Four Undersea Volcanoes Founded Near Phuket

[george]

Four undersea volcanoes founded near Phuket

PHUKET: -- A team of Thai and German marine geologists has found four volcanoes under the sea about 200 kilometres away from Phuket, the team leader announced Monday.

Dr Anon Sanitwong na Ayutthaya of Chulalongkorn University, who headed the survey, said the survey was carried out for 15 days and ended on December 6 with support from the German government and from the National Marine Geology Institute in Keith.

The team survey the seabed for 1,500 square kilometres at the depth of 1,000 to 2,800 metres at the a continental rim about 3,00 kms away from Phuket.

He said the team detected four mud volcanoes in the area.

The first volcano is about 200 kms away from Phuket and its base is about 1-km long in diameter and is 100 metre high. It is located about 650 metres under the sea.

The second volcano is located 50 kms west of the first volcano and is about 1,000 metres under the sea. The third and fourth volcanoes are located about 60 kms northeast of the second volcano and are about 700 to 800 metres under the sea.

He said the survey was carried out in the aftermath of the tsunami which hit the Andaman Sea on December 26 2004.

Anon said the temperature of the water at the volcanoes was about 100 Celsius decrees while the temperature around it was only five degrees.

He said the public should not be panic about the four volcanoes as there are no indications so far that they would erupt.

He added that there were no apparent relations between the volcanoes and the 2004 tsunami.

He said the existence of the volcanoes should bode well for the country as they were signs of rare living creatures and there might be oil resources in the areas.

-- The Nation 2006-12-11

[Head Snake]

"He said the existence of the volcanoes should bode well for the country as they were signs of rare living creatures and there might be oil resources in the areas."

I'm sure you have all heard of the great Saudi volcanos and how Hawaii is a net exporter of oil resources. "Hey, don't worry about mud volcanoes because its mud flows that cause tsu.... oil wells, ya, that's the ticket and Nemo.. alot of Nemos."

[Head Snake]

I am betting 25 baht that Exxon Mobil will not bid on the Phuket volcano upcoming lease blocks.

If PTTEP bids on them, dump the stock!!

[Tony Clifton]

He said the existence of the volcanoes should bode well for the country as they were signs of rare living creatures and there might be oil resources in the areas.

Not anymore once they start drilling.

[rak sa_ngop]

He said the team detected four mud volcanoes in the area.

Mud volcanoes are caused by overpressured shales/muds in sedimentary settings and do not erupt with hot "volcanic rocks" such as basalts and other igneous lavas. They erupt with mud!

As these volcanoes are located near the continental rim and have heated the surrounding water they are more likely to be volcanoes in the normal sense and can erupt with lavas, hot vapours and gases from the earth's crust.

Unfortunately oil and gas prospectivity is not too great in these types of geological settings, but then nature is a wonderful thing.

[Scott]

Do you know the difference between a woman and a volcano?

Volcanoes don't fake eruptions!

[kmart]

That will make LOS a regional hub for volcanos then? Whatever...

[Old Man River]

Four undersea volcanoes founded near Phuket

PHUKET: -- A team of Thai and German marine geologists has found four volcanoes under the sea about 200 kilometres away from Phuket, the team leader announced Monday.

Dr Anon Sanitwong na Ayutthaya of Chulalongkorn University, who headed the survey, said the survey was carried out for 15 days and ended on December 6 with support from the German government and from the National Marine Geology Institute in Keith.

-- The Nation 2006-12-11

In reading both The Nation and Bangkok Post this morning, I found it very interesting the differences in the two articles. While The Nation's article, as per above, acknowledges the involvement of the German scientists and government, the Bangkok Post's article never mentions any other nationality other than Thai's were involved.

[sriracha john]

Say wha????? What Volcanoes??? There's no volcanoes near Phuket...

Government casts doubt on mud volcanoes find

The Mineral Resources Depart-ment is unconvinced that a team of Thai-German marine geologists has discovered mud volcanoes on the sea floor 200 kilometres off Phuket.

The department's director-general Apichai Chawacharoenpan said several geologists on the team had told him they were simply hills of sediment - because the temperature of seawater in the area is not unusually high.

"Geologists are quite sure they are not mud volcanoes. However, it's hard to be sure because at a depth of more than 600 metres we can only survey with a remote-controlled underwater vehicle."

Dr Anond Sanitwong na Ayuthaya of Chulalongkorn University, who led the team of Thai and German marine geologists, surveyed the seabed for 1,500 square kilometres at a depth of 1,000 to 2,800 metres at the edge of the continental shelf.

Anond announced on Monday the team had found four "submarine mud volcanoes" about 200 kilometres from the province.

Apichai said the report might scare tourists in Phuket, so he and Anond would hold a press conference to clarify the issue today.

Somsak Wattanaparuda, a geologist from the Mineral Resources Department who joined Anond's team, said what the team had discovered was just the sediment of sandy mud. Unlike a mud volcano, which is a temporary structure created by geologically excreted liquids and gases, the temperature around the sediment is 15-20 degrees Celsius.

Anond yesterday admitted that he had jumped to a conclusion about the mud volcanoes and the team needed further study and evidence. He presumed the mud volcanoes had been created by sediment flowing from the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers in Burma and had piled up for millions of years.

