International summer school in Azerbaijan: advanced field studies on mud volcanism and fluid migration systems

Mud volcanism (also termed sedimentary volcanism) is a spectacular natural phenomenon that has attracted increasing attention for numerous onshore and offshore studies. Mud volcanoes (MVs)  indeed represent open windows to explore the deep biosphere and stratigraphy and to understand the geochemical reactions that occur during fluid migration. MVs are always associated with active petroleum systems, and the current likely underestimated budgets position MVs as the second natural source of methane in the atmosphere. Ultimately, the unpredictable eruptive events make sedimentary volcanism a critical natural geohazard. For these reasons, there is growing interest to intensify the studies for these structures.

Since 2018, the field course “Mud volcanism and petroleum systems” takes place annually in Azerbaijan. This summer school is organized by dedicated and enthusiastic scientists from the University of Oslo, the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. International experts and special guests are typically invited to share their new findings from multidisciplinary studies on fluid migrations systems, MVism and related phenomena. This intensive course has been refined throughout the years to provide the world's best training opportunity. The school prioritizes education and knowledge transfer to students and researchers interested in expanding their knowledge in fluid migration and solid transport mechanisms during MV processes. Activities start with one day of initial introductory lectures (workshop in Baku city), followed by four days of excursions and field exercises at various selected localities. The first field day explores a full migration of fluids from the source rocks, reservoir rocks and surface gas seepages visiting the most representative sites around Baku and completing field exploration and geological section logging. The second day is dedicated to Dashgil MV where the participants are involved in practical field mapping activities, shown the main surface degassing manifestations, and trained to conduct field measurements and sampling. The third day focuses on the different MV morphologies; several mud structures are visited, participants have the opportunity to distinguish and describe the main large- and small-scale features characterizing different eruption mechanisms and the resulting structures inside the carter and along the mud breccia flows. The fourth day on the field plans a visit at Lokbatan MV showing the association of MVism and petroleum systems. This is one of the most active volcanoes in Azerbaijan, with frequent eruptions reoccurring every ca. 5 years. Lokbatan is surrounded by dozens of production oil wells, highlighting the fact that MVism and hydrocarbon migration are usually connected. The location of MVs in petroleum basins, along anticline axes, strike slips, normal faults, and fault-related folds is also discussed. On the final day of the course, the school attendees provide an oral presentation, reporting on their learnings on techniques used, on field observations, and the data collected, and finally propose plans for potential future research. One moths later, the teams provide a more detailed written report that is complemented with interpretations of the data collected. All students are supervised and tutored in the field and during the report preparation and public presentation by experts from leading institutes.