One of the worst oil spills in US history occurred when an underwater mudslide toppled an oil rig in the Gulf. Now scientists have unearthed evidence that such mudslides occur unnervingly often, in waters filled with oil platforms.
Me, for @NatGeo
nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/0…
Me, for @NatGeo
nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/0…
While this is definitely alarming, there's also some fascinating science at play: 75 of the 85 mudslides researchers spotted coincided with an earthquake occurring *more than 600 miles away*, mostly along the US west coast.
Nobody's sure how distant earthquakes could be tipping off undersea landslides in the Gulf, but it's a process that deserves more study, esp. given the potential for these events to wreak havoc on oil infrastructure.
Case in point: The Taylor Energy oil spill in 2004, which is now the longest-running oil disaster in US history and one of the worst, was triggered when an undersea landslide toppled an oil platform. It's nowhere near being plugged. washingtonpost.com/national/healt…
So, yea, not a good prospect. Hopefully this research leads to more seismic monitoring in the Gulf and forces companies to take a much closer look at the hazards facing their infrastructure.
theconversation.com/underwater-mud…
theconversation.com/underwater-mud…
