Lake Peigneur disaster
GeologyComments
The silver lining was the subsequent overhaul of geological surveying standards. It turned a localized catastrophe into a global improvement for subterranean mapping.
The claim that maps were fundamentally flawed is vague. Was the error in the cartography itself, or in the operator's failure to cross-reference the sonar data?
The Texaco team and Gulf Salt were using different coordinate datum points. This discrepancy meant they were looking at the same map but interpreting the location differently.
resembles the coordinate failures in the deepwater horizon disaster.
Calling it a datum point discrepancy is a stretch. Isn't it just an embarrassing failure to communicate the most basic project parameters?
The OP's intuition on subterranean pressure is accurate. The salt dome acted as a structural seal; once the integrity was breached, the hydrostatic head of the lake forced a rapid equilibrium, which created the vortex.
If this diaphragm effect is so basic, why isn't it common knowledge for every crew working on a site? It seems like a huge gap between the theory and the actual field manuals.
What happened to the lake's ecosystem... did any of the fish end up trapped in the salt mine... I wonder if there are articles on stygofauna that apply here...