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Mud and fluid migration in active mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan

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Abstract

Mud volcanic eruptions in Azerbaijan normally last for less than a few hours, and are characterized by vigorous extrusion of mud breccias, hydrocarbon gases, and waters. Recent fieldwork and mapping on four active mud volcanoes show that dormant period activity ranges from quiet to vigorous flow of mud and fluids. Geochemical analyses of expelled waters show a wide range in solute concentrations, suggesting the existence of a complex plumbing system. The mud and fluids have a deep origin, but are sometimes stored in intermediate-depth mud chambers. A mixing model between deep-seated saline waters and shallow meteoric water is proposed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly financed by the Norwegian Research Council grant 120897 to B. Jamtveit/H. Svensen. We would like to thank Statoil for logistic assistance during fieldwork, and Achim Kopf for a constructive review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research (VBPR), Oslo Research Park, 0349, Oslo, Norway

    S. Planke

  2. Physics of Geological Processes, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    S. Planke, H. Svensen & B. Jamtveit

  3. Statoil, 4035, Stavanger, Norway

    M. Hovland

  4. School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    D. A. Banks

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  1. S. Planke
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Correspondence to S. Planke.

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Planke, S., Svensen, H., Hovland, M. et al. Mud and fluid migration in active mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan. Geo-Mar Lett 23, 258–268 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-003-0152-z

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