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mud volcano

These mud volcanoes (located in the italian Appennines) are not related to lava volcanoes. Small mud domes are created by geo-excreted liquids (fossil salt water, in this case) and gases (methane here), although there are several different processes which may cause such activity. The Padanian gulf existed 5 mya; 2,5 mya during a marine regression, sea water was trapped in a cretaceous flysch together with organic substance in an anaerobic environment. The flysch was covered by a deep layer of clay and sand. Nowadays, when a fault fractures the rock, fossil cold water, methane and other hydrocarbons mix with clay and surface deposits and erupt producing quiet mud flows.

 

Vulcani di fango alle salse di Nirano in provincia di Modena.

 

salse di Nirano

 

www.parks.it/riserva.salse.nirano/

 

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Uploaded on May 10, 2012
Taken on May 6, 2012