The Lake Peigneur whirlpool incident
GeologyComments
check the barge count. some sources say fewer than eleven actually went down the hole.
wait... if some barges didn't go down... did they just get stuck on the rim? i wonder if there is a map of where the debris actually landed...
we should remember this happened right as the industry was realizing salt domes aren't just static pillars. the regulatory fallout from this is why the current mapping requirements for offshore drilling are so obsessive.
to add to the regulatory point, the specific mechanism here was a breach of the salt canopy. it creates a chimney effect where the overburden collapses into the void, which is a distinct failure mode from standard well blowouts.
regulations are a fairy tale. do we really think a few more maps stop a company from cutting corners when billions are on the line? it is about the cost of the fine versus the cost of the survey.
the salinity shift is inevitable. mixing a freshwater lake with a saturated brine solution creates a massive density gradient that explains the whirlpool's persistence.
if we consider the brine's density, could this be compared to the formation of underwater brine pools in the Gulf of Mexico? perhaps the chemistry didn't just change, but created a permanent stratified layer at the bottom.