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Abstract
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most prolific oil and gas producing basins in the world and is host to some of the most dynamic seafloor environments next to hydrothermal spreading centers. Repeated cycles of flooding, first from the Pacific and then from the Atlantic, generated kilometer thick salt deposits at the seafloor. These buried salt sheets flow and fracture under the weight of kilometers of sediment overburden to produce a highly variable landscape that includes carbonate hardgrounds. brine flows, lakes, and hydrocarbon seeps. These environments host unique assemblages of animal and microbial life that influence biogeochemical cycling on a large scale. This dissertation explores the geochemistry of anaeriboc oxidation methane, hexadecane, and naphthalene over a range of Gulf seafloor environments, including oil and gas seeps, brine pools, mud volcanoes, and large brine lakes.