Mud volcanoes of the Orinoco Delta, Eastern Venezuela

Aslan, Andres; Warne, Andrew G.; White, William A.; Guevara, Edgar H.; Smyth, Rebecca C.; Raney, Jay A.; Gibeaut, James C.

doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(01)00065-4

Cited by 32 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Similar sets of features have been described associated to subaerial mud volcanism of recent deltaic environments within convergent plate boundaries (Aslan et al, 2001). This assumption will imply the occurrence of subaerial mud-volcanism prior and during OIS 5 in the studied zone.…”

Section: Evidences Of Recent Faulting In the Bel Abalario Domeqsupporting

confidence: 78%

Landscape evolution and geodynamic controls in the Gulf of Cadiz (Huelva coast, SW Spain) during the Late Quaternary

et al. 2005

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The coastal evolution of the El Abalario area (Huelva, southern Spain) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene is reinterpreted after a refinement of the available geochronology by means of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. New data come from the analysis of soft sediment deformation, palaeosols, geomorphological mapping, and published seismic surveys on the onshore and offshore Gulf of Cadiz.The present structure of El Abalario dome resulted from the complex interaction of littoral-catchment processes and sealevel changes upon an emergent coastal plain, conditioned by the upwarping of the underlying Pliocene-Pleistocene prograding deltaic sequence. Upwarping is probably related to escape of over-pressurized fluids, accompanied by dewatering, prior to (?) and during OIS (Oxygen Isotopic Stage) 5. Continued upwarping produced the large NW-SE gravitational fault of Torre del Loro (TLF) in the southwestern flank of the dome, roughly parallel to the present coastline during OIS 5-OIS 4. The resulting escarpment favoured the accumulation of aeolian sand dunes (units U1, U2, and U3) from OIS 5 to early OIS 1. Unit U1 (OIS 5) ends upwards in a supersurface with a thick weathering profile that suggests moist and temperate climatic conditions. Unit U2 accumulated mainly during OIS 4 and OIS 3 with prevailing W/E winds. The supersurface between U2 and U3 records a part of OIS 2, with relative low sea level. Sedimentation of unit U3 took place during the Last Deglaciation (radiocarbon and OSL ages) with prevailing W/SW winds, under a temperate moist climate, that became more arid towards the top (Holocene). A major supersurface with an iron crust-like layer (SsFe) developed during the Holocene Climatic Optimum (OIS 1) under wetter and more temperate conditions than before, fossilizing the TLF. The supersurface is covered by younger aeolian dunes (U4, U5, U6, and U7) transported by W-SW winds since the Late Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultural period (~5.0 ky cal BP).

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Section: Evidences Of Recent Faulting In the Bel Abalario Domeqsupporting

confidence: 78%

Landscape evolution and geodynamic controls in the Gulf of Cadiz (Huelva coast, SW Spain) during the Late Quaternary

et al. 2005

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“…Mud volcanoes can root in sedimentary deposits that are several kilometers below the seafloor (Higgins and Saunders, 1974;Fowler et al, 2000;Aslan et al, 2001) and can thus be considered as 'windows' into the sedimentary basins that reveal the composition of deep sediments. However, fluids rising through deep-rooted feeding channels may be also stored at intermediate to shallow-depth mud chambers and be remobilized via sub-surface interconnected plumbing systems (Deville et al, 2003(Deville et al, , 2010Praeg et al, 2003Praeg et al, , 2009Mazzini et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary sources of the mud-breccia and mud volcanic activity in the Western Alboran Basin

et al. 2013

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During the TTR-17 Leg 1 cruise in the West Alboran Basin, gravity cores were acquired from three mud volcanoes (MVs): Dhaka, Carmen and the recently discovered Maya. This paper presents micropaleontological and radiocarbon dating results from the three mud volcanoes, using cores containing mud breccias overlain by and interbedded with hemipelagic sediments. At Dhaka MV, the mud-breccia matrix contains very rare Holocene planktonic foraminifera associated with abundant reworked specimens of mixed Late Cretaceous to Mio-Pliocene age. At Carmen MV, the reworked assemblage is dominated by Miocene to Pliocene foraminifera occurring together with rare Late Cretaceous species while at Maya MV the mud-breccia matrix is characterized by the dominance of Santonian-Maastrichtian forms, with subordinate Tertiary species. Shallow-water benthic foraminifera such as Ammonia spp. and Elphidium spp. are generally rare and randomly distributed, but present at all studied sites. Based on these results, we suggest that the main sediment source of the mud-breccia extruded at Dhaka, Carmen and Maya MVs is possibly the lowermost overpressured olistostromic Unit VI (Aquitanian?-Burdigalian). Differences in the micropaleontological composition of the mud-breccia matrix at different sites are most likely due to differences in the main source layer and in the plumbing systems underneath the MVs. Radiocarbon dating of hemipelagic sediments associated to the mud-breccia allowed to define the age of the latest extrusion activities (>0.27 ka to > 15.6 ka BP), which seem to be episodic, short-lived and recurrent over thousands of years.

