The seismic monitoring network of mud volcanoes of the RSSC ANAS registered the eruption of the Melikchobanly mud volcano

On March 8, 2024, the seismic monitoring network of mud volcanoes of the Republican Seismic Survey Centre of ANAS registered the fifth eruption of the Melikchobanly mud volcano in the village of Melikchobanly, Shamakha region. The eruption began at 18:09 local time and lasted 3 minutes. Due to the weak and superficial eruption of the mud volcano, the eruption was recorded on two digital stations - Zarnava and Gobustan. The mud that emerged from the soil layer spread over an area of 1 hectare.                                                                                       

It should be noted that the eruption of this volcano was observed in previous years - 1926, 1967, 1977 and 2019. This volcano is located in one of the most active zones both seismically and tectonically, so repeated passive eruptions can be observed here. A few days ago, weak earthquakes were recorded in Shamakhi. During tectonic movements in the earth's crust, changes in compressive and tensile stresses are observed, which can affect the activation of mud volcanoes. The March 8 eruption is characterized as weak and cannot cause any catastrophic consequences.  

Let us note that on February 5, 2019, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of ml=5.2 occurred in the Ismailli region. After this earthquake, aftershocks with a magnitude of ml≥3.0 were recorded in the territory of Shamakhi-Ismailly for 10 days. After this earthquake, the activation of the mud volcano “Gushchu”, located on the territory of the Shemakha region, the village of Gushchu, was recorded. On May 27, 2019 at 16:33 local time, the Melikchobanly mud volcano erupted in the Shemakha region. As a result of the eruption, the height of the crater rose to 10-15 meters, and the mud that emerged from the earth layer spread over an area of 2 hectares. Due to the impact of the volcano, swellings and cracks formed in the soil near this area. No houses or farms were damaged.

According to digital stations, the depth of the source of the Melikchobanly mud volcanoes is determined to be 5 km, the duration of the eruption is 1 minute, and the released energy is 3.4*106 J.