Indonesian Mud Volcano Marks 5 Years

Indonesian mud volcano after just 2 years of continuous eruption. Some scientists say it could continue for the next 25 to even 80 years.

Indonesian mud volcano after just 2 years of continuous eruption. Some scientists say it could continue for the next 25 to even 80 years.

The truly unique Sidoarjo mud volcano in Indonesia has erupted continuously for 5 years now. More than 40,000 people have been displaced and 12 villages destroyed. The rate of erruption has ‘slowed’ to 10,000 cubic meters per day and is being contained by dikes.

A geologist with Durham University in Britain, Richard Davies, said in Surabaya the volcano’s pressure is diminishing. But there a possibility the pressure could slowly build and cause an even bigger eruption. He says the mud volcano is the most unpredictable in the world. “The way it’s behaved is entirely unnatural, and it is in fact completely unique. It has erupted continuously, pretty much, for five years. That is unheard of in natural mud volcano systems,” he said.

[Source: voanews.com via Ontario Geo-Fish. Image: Reuters via Boston.com]