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爪哇泥火山爆發主因:鑽天然氣而非地震

2008年06月12日
摘譯自2008年6月9日ENS美國加州,柏克萊報導;謝芳怡編譯;蔡麗伶審校

露西火山所噴出的大量泥漿。圖片來源:Wikimedia根據國際科學研究團隊的調查顯示,在印尼東爪哇造成上百萬美金損失的泥火山主要是因為天然氣鑽井所引發。這座年齡只有2年的露西火山仍不斷噴出大量的泥漿,位於東爪哇的西多雅左(Sidoarjo)就有超過3萬人被迫從家園和工作崗位撤離。

5月28日火山爆發後,原先推論是爆發前2天所發生的地震所造成,但截至目前為止最為詳盡的科學分析推翻了此一論點。這份報告由美、英、印尼和澳洲的科學科學家共同完成,發表在本期《地球科學期刊》中,報告中就天然氣井Banjar-Panji-1的鑽探事件進行詳細的分析。

此天然氣井是由印尼拉賓多石化公司所開採,該公司也證實報告中的數據皆屬事實。

但這項報告受到其他鑽井公司的質疑,部分學者也反駁在火山爆發前兩天、震央距離泥火山約250公里的日惹地震,才是主要的原因。

露西火山每天仍噴出近10萬立方公尺的泥漿,足夠填滿53座奧運游泳池,而這樣的噴發現象似乎會一直持續下去,因為到目前為止,所有試圖遏止泥漿噴發的方法都宣告失敗。

2006年11月23日共有11起由於火山爆發而引發天然氣管爆炸的事故,事故的發生起因於地層下陷近2公尺,流出的泥漿導致防護牆倒塌,印尼國家石油公司的天然氣管因而破裂,火舌往天空竄出,根據當地居民的形容,在1公里外就能感受到熱氣。

為了控制泥漿竄流,當地政府遂興建大量攔泥壩和柵欄,2006年9月26日其中一個攔阻設施失去作用,泥漿淹沒了更多的村莊。在進一步加強攔泥壩系統後泥漿似乎已受到控制,也沒有再發生任何事故,直到今年1月4日,當地一位地主為了預防即將到來的雨季相要加強防護牆的結構,卻反而引發倒塌。

Drilling, Not Earthquake, Caused Java Mud Volcano
BERKELEY, California (ENS)

A mud volcano which has caused millions of dollars worth of damage in East Java, Indonesia was caused by the drilling of a gas exploration well, an international team of scientists has concluded.

The two-year old mud volcano, known as Lusi, is still spewing huge volumes of mud and has displaced more than 30,000 people from their homes and businesses in Sidoarjo, East Java.

The most detailed scientific analysis to date disproves the theory that an earthquake that happened two days before the mud volcano erupted on May 28, 2006 was potentially to blame.

The report by American, British, Indonesian and Australian scientists is published this week in the academic journal "Earth and Planetary Science Letters." It outlines and analyzes a detailed record of operational incidents on the drilling of a gas exploration well, Banjar-Panji-1.

The well is operated by the Indonesian oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas, which has confirmed that the published data is correct.

This theory was challenged by the company that drilled the well and some experts who argued that the Yogyakarta earthquake two days before the eruption, which had an epicentre 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the mud volcano, was the cause.

Lusi is still flowing at 100,000 cubic meters per day, enough to fill 53 Olympic swimming pools. It appears that the flow will continue indefinitely and so far all efforts to stem the flow have failed.

On November 23, 2006, eleven fatalities were reported from the explosion of a gas pipe caused by the mud flow. The accident occurred due to subsidence of the ground, up to two meters (6.5 feet), due to the outflow of mud causing a dike to collapse resulting in the rupture of the state-owned Pertamina gas pipeline. The gas sent flames into the sky and according to the local people, the heat could be felt one kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

A network of dams and barriers has been erected to contain the mud. On September 26, 2006 a barrier failed, resulting in the flooding of more villages. Further strengthening of the dam system appeared to contain the sludge and no further reports of breaches were received until January 4, 2008 when a dike collapsed after a dispute with a landowner prevented reinforcement before the onset of the rainy season.

全文及圖片詳見:ENS

作者

蔡麗伶(LiLing Barricman)

In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.