Use of a complex of gas-ground surveying and geophysical research for solving the problem of defining the territory of mud volcanism within Rozvadiv area in Lviv oblast

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to substantiate the scientific basis behind the formation of a mud volcano within a specific section of the Precarpathian depression. It also aims to examine the existence of a near-fault shallow gas deposit in the Rozvadiv area and its possible impact on gas-soil surveying and electrometry fields. The relevance of the work is determined by the need to solve the ecological problem of environmental pollution with hydrocarbon gases, as well as to establish and forecast the degree of emissions of the gas-mud mixture. At the same time, the problem of the presence (or absence) of the relationship between the influence of the Rudnyk gas-prospecting area, which is impacted by drilling, and the Rozvadiv deposit mentioned above is solved by comparing the results of gas-soil and geophysical surveys on a significant territory covering the specified areas. The research methodology consists of the following: 1) application of research with different physical justifications (gas-soil survey and electrometry); 2) comparison of the survey results from the same area and the same grid of observations; 3) detection of anomalies within the studied territory and their interpretation from the point of view of the development of mud volcanism. Research results. The information basis of gasometry involves direct measurements of free gas in a observation regular system in the soil environment atmosphere, their statistical characteristics, and calculated indicators of gas contamination. Therefore, the gas distribution maps are informative. The applied research using the method of Earth’s natural pulsed electromagnetic field made it possible to differentiate the area according to the intensity degree of electromagnetic radiation, taking into account the different depths of the sources, and, thus, identify areas of stressed-strain state of rocks and qualify them by the causes. The scientific novelty lies in the following: 1) indicating the absence of connections between the massif impacted by drilling and a natural disaster; 2) specifying the causes of the natural disaster and its substantiated mechanism and classifying the event as a mud volcano. Practical significance. Interpretation of the obtained results makes it possible to determine the causes of the extraordinary geological event in the Rozvadiv area of the Lviv region, classify the event and its consequences as a manifestation of elements of mud volcanism, and establish the absence of a relationship between the specified event and man-made impact (drilling) of the geological environment in the neighbouring areas.