Turkmenistan’s new mud volcano may signal awakening of Cheleken Alakel volcano

July 30, 2011 – TURKMENISTAN – A new mud volcano was discovered on the Cheleken peninsula in Turkmenistan, the Neytralniy Turkmenistan newspaper reported with reference to local scientists Anatoly Bushmakin and Aman Nigarov. Mud volcanoes are not uncommon in Turkmenistan. The presence of a large high-pressure underground natural gas reserves is a prerequisite for the mud eruption. Almost half of all mud volcanoes in the world are located in the area of the South Caspian Basin and about thirty of them – in western Turkmenistan. “Geologists pay a special attention to the Cheleken peninsula. It records a lot of tectonic fractures. A powerful eruption of mud volcanoes was observed here in the past,” the paper reported. The Cheleken Alakel is the largest volcano in western Turkmenistan. The separate blocks of rock ejected from the crater of the volcano from great depths hit 2-3 meters in diameter. The frozen mudflow is observed at a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the volcano. Oil is extracted from the depth of over 2,000 meters in the Alakel volcano area. The scientists point out that a new active mud volcano has recently formed at the foot of the volcano. “It is a small, regularly shaped cone, composed of clay material with a small admixture of rock fragments, sometimes with a film of oil on the surface.” The volcano is active. It reached a height of 7 meters by mid 2011. New portions of gas and dust erupt every few seconds, periodically. The cone stands grayish-green on the yellow-brown background of the Neogene rocks. According to scientists, the appearance of new active mud volcanoes can mean the beginning of “awakening” of the ancient volcano Alakel. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck the country on June 1, 2011. –Trend News