New Data for the Characterization of the Santa Barbara Mud Volcano Area (Sicily-Italy)

Summary The Santa Barbara mud volcano area (Sicily-Italy), located in the Caltanissetta basin, represents one of the most important areas characterized by sedimentary volcanism phenomena, as evidenced by paroxysmal events that occurred in the area. Mud volcanism is generated by the presence of pressurized gases in the subsurface. These gases tend to emerge at the surface using preferential upwelling pathways linked to the presence of structural discontinuities. In this study the authors show the results of geophysical field surveys performed in the Santa Barbara mud volcano area (Sicily-Italy), to identify shape and size of the mud reservoir. Integration of passive and active seismic surveys allowed to obtain a 3D reconstruction of the mud volcano reservoir.