Mud Volcanoes in the Salton Trough

Students:

Luke Shafer, Amar Rao


Collaborators:

Henrik Svensen (PGP, University of Oslo)

Adriano Mazzini (PGP, Univeristy of Oslo)

Stephane Polteau (VBPR, Oslo)

Along the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea are numerous hydrothermal seeps that are manifested as mud pots, pools, and mud volcanoes. Near the intersection of Davis and Schrimpf road there are a large number of these features in 100x100 meter area. We have been studying this seep field to understand the factors that control the variations in eruption style, surface morphology, and temperature observed at the surface. The methods employed include continuous monitoring of temperature, periodic measurements of fluid properties, and repeated differential GPS surveying of water levels and mud volcano heights within the field. Some of this work was published in Geomorphology (see publications page).