so.... a hurricane can create landslides that will destruct an underwater well..

[meow mix]

and the industry is helpless to stop it and has no plans to work on the issue, other than continue to drill in places prone to these disasters.

did i get that about right?

[dipsydoodle]

1. No

you didn't get it right.

[meow mix]

2. From Taylor Energy:

From Taylor Energy:

Taylor Energy confirmed today that it is continuing its ongoing well intervention program, using the Diamond Ocean Saratoga, with full approval from Unified Command. The well intervention program at Mississippi Canyon Block 20 is the result of the destruction of a production platform caused by a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

The platform was toppled by a subsurface mud slide triggered by storm surges with 100 foot waves for 16-18 second periods.

Because the wells were covered by more than 100 feet of mud and sediment and only four wells were capable of production without pressure assistance, the associated surface sheen was minimal and never made landfall. As a result of deploying three subsurface containment domes and performing six successful well interventions, the initial average observed sheen volume of nine gallons per day has been substantially reduced.

[dipsydoodle]

3. What was the depth of the sea floor there ?

.

[meow mix]

4. not sure, i never mentioned any depth though

it wasnt really part of my question

[dipsydoodle]

5. Part of the current problem

is that the sea floor is c. a mile deep. How big a landslide did you have in mind and from which adjacent coast would it derive ? The depth is important here.

[petronius]

6. Undersea landslides don't start on the coast, necessarily

They can occur at any depth where there is a slope and loose depositional material. In California, for example, one of the scarier tsunami possibilities would be a big slide just offshore...

[dipsydoodle]

7. I'm well aware of the issue in CA

and risks that may lie in the future. You are infact one of very few here that acknowledges that fact.
However - that is not a mile under sea level and I have no concept of a hurricane, which is the subject here, affecting the sea floor at that depth.

[petronius]

8. That's true, a mile deep is beyond hurricane wave reach, although

a slide could perhaps originate in shallower water and continue to that depth.

A quick google search gave me this report - http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/552/IvanMudslidesFinalPhaseIReport.pdf - which says that a 71' wave with a 16 second period could trigger instability at depths down to a bit below 500'. Bigger waves with longer periods would reach deeper...

[dipsydoodle]

9. I thought you might like this link

which provides online access to our past tv documentaries on both BBC and Channel 4 . They cover all sorts of subjects. Just watch ,if of interest , when you have the time :

http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/

[petronius]

10. Cool, thanks, I'll check it out (nt)