Mud volcano

Note: See the volcano article for information on magmatic volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens or Kilauea.

The hydrothermal phenomenon known as "mud volcanoes" are not true mud volcanoes; see mud pot for more information.

The term mud volcano or mud dome is used to refer to formations created by geologically excreted liquids and gases, although there are several different processes which may cause such activity. Temperatures are much cooler than igneous processes. The largest structures are 10 km in diameter and reach 700 metres in height.

About 86% of released gases are methane, with much less carbon dioxide and nitrogen emitted. Ejected materials often are a slurry of fine solids suspended in liquids which may include water (frequently acidic or salty) and hydrocarbon fluids.

Details

Mud volcano in the Gulf of Mexico sea bottom.

A mud volcano may be the result of a piercement structure created by a pressurized mud diapir which breaches the Earth's surface or ocean bottom. Temperatures may be as low as the freezing point of ejected materials, particularly when venting is associated with the creation of hydrocarbon clathrate hydrate deposits.

Mud volcanoes are often associated with petroleum deposits and tectonic subduction zones and orogenic belts. Hydrocarbon gases often are erupted. Mud volcanoes are also often associated with lava volcanoes, and the typical relationship is that where they are close, the mud volcanoes emit incombustible gases including helium, while the ones further away emit methane.

In Azerbaijan, eruptions are driven from a deep mud reservoir which is connected to the surface even during dormant periods, when seeping water still shows a deep origin. Seeps have temperatures up to 2–3 °C above the ambient temperature.^[1]

Approximately 1,100 have been identified on land and in shallow water. It has been estimated that well over 10,000 may exist on continental slopes and abyssal plains.

Features

• gryphon: steep-sided cone shorter than 3 m. Extrude mud.
• mud cones: high cones shorter than 10 m. Extrude mud and rock fragments.
• scoria cones: formed by heating of mud deposits during fires.
• salses: water-dominated pools with gas seeps.
• springs: water-dominated outlets smaller than 0.5 m.
• burning fires
• calderas
• mud shields and many other kinds of features

Emissions

Most liquid and solid material is released during eruptions, but various seeps occur during dormant periods.

First order estimates of mud volcano emissions have been recently made.

• 2002: L.I. Dimitrov estimated that 10.2–12.6 Tg/yr of methane is released from onshore and shallow offshore mud volcanoes.
• 2002: Etiope and Klusman in 2002 estimated at least 1–2 and as much as 10–20 Tg/yr of methane may be emitted from onshore mud volcanoes.
• 2003: Etiope, in an estimate based on 120 mud volcanoes: "The emission results to be conservatively between 5 and 9 Tg/yr, that is 3–6 % of the natural methane sources officially considered in the atmospheric methane budget. The total geologic source, including MVs (this work), seepage from seafloor (Kvenvolden et al., 2001), microseepage in hydrocarbon-prone areas and geothermal sources (Etiope and Klusman, 2002), would amount to 35–45 Tg/yr." ^[2]
• 2003: Milkov et al's analysis suggests that the global gas flux may be as high as 33 Tg/yr (15.9 Tg/yr during quiescent periods plus 17.1 Tg/yr during eruptions). 6 Tg/yr of greenhouse gases from onshore and shallow offshore mud volcanoes. Deep-water sources may emit 27 Tg/yr. Total may be 9% of fossil CH₄ missing in the modern atmospheric CH₄ budget, and 12% in the preindustrial budget. ^[3]
• 2003: Alexei Milkov estimated approximately 30.5 Tg/yr of gases (mainly methane and CO₂) may escape from mud volcanoes to the atmosphere and the ocean. ^[4]
• 2003: Achim J. Kopf estimated 1.97 × 10¹¹ to 1.23 × 10¹⁴ m³ of methane is released by all mud volcanoes per year, of which 4.66 × 10⁷ to 3.28 × 10¹¹ m³ is from surface volcanoes.^[5] That converts to 141–88,000 Tg/yr from all mud volcanoes, of which 0.033–235 Tg is from surface volcanoes.

Locations

Hydrate-bearing sediments, which often are associated with mud volcano activity.
Source: USGS, 1996.

Europe and Asia

Mud volcanoes are generally few in Europe, but dozens can be found on the Kerch Peninsula of southeastern Ukraine. In Italy they are common in the northern front of the Apennines and in Sicily.

Many mud volcanoes exist on the shores of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. Tectonic forces and large sedimentary deposits around the latter have created several fields of mud volcanoes, many of them emitting methane and other hydrocarbons. Features over 200 meters high exist in Azerbaijan, with large eruptions sometimes producing flames of similar scale. Iran and Pakistan also possess mud volcanoes in the Makran range of mountains in the south of the two countries. China has a number of mud volcanoes in Xinjiang province.There are also mud volcanoes at the Arakan Coast in Myanmar. There are two active mud volcanoes in South Taiwan, and several inactive ones.

In May 2006 a mud flow started in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, that seems to be the beginning of a mud volcano.

The island of Baratang, part of the Great Andaman archipelago (India) in the Andaman Islands, Indian Ocean has several sites of mud volcanic activity. The most recent significant eruption event was in 2003.