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“…The onshore mud volcanoes found in parts of the Upper Benue Trough do not contain oil or gases but fresh or, in most cases, highly mineralised water (Musa et al 2015) (Plates 3 to 9). In other countries such as India (Chaudhuri et al 2012; http://mudvolcanoes.weebly.com/baratang-island-mudvolcano-india.html), Venezuela (Aslan et al 2001;Duerto, McClay 2002), Trinidad and Tobago (Knight et al 2002), Mongolia (Rukavičková, Hanžl 2008) Brought and USA (California), (Rudolph, Manga 2010) there are onshore mud volcanoes substantially similar to those discovered in Nigeria in terms of their height, shape, size and mud flow from the crater. The scientific discussion regarding the origin of mud volcanoes is concerned mainly with the following categories: (a) mud volcanoes sensu stricto, linked with hydrocarbon gas release, (b) hydrothermal mud volcanoes, (c) mud volcanoes as a manifestation of an earthquake or a sudden exogenetic event (Pitt and Hutchinson 1982;Dimitrov 2002;Rogozhin et al 2007fide: Rukavičková, Hanžl 2008.…”

Section: Characteristics and Proposed Origin Of Onshore Mud Volcanoesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tectonic control on the distribution of onshore mud volcanoes in parts of the Upper Benue Trough, northeastern Nigeria.

Musa¹,

Kurowska²,

Schoeneich³

et al. 2016

Contemporary Trends in Geoscience

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Onshore mud volcanoes are rare geological phenomena, which in Nigeria were reported for the first time few years ago in the Upper Benue Trough. In this study a detail geological mapping of the area of mud volcanoes occurrence was carried out, with the primary aim of defining their relationship, if any, to the structural geology there. The systematic field reconnaissance included field observations of the structural features, as well as analysis of the location and distribution of the onshore mud volcanoes, marking their locations on the topographic and geological maps, analysis of the aerial photographs and satellite images. The study area covered the central part of the Upper Benue Trough where the onshore mud volcanoes were found. The study area is the part of a sedimentary basin comprising Cretaceous clastic rocks that have been deformed intensively by a network of faults often embedded in the underlying Precambrian basement. This network of faults underwent a rejuvenation period from the Aptian to the Palaeocene. The most prominent tectonic structure in the study area is the NE -SW trending Kaltungo Fault Zone, however, there are other minor faults with N -S and NW -SE trends. This study shows that the mud volcanoes found in the study area are usually located near or within fault zones, within the outcropping Upper Cretaceous Yolde Formation and Upper Bima Sandstone, both of which were deformed by the Kaltungo faults, as well as by other minor faults.Worldwide, incidences of onshore mud volcano formation are usually attributed to areas of tectonic activity, rapid sedimentation or hydrocarbon occurrence. In this study, the interpretation of the field observations and mapping results, combined with information on the structural evolution of the study area and seismic pattern (very scarce), have led to the conclusion that the location of onshore mud volcanoes in the Upper Benue Trough, being located along the fault zones, is structurally controlled. The close relationship between mud volcano location and the structural framework of the area may be interpreted as one of several possible subsurface geological responses to present tectonic activity.

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Mud volcanoes of the Orinoco Delta, Eastern Venezuela

Cited by 32 publications

References 18 publications

Landscape evolution and geodynamic controls in the Gulf of Cadiz (Huelva coast, SW Spain) during the Late Quaternary

Landscape evolution and geodynamic controls in the Gulf of Cadiz (Huelva coast, SW Spain) during the Late Quaternary

Sedimentary sources of the mud-breccia and mud volcanic activity in the Western Alboran Basin

Tectonic control on the distribution of onshore mud volcanoes in parts of the Upper Benue Trough, northeastern Nigeria.

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