From bursts to creep: Rewriting the story of mud volcano flows
Mud volcanoes are often pictured as dramatic geological phenomena featuring the sudden eruption of large volumes of fiery mud in short, powerful bursts. By examining recent activity at the Lokbatan mud ...
Mud volcanoes are often pictured as dramatic geological phenomena featuring the sudden eruption of large volumes of fiery mud in short, powerful bursts. By examining recent activity at the Lokbatan mud volcano in Azerbaijan, an international team of researchers led by the University of Oslo has found that many eruptions are relatively small and short-lived, producing only modest amounts of material near the crater.
Instead of building large flows all at once, these outbursts seem to "wake up" much older mud deposits that were already sitting on the slopes. The work is published in the journal Geology.
The team combined field observations, satellite imagery and geophysical measurements to track how these older mud flows behave over time. A key player is a hidden, water-rich layer beneath the surface that acts like a lubricant, allowing the overlying mud to slide, almost like a slow-moving glacier. This slow, step-by-step motion has been ongoing for years, quietly reshaping the landscape in ways that are not immediately visible.
Based on these findings, the authors propose a new model for mud volcano dynamics: Large mud flows are not generated by single, catastrophic eruptions, but instead grow progressively through repeated small events that reactivate and push existing material downslope, triggering a slow creep. This new perspective changes how scientists understand these systems and has important implications for hazard assessment and monitoring.
Publication details
Adriano Mazzini et al, Mud volcanism and creepy mud flows: A new model, Geology (2026). DOI: 10.1130/g54583.1
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Citation: From bursts to creep: Rewriting the story of mud volcano flows (2026, July 9) retrieved 12 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rewriting-story-mud-volcano.html
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