Episodic massive mud eruptions from submarine mud volcanoes examined through topographical signatures

Arata Kioka, Juichiro Ashi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The role of mud volcanism on subsurface fluid migration and material cycling has long been debated. Here we compile the heights and radii of offshore mud volcanoes and estimate a mean volume of episodic massive mud eruptions based on previous studies into granular flows. The volume is estimated as a function of the ratio of height to basal radius of the mud volcano's body under reasonable assumptions of the sizes of the mud conduit. Nearly all known offshore mud volcanoes are found to be polygenetic with the mean individual eruption volume of the pie-type mud volcano being several orders of magnitude larger than that of the cone type. The frequent occurrence of pie-type mud volcanoes in accretionary margins characterized by high-sediment influx is explained by their efficiency in the transport of large amounts of fluidized sediments from deep depths to the seafloor.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8406-8414
Number of pages9
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume42
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 28 2015
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geophysics
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Episodic massive mud eruptions from submarine mud volcanoes examined through topographical signatures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this