Birth of a mud volcano: East Java, 29 May 2006

Abstract

On 29 May 2006, an eruption of steam, water, and, subsequently, mud occurred in eastern Java in a location where none had been previously documented. This "pioneer" mud eruption (the first to occur at this site) appears to have been triggered by drilling of overpressured porous and permeable limestones at depths of ~2830 m below the surface. We propose that the borehole provided a pressure connection between the aquifers in the limestones and overpressured mud in overlying units. As this was not protected by steel casing, the pressure induced hydraulic fracturing, and fractures propagated to the surface, where pore fluid and some entrained sediment started to erupt. Flow rates remain high (7000-150,000 m 3 per day) after 173 days of continuous eruption (at the time of this writing), indicating that the aquifer volume is probably significant. A continued jet of fluid, driven by this aquifer pressure, has caused erosion and entrainment of the overpressured mud. As a result, we predict a caldera will form around the main vent with gentle sag-like subsidence of the region covered by the mud flow and surrounding areas. The eruption demonstrates that mud volcanoes can be initiated by fracture propagation through significant thicknesses of overburden and shows that the mud and fluid need not have previously coexisted, but can be "mixed" within unlithified sedimentary strata.

A survey of volcanic deformation on Java using ALOS PALSAR interferometric time series

“…Perhaps triggered by a gas exploration well, the eruption is ongoing and has created a local disaster area by burying many villages in warm mud. The evacuation of mud from a layer ∼2.8 km deep is causing the overlying area to subside [ Davies et al , 2007]. It is important to monitor deformation associated with the mud volcano, since the evacuation of material may eventually lead to a caldera collapse, expanding the disaster area far beyond the area currently flooded with mud.…”

Optimization of NaOH Molarity, LUSI Mud/Alkaline Activator, and Na2SiO3/NaOH Ratio to Produce Lightweight Aggregate-Based Geopolymer

“…Sodalite still remained as the highest intensity for each sample, but the intensities of sample at LM/AA of 1.7 and Na 2 SiO 3 /NaOH of 0.4 was the lowest due to the dilution effect into more stable alkaline aluminosilicates. For LM/AA ratio of 1.7 and the Na 2 SiO 3 /NaOH ratio of 0.4, the major synthesized crystalline phases were identified as sodalite (S) of Na 4 Al 3 Si 3 O 12 Cl, quartz (Q), albite (Al), anorthite (An) and nepheline (N) that strengthen the ALGA produced [2,22]. The broad humps were detected at 2θ = 21°–36°, suggesting that amorphous phases are present showing the geopolymerization occurred.…”

“…This eruption affected an area of almost three square miles to a depth of 65 feet and thirty thousand people were displaced, costing Indonesia 3.7 billion dollars in damages and damage control. The total cost of damage and damage control reached 488 million US dollars (USD) in 2011 and increased to 730.7 million USD in 2014 [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. …”

Fluid flow in the Keathley Canyon 151 Mini-Basin, northern Gulf of Mexico

“…Vertically upward seepage and discharge occurred when a critical pressure gradient (i crit ) was achieved or exceeded (Craig, 1992;Davies et al, 2007):…”