"I want to confirm again that the mud volcanoes won't erupt or create a tsunami," said Anond, adding that he had revealed the discovery not to create panic but to stir people's interest in studying marine geology.

- The Nation

[Tony Clifton]

"Geologists are quite sure they are not mud volcanoes. However, it's hard to be sure because at a depth of more than 600 metres we can only survey with a remote-controlled underwater vehicle."

At these dephts, why do they think that such a huge quantity of water would be unusually warmer? Leaving the comfort of their air con office and doing their own reasearch might help instead of guessing and sounding like high-school students looking at another team' s science experiment. Mud is much cooler than lava and I doubt even lava would change the water temperature in the area. The presence of mud volcanos in the area is not impossible, look at the mud flow incident in Indonesia, apparently triggered by a gas well.

[rak sa_ngop]

Amazing how the story keeps changing. Now there is no temperature anomaly associated with the "volcanoes". This makes it more likely that the mounds are sedimentary, but at this location near the continental edge it is unlikely that they are mud volcanoes.

Mud volcanoes are created in sedimentary settings where the muds and shales are deposited so rapidly that normal compaction of sediments cannot occur. This under-compaction results in fluids trapped within the sedimentary layer having to support the weight of the overburden rock resulting in overpressures, and consequently the fluids 'squirting out" when the seal is broken. (like a zit!)

In normal compaction the overburden weight is supported by the rock matrix itself and fluids within the rock are normally pressured. This is why drillers can drill into the earth without blowouts i.e. by equalising the hole formation pressure with a column of drilling mud pressure. Blowouts generally occur when drilling through shallow undercompacted shale formations which have abnormally high pressures.

Mud volcanoes can occur in deep water at the toes of progradational coastal sequences but this I do not believe is the geological setting 200 - 300 km west of Phuket.

Of course it is still possible that these are real igneous volcanoes fed from the mantle. For an interesting and highly informative read of the geological processes at work in this part of 'the ring of fire" I would recommend Simon Winchester's book "Krakatoa - The Day The World Exploded" available in paperback at most English bookshops.

[Scott]

This is a good example of why the country needs to develop its science education. Even the reporting on this one is full of crap. Instead of making for an interesting read about what might be there and what it might mean or represent, there are a lot of people jumping all kinds of conclusions about all kinds of things.

[phibunmike]

This is a good example of why the country needs to develop its science education. Even the reporting on this one is full of crap. Instead of making for an interesting read about what might be there and what it might mean or represent, there are a lot of people jumping all kinds of conclusions about all kinds of things.

Yes, bureaucracy getting involced in science is never good:

Geologist: Hey! Cool! We found some mud volcanos near Phuket !

Bureaucrat: Arrrghhh !! Don't use the "V" word ! Not near a tourist destination !!

Geologist: Oops. Sorry. Yes, I do want to keep my job. I meant to say "warm mud"...

[rak sa_ngop]

This is a good example of why the country needs to develop its science education. Even the reporting on this one is full of crap. Instead of making for an interesting read about what might be there and what it might mean or represent, there are a lot of people jumping all kinds of conclusions about all kinds of things.

Yes, bureaucracy getting involced in science is never good:

Geologist: Hey! Cool! We found some mud volcanos near Phuket !

Bureaucrat: Arrrghhh !! Don't use the "V" word ! Not near a tourist destination !!

Geologist: Oops. Sorry. Yes, I do want to keep my job. I meant to say "warm mud"...

Personally I think it is more of a case of:

Geologist: Hey! Cool! We found some strange deep water sea mounds near Phuket !

Bureaucrat: Wow !! If I announce these mounds as volcanoes my office will get a lot of attention and I will get a promotion. (I actually have no technical knowledge of the office I am in charge of).

Geologist: Bang goes my chances of getting a top government position where I can attend meetings all day, make lots of empty promises, attend lots of conferences around the world and not have to produce anything ever again.

[Scott]

I was listening to the news on the radio last night and I heard that they now think they aren't mud volcanoes but they may just be formations that resemble them. If anyone is up on all this, keep us informed.

[Tony Clifton]

I was listening to the news on the radio last night and I heard that they now think they aren't mud volcanoes but they may just be formations that resemble them. If anyone is up on all this, keep us informed.

Well that sounds like they were simply reading the 2nd news report seen above in post #9.

[trihent]

Hi There:

First in the original news releases it only mentions that the group was conducting a survey. What is not mentioned is what the survey was for. I would like you to search your memories back to 1996-7 to the Phuket Tsunami scare, where the media reported the detection of a previously unknown geologic fault line 200 km off the coast of Phuket. The announcement of that finding and a misunderstood statement by a Thai official had Thai wives (Mine included) packing the houses up and heading up to the Wats to take shelter. (following the logic here so far?)

Since there are recognized faults in the area it is highly logical that there might also be mud volcano and/or hydrothermal vents. Fault based hydrothermal activity under heavy layers of silt would easily explain the observations and the diffusion of temperatures increases under those conditions would be expected. I would also point out that in that environment hydrocarbon Gas (methane) and Oil (shale) are highly likely also. This is also hinted at by the science teams statements.

It’s unfortunate that the press reports didn’t try to be more specific in reporting the find

in the first place. They did a good job of scaring a bureaucrat or 2 I think

Just for thought