The eruption occurred because of seismic waves in the region, researchers maintain

Jul 22, 2013 16:51 GMT  ·  By
Researchers say Indonesia's mud eruption in 2006 was likely caused by a volcano
   Researchers say Indonesia's mud eruption in 2006 was likely caused by a volcano

A new paper published in yesterday's issue of the journal Nature Geoscience argues that, all things considered, the catastrophic mud eruption that hit the Indonesian island of Java back in 2006 was not brought about by drilling at a gas exploration well in the region.

On the contrary, evidence points to the fact that the mud eruption had natural causes, specialists argue.

For those unaware, this major eruption was the one that led to the formation of Indonesia's Lusi mud volcano.

In its heydays, the volcano would spew a whopping 180,000 cubic meters (6.3 million cubic feet) of extremely hot Steam, water and mud on a daily basis.

The mud eruption responsible for the birth of this volcano also wiped out several factories and villages. Besides, it also left some 13,000 people homeless.

The volcano is still active, and erupts every once in a while in a manner similar to that of a geyser.

Scientist Stephen Miller, now working as a geodynamicist at the University of Bonn in Germany, and his fellow researchers maintain that, according to their investigation, the eruption happened in the aftermath of an earthquake.

Thus, it was likely triggered by seismic waves that hit the region, Live Science explains. The earthquake now held responsible for the eruption had a recorded magnitude of 6.3.

It struck approximately 150 kilometers (150 miles) away from the place of the eruption two days before the latter, and it killed roughly 6,000 people.

Stephen Miller argues that the mud reservoir that went haywire in 2006 was capped by a layer of rock that captured, amplified and focused the seismic waves caused by the shake. The result was that the mud reservoir's stability was upset.

According to said researcher and his team, this was the cause of the outburst.

Other specialists disagree, and argue that, in their books, the culprit is oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas, whose workers were at that time drilling in the region.