottom samples have CO2 as the major component. In one case they show the presence of some H2S. The superficial samples have much lower CO2 concentrations, H2S always below the detection limit, and become enriched in N2, O2, He, and CH4 (Figure 10 and Supplementary Table 1). These, sometimes very strong changes, can be explained by two processes that drive the gas exchanges between the rising bubbles and the seawater: mixing between two end-members and fractionation due to different solubility. The first process accounts for the virtual enrichment of the less soluble gases of hydrothermal origin (He and CH4) with respect to CO2 (Figure 10A). The second process is responsible for the decrease of CO2 and H2S (hydrothermal end-member) and the increase in O2 and N2 (Air-saturated seawater end-member) (Figure 10B). The extent of the changes suffered by the ascending gases depends on many conditions, which are mainly temperature, area of the interaction surface and interaction time (i.e. distance to be covered from the sea bottom to the surface). In the case of dry gases (no water vapor) the temperature is generally that of seawater because even if the emitted gases are hot they rapidly equilibrate with the seawater temperature due to the water/gas mass ratio and the thermal inertia of water. Both the interaction surface area and interaction time strongly depend on gas flux, bubble dimension, and depth of the water column. Higher gas fluxes, greater bubble dimensions, and lower emission depths all reduce gas exchange between bubbles and water, limiting the changes in gas composition. In the case of the above mentioned sites, the high gas flux and shallow depth of Agia Paraskevi prevents strong compositional changes like those registered in the site of Agia Irini 2. For example, while in the first case 78% of the initial CO2 content arrives at the sea surface in the second case less than 1% does (Supplementary Table 1).
FIGURE 10

Binary plot of (A) CO2-CH4 and (B) CO2−−N2. Lines in (A) indicate the course toward less soluble gas species, while the line in (B) indicates mixing from the deeper to the shallower gas sample and then to the atmospheric end member. Values of air after
Changes on water characteristics were documented for the areas of Kanavas and Paleochori (Milos), Therma (Kos), and Ilion (Euboea) (Figures 11A–D). These areas comprise widespread degassing vents that are characterized by elevated CO2 contents (>90%) and presence of H2S (Supplementary Table 1). pH transects that were performed along the coast revealed pH values lower than the value of average seawater (Supplementary Table 2). Such lowering of the pH is driven by the dissolution of CO2 in seawater.
FIGURE 11

pH transects for the areas of (A) Paleochori and (B) Kanavas at Milos, (C) Therma at Kos, and (D) Ilion at Euboea. Points of particular interest are marked with an arrow. The morphology of the seashore at Paleochori (A) was diverse when the measurements took place.
FIGURE 12

Binary plot of pH-T for the areas where the transects took place.
In the area of Ilion, the low pH values are concentrated in front and east of a thermal (>62°C;
Overview
Submarine degassing may have an impact on marine environments through ocean acidification. Hence, there is a necessity to study and better understand the ocean and its components. The current work reviews all known submarine gas manifestations of the Aegean Sea and summarizes the geochemical processes taking place in the individual areas.
All in all, degassing occurs in both volcanic and non-volcanic areas and is associated with the complex tectonics of the individual systems. Carbon dioxide is the dominant gas species for most vents and is often related to volcanism, geothermal energy, and elevated heat flow (
The isotope signatures of He for gases found in SAAVA yield an important mantle contribution, while a dominant crustal origin characterizes gases in non-volcanic areas. Carbon dioxide derives from mixed mantle-limestone sources for most samples and in cases exhibits unimportant contributions from organic sediment sources. Methane is attributed to abiogenic hydrocarbons discharged from volcanic-geothermal systems. Inorganic and organic CH4 oxidation processes resulting in isotope fractionation have also been identified (
The impact of water-gas-rock interactions on the initial gas phase is evident as soluble gas species dissolve in the water. This results in their depletion and the consequent enrichment of less soluble gas species. This phenomenon was also noticeable while comparing the composition of the gases at the emission point on the seafloor and the sea surface after its rising through the entire sea column. In addition to gas content variations, pH transects were performed in 4 sites. These are characterized by volcanic/geothermal activity, have CO2 as the dominant gas species, and presented lower pH respect to the average marine value.
Even though the impact of gases on marine flora and fauna was not investigated in the current study, it shouldn’t be disregarded. Various researchers (e.g.,
It is important to note that this is a preliminary catalog of shallow submarine vents found in the Aegean Sea. Springs found in tectonic structures on-land close to the coast (
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Statements
Author contributions
SC and KD contributed to the conception and design of this study. ML, GP, and SC collected the samples by diving. ML contributed to the laboratory analyses. KD and WD’A wrote the first draft while all authors contributed to manuscript revision, read and approved the submitted version. All authors were involved in the sampling campaigns.
Acknowledgments
This manuscript comprises literature data collected principally by the authors’ working group. We kindly acknowledge all the friends and colleagues who helped us either in the field or with precious information about the sampling sites. We would like to thank once again: the LAVA Mining and Quarrying SA Company that allowed us to access Gyali Island, offered us lunch and accompanied us around the island with their boat looking for underwater gas emanations (Mr. Diamantis); Sabina Morici who helped us with the pH measurements at Paleochori and DEH (Milos Island) and Roy Price and Thomas Pichler, who collected gas samples at Spathy Bay (Milos Island); Marine warrant officer Ilias Simadakis who gave us the permission to collect samples at Agia Irini (Kos Island), the owner of “Kardamena Watersports Center” Mr. Nikos Nikolakopoulos who gave us one of his boats, and Mr. Yannis Limperis who accompanied us to the points of interest at Agia Irini. For the analyses made at the laboratories of the INGV of Palermo, we are indebted to the heads of the laboratories and technicians: G. Capasso, F. Grassa, M. Martelli, Y. Oliveri, A. Rizzo, F. Salerno, A. Sollami, and M. Tantillo. We are grateful for the insightful comments of the two reviewers and of the editor HR that helped us to improve the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.775247/full#supplementary-material
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Summary
Keywords
CO2 emissions, submarine gas vents, geogenic degassing, environmental impact, Greek Islands, gas flux
Citation
Daskalopoulou K, D’Alessandro W, Longo M, Pecoraino G and Calabrese S (2022) Shallow Sea Gas Manifestations in the Aegean Sea (Greece) as Natural Analogs to Study Ocean Acidification: First Catalog and Geochemical Characterization. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:775247. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.775247
Received
13 September 2021
Accepted
13 December 2021
Published
31 January 2022
Volume
8 - 2021
Edited by
Henry Ruhl, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS), United States
Reviewed by
Ting Zou, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada; Artur Ionescu, Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania
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© 2022 Daskalopoulou, D’Alessandro, Longo, Pecoraino and Calabrese.
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*Correspondence: Kyriaki Daskalopoulou, daskalopoulou@uni-potsdam.de, kikdaskalopoulou@gmail.com
This article was submitted to Ocean Observation, a section of the journal Frontiers in Marine Science
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