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SUMMARY:The evolution of source regions beneath active mud volcanoes: a po
 roelastic phase change problem - Luke Kearney\, University of Oxford
DTSTART:20240219T130000Z
DTEND:20240219T140000Z
UID:TALK211639@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Prof. John R. Taylor
DESCRIPTION:Mud volcanoes erupt sediment sourced from subsurface\, consoli
 dated mudstones via a conductive flow pathway (conduit). A 3-D seismic sur
 vey of mud volcanoes in the Eastern Mediterranean shows localised thinning
  of the source unit in zones at the base of each conduit\, interpreted to 
 result from mud depletion. These depletion zones are typically bowl-shaped
 \, suggesting that they grow radially outward from the base of the conduit
 . Fluidisation\, whereby consolidated sediments can be mobilised by migrat
 ing pore fluids of a sufficient velocity\, has previously been proposed as
  a mechanism to explain mud volcano formation. However\, the dynamics of f
 luidisation during eruptions are poorly understood due to limited subsurfa
 ce observations. We hypothesise that the sudden opening of the conduit ini
 tiates rapid fluid expulsion\, inducing porous flow through and fluidisati
 on of the source rock. We present a novel theoretical model of flow-driven
  fluidisation\, capturing the dynamic interface between the poroelastic so
 lid and viscous fluidised regions. Our results indicate that fluidisation 
 initiates at the conduit and spreads radially. We show that this problem i
 s mathematically analogous to the unstable melting of a superheated solid.
  Using asymptotic analysis\, we explore the mechanisms that regulate this 
 unstable growth to produce a depletion zone with a characteristic size.
LOCATION:MR5\, CMS
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