LUSI: Lumpur Sidoarjo, Indonesia
Significance Of Lumpur Sidoarjo (LUSI):
This is the most intensely studied mud volcano by scientists since it gained international attention after it's May 26, 2006 eruption.
Location:
Near Indonesia's coastal city of Sidoarjo (Click here for map)
Size:
60-m wide central crater, no measured height (the cone shaped deformed after the eruption)
Last Eruption:
The eruption started on May 26, 2006 and is still continuing. There have been studies conducted to determine how long this mud volcano will continue erupting. One study predicts that the volcano will continue spewing significant amounts of mud for another 2 decades. Another study suggests the volcano could continue its eruption for the next 87 years. Both studies do agree, however, that this eruption is not going to end anytime soon.
Eruption Rate In June 2008:
About 110,000 cubic meters of mud was erupted per day
Effects On Nearby Residents:
From a time span of May 2006 - June 2008, the 60-m wide central crater has spewed out 30 million cubic meters of mud, with temperatures ranging from 70°C–100°C. The mud has covered homes, rice paddies, factories, and major roads! It has killed 15 people, and displaced 40,000 others! Effects On Economy: The volcano has erupted right near an industrial area that manufactures shoes and clothing. The eruption covered major roads and disrupted the operations of these factories, causing major loss in the local economy. It has also cost the government lots of money to create a levee near the volcano to contain the mud flow. Money is also invested to pump the mud into the Kali Porong River diversion channel, where the mud is carried 20km east towards the ocean. |
Possible Causes For Formation and Eruption: There are 2 theories suggesting the cause of the formation of the mud volcano and it's eruption. However, to understand the cause of eruption, we must first understand the formation of sediments underground. Indonesia falls in the Ring Of Fire, so the land around the mud volcano is a seismically active area that is characterized by the rapid sedimentation in the Pleistocene layers. This sedimentation occurred due to the deposits of active volcanoes nearby during the past few million years. However, under that layer was the 60 million old layer called the Kajang formation, which the mining company was interested in because it had gas. Another thing to note is that the volcano was near fault lines (the red lines in the image to the right). |
Theory One: The mud volcano was caused by industrial mistake of the mining company.
The mining company wanted to reach the Kajang formation. After doing tests, they concluded that to reach the bottom, they needed to add a tube around their drilling pipes to avoid adding pressure to the surrounding areas. However, the mining company did not add the tubes around the pipes for the full length of the tube. The gasses and water from underneath erupted through the pipe, mixed with the layer of the pressurized sediments, and formed mud, which then erupted.
Theory Two: The mud volcano was caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake.
Two days prior to the eruption, there had been a magnitude 6 earthquake 300 km away in a place called Yogyakarta. This earthquake must have liquefied the mud, and caused the volcano. This theory is less popular because the area was earthquake prone, but hadn't seen a mud volcano quite as powerful as LUSI before.
The mining company wanted to reach the Kajang formation. After doing tests, they concluded that to reach the bottom, they needed to add a tube around their drilling pipes to avoid adding pressure to the surrounding areas. However, the mining company did not add the tubes around the pipes for the full length of the tube. The gasses and water from underneath erupted through the pipe, mixed with the layer of the pressurized sediments, and formed mud, which then erupted.
Theory Two: The mud volcano was caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake.
Two days prior to the eruption, there had been a magnitude 6 earthquake 300 km away in a place called Yogyakarta. This earthquake must have liquefied the mud, and caused the volcano. This theory is less popular because the area was earthquake prone, but hadn't seen a mud volcano quite as powerful as LUSI before.