Mud volcanoes

Mud volcanoes, which have very little in common with volcanoes, can be small like those found on Sicily, central Java and by the Caspian Sea (the latter which have been active for decades). In other places mud volcanoes are higher—tens of meters—and large quantities of mud are expelled, for instance in Colombia, Azerbaijan and northern Italy (more than a million m³ of mud in 1835). The largest mud volcanoes are several hundred meters high but blend in well with the landscape and are not easily identifiable to the non-professional. Eruptions are a minor ecological disaster—the driving gas will explode in a flame several hundred meters high that burns away the vegetation surrounding the volcano.

Large eruptions are known by the Black Sea and in areas around the Caspian Sea (with large hydrocarbon reserves that have recently begun to be exploited), as well as in Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, and Burma. Submarine mud volcanoes may give birth to islands, which has happened in Indonesia, with resulting ownership issues.

Active mud volcanoes vent several tonnes of heavy carbon dioxide and light and flammable methane each day (unaccounted for in models of climate change), which makes plant life scarce in the immediate vicinity. During eruptions the gas volumes are ten times greater.

Mud volcanoes are largely unknown, but will come into focus in the future. They are present along the collision zones between Earth's tectonic plates, in areas where volcanoes and earthquake activity is also common. Settling in areas close to mud volcanoes can be risky, and has been avoided by local populations.

Today international companies are building oil and gas pipelines through these risk areas. It can be expected that earthquakes and mud eruptions will sever these lines periodically. When the hydrocarbons being transported through the pipes are rich in hydrogen sulphide, as is the case in the area between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, a large leakage would be a major environmental disaster. Hydrogen sulphide is highly toxic and can make humans and animals blind. Under normal circumstances pipelines should be closed immediately when there is a leak, but a malfunction would mean that the hydrogen sulphide would completely sterilize about ten hectares of ground for every hour that the leak remained.

Mud volcanism is one of our specialty fields.


Home The company Our database Services Contact us Regional distribution Ecological impacts Socioeconomic impacts Variation in time Acts of man? Individual Hazards Earthquakes Volcanoes Tsunamis Landslides Storms Lightning Forest fires Cold spells Poor crops Epidemics Mud volcanoes Impact events	Mud volcanoes Mud volcanoes, which have very little in common with volcanoes, can be small like those found on Sicily, central Java and by the Caspian Sea (the latter which have been active for decades). In other places mud volcanoes are higher—tens of meters—and large quantities of mud are expelled, for instance in Colombia, Azerbaijan and northern Italy (more than a million m³ of mud in 1835). The largest mud volcanoes are several hundred meters high but blend in well with the landscape and are not easily identifiable to the non-professional. Eruptions are a minor ecological disaster—the driving gas will explode in a flame several hundred meters high that burns away the vegetation surrounding the volcano. Large eruptions are known by the Black Sea and in areas around the Caspian Sea (with large hydrocarbon reserves that have recently begun to be exploited), as well as in Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, and Burma. Submarine mud volcanoes may give birth to islands, which has happened in Indonesia, with resulting ownership issues. Active mud volcanoes vent several tonnes of heavy carbon dioxide and light and flammable methane each day (unaccounted for in models of climate change), which makes plant life scarce in the immediate vicinity. During eruptions the gas volumes are ten times greater. Mud volcanoes are largely unknown, but will come into focus in the future. They are present along the collision zones between Earth's tectonic plates, in areas where volcanoes and earthquake activity is also common. Settling in areas close to mud volcanoes can be risky, and has been avoided by local populations. Today international companies are building oil and gas pipelines through these risk areas. It can be expected that earthquakes and mud eruptions will sever these lines periodically. When the hydrocarbons being transported through the pipes are rich in hydrogen sulphide, as is the case in the area between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, a large leakage would be a major environmental disaster. Hydrogen sulphide is highly toxic and can make humans and animals blind. Under normal circumstances pipelines should be closed immediately when there is a leak, but a malfunction would mean that the hydrogen sulphide would completely sterilize about ten hectares of ground for every hour that the leak remained. Mud volcanism is one of our specialty fields.
© 2005–2007 Natural Hazards Group. Last update was 23 December 2006.