North and South America

Mud volcanoes of the North American continent include:

• Shrub and Klawasi mud volcanoes in the Copper River basin by the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, USA. Emissions are mostly CO₂ and nitrogen; the volcanoes are associated with magmatic processes.
• An unnamed mud volcano 30 m high and with a top about 100 m wide, 24 km off Redondo Beach, California, and 800 m under the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
• A field of small (< 3 meters) mud volcanoes in the Salton Sea geothermal area near the town of Niland, California. Emissions are mostly CO₂.
• Smooth Ridge mud volcano in 1,000 m of water near Monterey Canyon, California.
• Kaglulik mud volcano, 43 m under the surface of the Beaufort Sea, near the northern boundary of Alaska and Canada. Petroleum deposits are believed to exist in the area.
• There are many mud volcanoes in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, near oil reserves in southern parts of the island of Trinidad. These include:
  • the Devils Woodyard mud volcano near Hindustan
  • the Moruga Bouffe mud volcano near Moruga
  • the Piparo mud volcano
  • the Chatham mud volcano located underwater in the Columbus Channel; this mud volcano periodically produces a short-lived island.

Volcán de lodo de Yagrumito, Estado Monagas, Venezuela, 6 km. from Maturín

South American mud volcanoes include:

• Venezuela. The Eastern part of Venezuela contains several mud volcanoes, all of them, like in Trinidad, having an origin related to oil deposits. The image shows the Volcán de lodo de Yagrumito, about 6 km from Maturín, Venezuela. Its mud contains, water, biogenic gas, certain amount of hydrocarbons and an important quantity of salt. This makes cows from the savanna to gather around to lick dried mud, since salt is very important in their feeding to produce milk. The Coriolis effect leaves a spiral flow clockwise around the crater (See: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volc%C3%A1n_de_lodo).
• El Totumo, which marks the division between Bolivar and Atlantico in Colombia. This volcano is currently under a legal fight between the Bolivar and the Atlantico "Departamentos" because of its tourist value.

Yellowstone's Mud Volcano

Yellowstone's Mud Volcano feature. (NPS,Peaco,1998).

The name of Yellowstone National Park's Mud Volcano feature and the surrounding area is misleading; it consists of hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles rather than a true mud volcano. The feature is much less active than in its first recorded description, although the area is quite dynamic. Yellowstone is an active geothermal area with a magma chamber near the surface, and active gases tend to be steam, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.^[6]

The mud volcano in Yellowstone used to be an actual mound, until one day it literally tore itself apart into what is seen today.

Azerbaijan

Main article: Gobustan State Reserve

File:Mud Volcanoe.jpg

Lokbatan Mud Volcano eruption in Azerbaijan, 2001

It's estimated that 300 of the planet's estimated 700 mud volcanoes sit in Eastern Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.[7] Many geologists as well as locals and international mud tourists trek to such places as the Firuz Crater, Gobustan, Salyan and end up happily covered in mud which is thought to have medicinal qualities.[8] In 2001 one mud volcano 15 kilometers from Baku made world headlines when it suddenly started spewing flames 15 meters high. [9]

Other parts of the world

• The island of Baratang, part of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands, Indian Ocean has several sites of mud volcanic activity. The most recent significant eruption event was in 2003.

See also

• Volcano - hot, igneous volcano
• Black smoker
• Cold seep
• Hydrothermal vent
• Lahar - mud flow
• Sand volcano
• Methane hydrate
• abiogenic petroleum origin
• Nikolai Kudryavtsev

References

1. ^ S. Planke, H. Svensen, M. Hovland, D. A. Banks, B. Jamtveit (December 2003). "Mud and fluid migration in active mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan". Geo-Marine Letters. 23 (3–4): 258–268.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link) doi:10.1007/s00367-003-0152-z
2. ^ Etiope, Giuseppe (2003). "A NEW ESTIMATE OF GLOBAL METHANE FLUX TO THE ATMOSPHERE FROM ONSHORE AND SHALLOW SUBMARINE MUD VOLCANOES". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. p. 115. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help) "A NEW ESTIMATE OF GLOBAL METHANE FLUX TO THE ATMOSPHERE FROM ONSHORE AND SHALLOW SUBMARINE MUD VOLCANOES". XVI INQUA Congress. Retrieved April 20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. ^ Milkov, A. V., R. Sassen, T. V. Apanasovich, and F. G. Dadashev (2003). "Global gas flux from mud volcanoes: A significant source of fossil methane in the atmosphere and the ocean". Geophys. Res. Lett. 30 (2): 1037.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) doi:10.1029/2002GL016358
4. ^ "Global Distribution and Significance of Mud Volcanoes". AAPG Annual Meeting 2003: Energy - Our Monumental Task. Retrieved April 20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. ^ Achim J. Kopf (2003). "Global methane emission through mud volcanoes and its past and present impact on the Earths climate". International Journal of Earth Sciences. 92 (5): 806–816. doi:10.1007/s00531-003-0341-z ISSN 1437-3254 (Paper) ISSN 1437-3262 (Online)
6. ^ "Mud volcano". USGS Photo glossary of volcano terms. Retrieved April 20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• Bulletin Of Mud Volcanology Azerbaijan Academy Of Sciences (In English)
• Gaia's Breath—Methane and the Future of Natural Gas - USGS, June 2003
• Azeri mud volcano flares - October 29 2001 BBC report
• Redondo Beach mud volcano with methane hydrate deposits
• Hydrocarbons Associated with Fluid Venting Process in Monterey Bay, California
• Hydrothermal Activity and Carbon-Dioxide Discharge at Shrub and Upper Klawasi Mud Volcanoes, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska - U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4207
• Mud Volcano Eruption at Baratang, Middle Andamans
• Article on mud volcanoes from Azerbaijan International
• Mud volcano floods Java, August 2006