Seismoacoustic Study of the Shallow Gas Transport and ... - E-LIB

Chapter 1
craterlike depressions with rims on the top. The feeder channels of the mud volcanoes
vary in diameter from several hundred meters to 3.5 km (Gaynanov et al., 1998). The
roots of these mud volcanoes are not exactly known, but their origin is clearly related to
the layers of plastic clay of the Maikopian Formation (Ivanov et al., 1996), which are
highly enriched with organic matter (Dimitrov, 2002). The sedimentary layers as shown
on seismic profiles are almost horizontal. However, in the mud volcano area they are
locally influenced by low-amplitude folds, flexures, and normal faults. These features
imply a general tensional tectonic regime in the basin and are probably related to the
West Crimean Wrench Fault, which is the major regional strike-slip fault in the eastern
part of the Western Black Sea basin and was active from the Cretaceous through the
Miocene. Seismically imaged normal faults cut Quaternary sediments, suggesting
possible reactivation of the West Crimean fault (Limonov et al., 1997; Bocaletti et al.,
1988; Finetti et al., 1988; Slack et al., 1998).
Figure 18 Bathymetry of the area of investigation in the central Black Sea together with the seismic lines
and names of mud volcanoes (bathymetry data from TTR6, M52-1, M72-3, MSM15-2 and M84-2). Six
mud volcanoes were mapped.
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