Lucknow: More insights may come about India’s only active mud volcano at Baratang Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A team of scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, has begun studying of the volcano, along with dormant mud volcanoes at Diglipur in Andaman to understand past climate shifts and natural greenhouse gas emissions.The team leader and senior scientist Shilpa Pandey recently completed a field survey of the sites and documented active mud flows, methane seepage and layered sediment deposits. Researchers say these features could preserve evidence of earlier eruptions, seismic events and environmental change over long periods. Unlike conventional volcanoes, mud volcanoes do not spew molten lava. Instead, they release cool mud, water and gases — mainly methane and carbon dioxide — from deep underground. That’s why they are considered valuable natural systems for studying tectonic activity, methane migration and subsurface geological processes. Pandey said volcano has remained active for millions of years and its deposits may help reconstruct how natural gas emissions behaved during the initial phases of global warming and cooling. The team selected these sites because they provide access to subsurface materials and fluids which are otherwise difficult to investigate directly. “The study will focus on two principal lines of investigation. First, it will involve geochemical characterization of gases associated with the mud volcanoes to understand their origin and subsurface processes. Second, it will examine sedimentary deposits accumulated over time, using them as proxies for reconstructing past environmental conditions and climate variability,” Pandey said.These rare and dynamic geological formations are invaluable natural assets that must be protected as geoheritage sites, owing to their immense scientific importance, educational relevance, and cultural significance, she added.Pandey said these systems are important for understanding how methane release and carbon cycling influence climate processes. Their sediments, she said, also preserve signatures of past environmental and tectonic changes and may indicate hydrocarbon systems beneath the surface. BSIP director Prof MG Thakkar said the institute plans to expand the work through advanced sedimentological, geochemical and isotopic studies, along with multiproxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. He said the mud volcanoes offer a rare opportunity to link deep Earth processes with climate and energy systems. Azerbaijan has highest number of mud volcanoesAround 2,500 mud volcanoes have been identified worldwide. Azerbaijan has the highest concentration, with more than 350, and is often referred to as the motherland of mud volcanoes. India has only about 10 to 12 such volcanoes, most of them in the Andaman region, making them both rare and scientifically significant.
