The locals ignited it.

It’s not. I know folks from the geophysical agency that went up the next day to survey it.

Sadly not me!!

If any bright folks out there can access pre- and post- quake satellite images, I’d love to please collaborate and look for any mud volcano triggering!

Some of the most incredible mud volcano eruptions ever have happened in that part of Timor without ever being reported!

It basically is a natural one! It’s bringing up highly pressured mud, oil and natural gas from deep underground.

Some mud volcanoes, including those in Azerbaijan, are also plumbed into an active hydrocarbon system. So a huge amount of methane is also released during the eruptions. That gas just needs a spark to ignite into a fireball. The ignition occurs naturally and there are several possible mechanisms.

More information on Otman-Bozdagh, and its last fiery eruptions in 2017 and 2018, can be found in my old thread here.

bsky.app/profile/mark...

Nice!! Hope you and the Man are doing well!

I know you’re not on FB anymore, but it’s been nice seeing all the figures from this paper getting heavily promoted and liked by this FB group. Brings back memories of the field trip I tagged along on.

www.facebook.com/share/p/16tP...

I’m not an expert on Californian seismicity. However, I have not heard of any unusual activity from experts, and I know there are often folks making up false alarming claims.

The islands have a many mud volcanoes! Here’s my incomplete map. Many MVs are remote, and eruptions may not be reported.

Whilst the quake could potentially trigger an eruption, I note that triggered eruptions in the area have historically required larger quakes, greater than M7.0.

We will see!

There’s a long history of earthquake triggered mud volcano eruptions in the Tanimbar and Kai islands. I’ve found mentions in papers of triggered eruptions going back >200 years!

Most recently, the M7.9 9th Jan 2024 quake caused two tiny islands to rise up next to the big Pulau Kabawa mud volcano.

@brandontbishop.bsky.social interesting. Maybe you are right that it may have some magmatic link.

There are two hot mineral springs near by (one active) that have built up small cones, one ~15km away and one ~38km away.

maps.app.goo.gl/gpUD4gCHmaBy...

maps.app.goo.gl/7GiXFAynM63p...

Yes, I think you’re right, and I may have found the exact location! Someone has put a position in Google Maps for ‘Volcancito San Pedro’, which has photos of the mud volcano and matches with details in a local news story.

-14.19, -71.3065

Google Maps link: maps.app.goo.gl/Xou2uzs9knJg...

Oh yeah. The flows from mud volcanoes can be amazing with their shapes, colours, pattens and textures.

I don’t think it is hot at all. I would suspect the mud is 10-30°C

It’s a wonderful hobby! I have a massive amount of posts and threads on over 150 of them, but the vast majority are over on Twitter as that was my main SciComm social media before it became horrible.

🤣🤣🤣 but does not wear a nappy and seems to be pooping all over the place!

The geophysicist interviewed was indicating that it’s not near any active volcanism. The vent itself also doesn’t suggest that it may be hydrothermally driven. It doesn’t really look like how MVs usually look when near and influenced by volcanism.