Now anyone who wants to can accompany Professor Gerhard Bohrmann and his colleagues from the Center of Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) on their thrilling expedition to the mud volcanoes in the depths of the Black Sea. They can do so by viewing the new video documentation on YouTube.

Mud volcanoes at the bottom of the sea are of growing interest for researchers. These volcanoes don’t only spout out mud but also highly combustible methane – a high-impact greenhouse gas. In the course of their research on underwater mud volcanoes, Professor Bohrmann and his team on board the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN travelled to various parts of the Black Sea in search of mud volcanoes. They mapped the ocean bed with the help of an autonomous submersible vehicle called MARUM-SEAL and took core samples. They also explored the methane sources found in the vicinity of the volcanoes. In addition to the SEAL, this work also involved the research team’s remotely controlled submersible robot, MARUM-QUEST.

A new video entitled “Black Sea Mud Volcanoes” depicts their work on the decks of the research vessel as well as on the ocean floor. The new production in the series “MARUM-Report” lasts four and a half minutes and can be downloaded – also in HD – from MARUM’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/marumTV

Professor Bohrmann is once again underway in the Black Sea – this time on board the research vessel METEOR in search of methane hydrates on the sea bed.