Deep faults, heat flow and gas leakage in the northern Black Sea

A new heat flow map has been compiled for the Black Sea. Marine segments of interregional deep faults and marine regional deep faults have been traced in detail in the northern Black Sea. Gas seeps are situated in zones of deep faults. The potential role of these faults in the formation of gas leakage is evaluated. For the first time the spatial fault coincidence with gas release is clearly interpreted as being directly interrelated. As the gas is largely of deep origin, the seeps may be indicators of subsurface hydrocarbon accumulation.