Romania's Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark is celebrating 100 years of protection for the mud volcanoes with the launch of an exclusive video showcasing their scientific monitoring. Vulcanii Se Cutremură/The Volcanoes Tremor documentary presents the results of a groundbreaking geophysical research project, conducted for the first time in Romania, aimed at understanding the underground structure of the mud volcanoes - a region where three tectonic plates collide, creating rare geological phenomena. 

Researchers from the Geopark and the National Institute for Earth Physics (INFP) are monitoring the volcanoes and landslides to assess natural risks and potentially uncover valuable underground resources.

The research project aims to provide the public with a deep look into the Earth's interior, using advanced geophysical techniques to explore the underground structures of the mud volcanoes, the team explained. With the help of drones and state-of-the-art equipment, scientists are trying to answer key questions, such as how these phenomena form and why they display such different behaviors and shapes at the surface.

Understanding these mechanisms is not only an important step for science but also a valuable resource for tourists and education, Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark representatives said. 

"What we are doing now is a premiere not only in Romania. Determining the structure of the mud volcanoes at depth, using geophysical methods, is a complicated initiative, but the preliminary results are extremely encouraging," said Răzvan-Gabriel Popa, manager of the UNESCO Geopark. 

The goals of this project include identifying areas where new volcanic cones could appear, as well as understanding potential risks, such as land collapses caused by mud accumulations near the surface.

"Volcanoes, whether they are mud or magmatic, are a fascinating phenomenon, especially since what we see on the surface is only the 'tip of the iceberg.' In the case of the mud volcanoes in the Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark, they are the expression of a structure that extends 3 kilometers deep. With the geophysical techniques we are using, we can visualize this structure, and the images generated are resources for us, both educational and tourist," added the Geopark manager, a volcanologist.

The Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark is located at the curvature of the Carpathians, in an area where three tectonic plates continue to collide, creating rare geological phenomena. At a depth of approximately 3 kilometers, there are reserves of oil and natural gas, and these gases, rising to the surface, combine with underground waters and wash salts and clays from deep within, forming the mud that constantly erupts in the four mud volcano zones of the area. 

Protected since 1924, the Mud Volcanoes Reserve has attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists and researchers over the years. Pâclele Mari, the tallest mud volcano in Europe, and Pâclele Mici, the largest mud volcano field on the continent, offer unique landscapes. In 2021, a third site, Fierbătorile de la Beciu, was added to the list of locally protected areas by the Geopark team, adding a new attraction to this rare natural phenomenon.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark)