A Geophysical Investigation of the Pâclele Mici Mud Volcano in Romania Using Deep Geoelectrical Surveys

Abstract

This work presents a case study of a geoelectrical exploration of understudied mud volcanoes in Romania, specifically the Pâclele Mici mud volcano from Buzău County. Using a geoelectrical technique facilitated by the distributed network of V-FullWaver equipment, we present, to our knowledge, the first deep 3D case study of a mud volcano in the country. The findings indicate that while geoelectrical surveys in such environments are met with important challenges in terms of soil conductivity, they nonetheless provide a viable approach to uncovering the complex structures and processes of mud volcanoes. We map a part of the mud volcano, showing that the active subsurface part corresponds only partly with what is visible on the surface, and suggest a framework for an in-depth analysis of the extensive mud volcano area.