NEW DATA ON SEASONAL MINERALS OF MUD VOLCANOES IN AZERBAIJAN

Abstract

The article discusses the morphology and material composition of seasonal minerals of mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan Mud volcanism is a complex and rather unexplored geological phenomenon. Mud volcanoes are known in Turkmenistan, Dagestan, Georgia, Sakhalin, Taman Peninsula, Crimea, Azerbaijan and many regions of the World. In the geological literature, this phenomenon has been widely reflected. The bibliography of scientific works on mud volcanism has hundreds of titles. One of the classic areas of mud volcano development is Azerbaijan. In the process of geological research in recent decades, a huge geological material has been accumulated on the mud volcanism of Azerbaijan. The described types of mud volcanoes eruptions and the material composition of the mound breccia, it was possible to discover new interesting facts of unusual mineralogical finds. Of particular interest are authigenic minerals formed directly from the water phase of mud volcanoes and are seasonal. Their formation indicates that mineral formation processes are active in these natural sites. The occurrence of seasonal minerals is controlled by several factors, including the climatic conditions of the region. Main part of such minerals crystallizes only in dry and warm weather, which makes their systematic research much more difficult. The sodium hydroxide described in the article, which is very unstable under natural conditions, is a confirmation of this. However, even for a short interval of the existence of seasonal minerals, studying the features of their composition, one can obtain important information for genetic constructions. In addition to exogenous minerals of the weathering zone, the article also describes molybdenite associated with hydrothermal processes. The study of the mineral component of both endogenous and exogenous processes makes it possible to assess their evolution, the direction of the geological development of mud volcanoes in the region.

Keywords

• mud volcanism
• breccia
• seasonal minerals