The delta of the River Nile

Mud volcanism is a common phenomenon in different continental margin settings, especially in deltaic depositional systems worldwide. Fluid formation and fluidisation processes occuring at depths of several kilometers below the seafloor can be monitored in mud volcanoes acting as natural leakages for oil and gas reservoirs. To gain a better understanding of deep processes occuring in the West Nile area we are carrying out a study on two mud volcanoes focussing on:

• chemical and isotopic composition of pore fluids as well as investigations of light volatile hydrocarbon gases and organic biomarkers

• geophysical characterisation and imaging of fluid migration pathways using EM and seismic methods

• quantification of the variability of dewatering and degassing through long-term physical property measurements

These themes are addressed in the framework of the following thematically focussed projects:

I. Origin of fluids and hydrocarbons in mud volcanoes of the West Nile Delta (C. Hensen, P. Linke)

II. Investigation of fluid migration pathways and structures of mud volcanoes in the West Nile Delta (J. Bialas, M. Jegen)

III. Long-term in-situ measurement and numerical modelling of pore pressure and heat flow variations in West Nile Delta mud volcanoes (W. Brückmann)

IV. Stratigraphic evaluation of drill sites and mud volcano source depth characterization in the West Nile Delta (W. Brückmann)