Three generations of mud volcanoes on the Louisiana continental slope

Three mud volcanoes were identified in a small area of the upper continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico. One is actively accreting by small, intermittent eruptions of gas and fluid mud. Eruptions occur from a pool of gas- and oil-saturated muds that upwell and spill over the central crater edge and down the flanks of the coneshaped buildup. A second structure, a possible sand volcano, is in the last stages of activity, with only slight evidence of gas-saturated sediments. The third structure is a dormant mud volcano with furrowed sides and scattered authigenic carbonate plates and rubble but no venting of gas or fluids.