Physics of Geological Processes, University of Oslo, Sem Sælandsvei 24, Box 1048, 0316 Oslo, Norway

The 29th of May 2006 gas and mud eruptions suddenly appeared along the Watukosek fault in the north east of Java, Indonesia. Within a few weeks several villages were submerged by boiling mud. The most prominent eruption site was named Lusi. To date (November 2011) Lusi is still active and a ~7 km2 area is covered by the burst mud breccia. The mechanisms responsible for this devastating eruption remain elusive. While there is consensus about the origin of the erupted mud, the source of water is uncertain, the origin of the gas is unknown and the trigger of the eruption is still debated. In order to shed light on these unknowns, we acquired a wide set of data of molecular and isotopic composition of gas sampled in several Lusi vents, in the surrounding mud volcanoes, in the closest natural gas field (Wunut), and in the hydrothermal vents at the neighbouring volcanic complex in the period 2006–2011. The boiling fluids erupted in the crater zone are apparently CO2-dominated, while colder CH4-dominated and C2–C3 bearing fluids are identified at several sites around the crater zone. Gas genetic diagrams, maturity plots and gas generation modelling suggest that the hydrocarbons are thermogenic (δ¹³C1 up to −35‰; δ¹³C2 up to −20‰), deriving from marine kerogen with maturity of at least 1.5%Ro, for instance in the ~4400 m deep Ngimbang source rocks. CO2 released from the crater and surrounding seeps is also thermogenic (δ¹³C from −15 to −24‰) related to kerogen decarboxylation or thermal CH4 oxidation in deep rocks, although three vents just outside the crater showed an apparent inorganic signature (−7.5 ‰< δ¹³C=−0.5‰) associated to mantle helium (R/Ra up to 6.5). High CO2–CH4 equilibrium temperatures (200–400 °C) are typical of thermally altered hydrocarbons or organic matter. The data suggest mainly thermally altered organic sources for the erupted gases, deeper sourced than the mud and water (Upper Kalibeng shales). These results are consistent with a scenario of deep seated (>4000 m) magmatic intrusions and hydrothermal fluids responsible for the enhanced heat that altered source rocks and/or gas reservoirs. The neighbouring magmatic Arjuno complex and its fluid–pressure system combined with high seismic activity could have played a key role in the Lusi genesis and evolution. Within this new model framework, Lusi is better understood as a sediment-hosted hydrothermal system rather than a mud volcano.

The Salton Sea Geothermal System (California) is an easily accessible setting for investigating the interactions of biotic and abiogenic geochemical processes in sediment-hosted hydrothermal systems. We present new temperature data and the molecular and isotopic composition of fluids seeping at the Davis-Schrimpf seep field during 2003–2008. Additionally, we show the first flux data for CO2 and CH4 released throughout the field from focused vents and diffuse soil degassing. The emitted gases are dominated by CO2 (~98%) and CH4 (~1.5%). By combining δ13CCO2 (as low as −5.4‰) and δ13CCH4 (−32‰to−17.6‰) with 3He/4He (R/RaN6) and δDCH4 values (−216‰to−150‰), we suggest, in contrast to previous studies, that CO2 may have a significant Sub-Continental Mantle source, with minimal crustal contamination, and CH4 seems to be a mixture of high temperature pyrolitic (thermogenic) and abiogenic gas. Water seeps show that δD and δ18O increase proportionally with salinity (Total Dissolved Solids in g/L) ranging from 1–3 g/L (gryphons) to 145 g/L (hypersaline pools). In agreement with elemental analyses, the isotopic composition of the waters indicate a meteoric origin, modified by surface evaporation, with little or no evidence of deep fossil or magmatic components. Very high Cl/Br (N3,000) measured at many seeping waters suggests that increased salinities result from dissolution of halite crusts near the seep sites. Gas flux measurements from 91 vents (pools and gryphons) give a conservative estimate of ~2,100 kg of CO2 and 11.5 kg of CH4 emitted per day. In addition soil degassing measured at 81 stations (20x20 m grid over 51,000 m2) revealed that 7,310 kg/d CO2 and 33 kg/d CH4 are pervasively released to the atmosphere. These results emphasise that diffuse gas emission from soil can be dominant (~75%) even in hydrothermal systems with large and vigorous gas venting. Sediment-hosted hydrothermal systems may represent an intermediate class of geologic methane sources for the atmosphere, with emission factors lower than those of sedimentary seepage in petroleum basins but higher than those of traditional geothermal-volcanic systems; on a global scale they may significantly contribute to the atmospheric methane budget.