PROBING THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTIVE MUD VOLCANIC CLUSTERS IN MAKRAN COASTAL ZONE, PAKISTAN

Makran Subduction Zone is formed in Late Cretaceous. It is divided into Eastern Makran at the southern edge of Helmand Block in Pakistan and the Western Makran at the southern edge of Lut Block in Iran. The velocity of convergence in Eastern and Western Makran are 42.0 mm/yr and 35.6 mm/yr repectively. Both segments are bound by strike-slip faults e.g. Ornach-Nal left lateral fault in the east and Minab right lateral in the west. Stratigraphically, the zone comprises Formations of ages ranging from Cretaceous to Holocene. In the Eastern Makran, most of the mud volcanoes are located along strike which include Awaran and Sipai-sing, Chandragup, Gwadar, Jabel-e-Gurab, Khandawari, Kund Malir, Ormara and Offshore mud volcanoes. The continental margin of Makran is an ideal environment of Oxygen Maximum Zone which receives organic rich matters in its sediments by marine organisms. Several assisting factors play significant roles in erupting the fluid and methane gasses through the mud vents in Makran Coastal Region such as tectonic stresses, oil, saltwater, and transmitting freshwater in the sedimentary environments.