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Three generations of mud volcanoes on the Louisiana continental slope

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Abstract

Three mud volcanoes were identified in a small area of the upper continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico. One is actively accreting by small, intermittent eruptions of gas and fluid mud. Eruptions occur from a pool of gas- and oil-saturated muds that upwell and spill over the central crater edge and down the flanks of the coneshaped buildup. A second structure, a possible sand volcano, is in the last stages of activity, with only slight evidence of gas-saturated sediments. The third structure is a dormant mud volcano with furrowed sides and scattered authigenic carbonate plates and rubble but no venting of gas or fluids.

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Neurauter, T.W., Roberts, H.H. Three generations of mud volcanoes on the Louisiana continental slope. Geo-Marine Letters 14, 120–125 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01203723

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01203723

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