Volcano Journal Entry
Gas Seeps From Indonesian Mud Volcano (March 17, 2008)
View of steam rising from mud volcano in East Java. Kyoto University.
People living close to the mud volcano still gushing in East Java now have something to worry about besides the mud. Plumes of smelly gas are flaring up from the ground in Mindi village, where a mud-filled canal makes its way to the Parang River. The flammable gas can ignite if sparked.
The disaster began in May 2006. Fountains of mud suddenly burst from the ground in an area where gas drilling was going on. Since then, the mud has swallowed a dozen villages. Indonesia has had little luck stopping the flow. Nearly two years later, 150,000 cubic meters of mud still spurt out every day.
A natural mud volcano is a cone of mud and clay made from the mixture of hot water and sediments. The sediments bubble up from rocks deep below the surface heated by Earth's magma.
Most observers agree there's nothing natural about this one, however. Geologists blame the drilling company for looking for gas in an unstable area. Recently, the Indonesian government ordered the company to pay victims of the disaster.
