FORMATION MECHANISMS OF THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF WATER FROM MUD VOLCANOES

Abstract

Products of mud-volcanic activity are formed as a result of interaction between many natural factors, including dehydration of clay minerals, synthesis of hydrocarbons, evaporation, and condensation. These processes obviously affect the chemical and isotopic (δD) and δ 18O) compositions of the water phase related to the mud ejections. Hence, the isotopic signatures of oxygen and hydrogen are highly informative for understanding processes of mud volcanism. The study of the isotopic composition of mud-volcanic water makes it possible to estimate the role of the principal factors controlling the formation of mud volcanoes. The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of the water phase in products of 16 mud volcanoes on the Taman Peninsula and 4 volcanoes in Kakhetia, Georgia, were studied for this purpose.