Programme details Research on underwater mud volcanos

Underwater Mud Volcanos

The German research vessel "Meteor" spent three intensive weeks in the Mediterranean Sea. Onboard, around 30 European scientists, including Italian geophysicist Silvia Ceramicola. She together with her colleague Daniel Prague are both passionate about underwater mud volcanoes. Unlike the more usual hot volcanoes, mud ones are mainly formed by the release of cold gases, fluids and sediment from the Earth’s shallow depths.
It's only recently that European scientists have turned their attention to them, using multibeam sonar’s, video and sedimentary rocks taken from the sea floor. A better understanding of these still mysterious underwater mud-mountains requires the combined work of scientists from all sorts of fields. Like the "Meteor", French geoscientist Jean Mascle who's a specialist in marine gas emissions. Or German Microbiologist, Antje Boetius who shows us that the existence of mudvolcanoes is crucial to marine ecosystems.
All data taken during the research cruises is translated into graphics that help understand how mud volcanoes have evolved over thousands of years.
Mud volcanoes also exist above ground. Scientists guess that mud volcanoes, both above and below the water are important elements in the global warming process. More research is necessary to try to understand the way these geological structures are affecting both global climate change and the earth 's morphology. A cluster of EU research programmes including the celebrated Hermes project are leading the way into the multi-disciplinary study of these still mysterious oddities.