In sedimentary volcanism, underground sediments, water and gases ascend to the surface, both inland and offshore, within a compressive tectonic regime. The ejected material builds up edifices resembling volcanoes, hence the term Mud Volcanoes (MVs). Some of these structures exhibit paroxysmal activity, characterized by violent gas blasts or sudden expulsions, releasing huge volumes of mud that represent a severe geohazard. In general, MVs emit significant CH4 and minor CO2 and light hydrocarbons amounts affecting the life cycles of animals and plants.
MVs constitute natural laboratories for investigating several poorly understood processes, such as geochemical and physical dynamics during ongoing eruptions, the interaction between faulting and fluid reservoirs, the hydrological cycle or periodic inflation-deflation cycles at the crustal scale (e.g., those driven by Earth tides), as well as their buried structure.
MVs are often hosted within Nature Reserves that provide a safe environment for monitoring activities, whose main goal is to intercept potential precursors of paroxysmal events. Moreover, since these Reserves are visited by many people every year, monitoring is crucial not only for scientific purposes but also for ensuring the safety of visitors and nearby populations.
This session is addressed to investigations of:
- the reconstruction of the deep engine dynamics of MV activity and their stratigraphic structure;
- the processes that form mud volcanos and drive material migration to the surface;
- the hydrological regime and its influence on MV activity;
- outcomes from long-term monitoring and spot-survey;
- the interplay between the regional/local seismicity and MV activity, as manifestation of crustal dynamics;
- the remote sensing terrain and surface modeling, and geophysical imaging;
- the impact of MVs activity on ecosystems and climate.
Multidisciplinary approaches to the MVs study, aimed at identifying reliable indicators of their activity state, are welcome.