Novosibirsk, Siberia

An autonomous underwater robot, with video cameras mounted atop, sank deep into the waters of the famous Lake Baikal in Siberia to capture stunning visuals and reveal the hidden mysteries. The study also hinted that the fault zone can trigger an earthquake. 

Advertisment

The robot captured the footage of cracks related to mud volcanism which were close to a potentially active fault on the shores of Lake Baikal.

A robot, which was deployed at the bottom of Lake Baikal in Siberia, captured footage of the deformations and cracks which were caused by earlier undiscovered mud volcanoes.

Also Read: Explained: Why is Taiwan prone to earthquakes and how its technology, policies help in disaster mitigation

Advertisment

The scars which were left by the eruptions of mud were discovered by the robot at depths of 340 to 540 feet (100 to 165 meters) in two different locations — Malaya Kosa Bay and Goryachinskaya Bay — along the lake's northwestern shore. 

Fault zone gearing up for an earthquake? 

Even though scientists were already aware of Lake Baikal harbouring mud volcanoes, the latest discovery revealed that a fault zone, called Severobaikalsk, or North Baikal fault, sits uncomfortably close to the mud volcanoes.

Advertisment

As per experts, the signs of recent eruptions which occurred at the bottom of the lake indicated that the fault may trigger an earthquake.

Mud volcanoes hint at deeper geological processes and get formed due to the slurries and gases which erupt from below. 

Craters present along the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal "mark cracks that run parallel to the Severobaikalsk fault" and hint that the fault may be active, as per Oksana Lunina, who is a structural geologist and senior researcher at the Institute of the Earth's Crust in the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SBRAS) and took part in the discovery. 

Watch: Artificial cooling of the atmosphere; A new hope in climate change battle

"In the North Baikal depression, which is limited by this fault, there have been strong earthquakes in the past," said Lunina, in a translated statement.

The two sites where the robot, or autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), was deployed by the researchers displayed intensely fractured beds blanketed with clay and soft sediments with the deposits erupting.

In the northernmost Goryachinskaya Bay location, from where the footage was recorded, around 430 feet (130 m) deep craters were captured overflowing with a "mud mass" and indicated that an eruption had recently occurred, as per a study published in the journal Doklady Earth Sciences.

(With inputs from agencies)