Simulation of the 2011 South Sakhalin mud volcano eruption based on the GPS data

Abstract

Sakhalin Island is the only region in the Russian Far East where mud volcanism is manifested on land. The South Sakhalin mud volcano is located in the south of the island in the zone of the Central Sakhalin Fault (upthrow-thrust). The horizontal and vertical displacements of the earth’s surface after this mud volcano erupted in 2011 are revealed for the first time based on the GPS observation data. On the basis of the inversion of the measured displacements for the homogeneous elastic half-space, a model of the finite spherical eruption source is constructed. The coordinates, depth, and possible size of the source are defined and the volumes of the erupted clay rock, water, and gas are estimated.