On May 26, 2006 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred in Yogyakarta on the Indonesian Island of Java. About 48 hours later, in the town of Sidoarjo about 250 km from the earthquake epicentre, mud began to spill out onto the surface. Lusi combines LUmpar (mud) and SIdoarjo where it occurred. Lusi quickly accelerated in output, peaking in August of 2006 with eruption rates up to 180,000 cubic meters of mud per day. All attempts at restricting flow have failed, and no one is sure when it might stop.  Recent research into what triggered this natural disaster (Lupi et. al., Nature Geoscience 2013) showed that the underlying geologic layers prior to the eruption formed a parabolic shape that reflected and focussed the incoming seismic energy into an existing over pressured claystone layer beginning at a depth of about 1000 m. The amplification of energy liquefied the layer, allowing it to travel to the surface along a tectonic scale fault that runs through the center of the mud eruption.

In a project funded by SNF, we are investigating this newborn tectonic-scale hydrothermal system using geophysical techniques, numerical modelling, and photogrammetry to try and understand its current dynamics, its long-term behaviour, and the hydrothermal connection to a nearby volcano complex.

As part of the of the board of the Swiss Competence Center of Energy Research - Supply of Electricity (SCCER-SoE) the Laboratory of Geothermics focuses on following research thematics and projects: