Java scientists put volcano on choke-chain

February 2nd, 2007

Scientists in Indonesia have come up with a novel way to defend against a mud volcano - by choking it with chains of concrete balls.

Nature reports that the mud volcano, which erupted last year, has ejected up to 126,000 m³ of mud a day(!), displacing 10,000 people and closing 20 factories. Last week scientists unveiled a plan to use 1000 steel chains to slow down the mud.

Each 1.5m chain will have four large concrete balls attached, and will weigh 300kg. Fifty of these a day will be dumped into the volcano, where they will become lodged in its throat. The theory stands that by making the mud flow round, over and through the tangled chains, it will lose energy and the overall flow rate will be decreased.

There’s considerable debate as to whether this will cause pressure to build up behind the plug - I guess it depends on whether the mud volcano is simply releasing a historic pressure or is an active system constantly building up potential. If the latter is true, I wouldn’t want to be around when all those concrete balls are blown back out.

Then it struck me: these devices look to me very much like chain-shot, the historic cannon ammo made from two cannonballs connected by a length of chain. Could Indonesia be hot on the heels of China’s space-weaponry with their own giant, geo-thermal anti-satellite cannon?

Entry Filed under: General

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