[meteorite-list] Whiting Dome, one of many remarkable huge salt domes in Gulf of Mexico -- methane catastrophe from BP oil well disaster? : Rich Murray 2012.02.28

From: Rich Murray <rmforall_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:46:12 -0800
Message-ID: <CAHqJ8pbRRMmNhSjdBZYmitGc=Fu4ruFdr04S+FB-G-HBTDAiKQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Whiting Dome, one of many remarkable huge salt domes in Gulf of
Mexico -- methane catastrophe from BP oil well disaster? : Rich Murray
2012.02.28


Whiting Dome
28.875431 -88.398056 20X13 km salt dome,
-.924 km deep in Gulf of Mexico,
SE of Mississippi Delta, one of many,
-1.450 km deep to SE of SE edge,
so .526 km thick.

more detailed images and discussion by an expert:

http://bklim.newsvine.com/_news/2010/07/24/4744365-would-a-better-bathymetry-chart-have-made-the-difference#comments

BK LIM
Disasters know no boundaries; saving Mother Earth is our collective
responsibility.
Articles Posted: 90 Links Seeded: 289
Member Since: 7/2010 Last Seen: 2/27/2012

environment, gulf-of-mexico, bp-oil-spill, bathymetry, multibeam
By BK Lim - hydrocomgeo at gmail.com (revised on 2 Aug 2010)

Would a better bathymetry chart have made the difference in averting a
disaster? Bathymetry charts provide more than just depth information.
The morphological features of the seafloor can be a useful guide to
the nature of the sub-seabed. Figure 1 shows a section of the Gulf
seafloor (with superimposed regional bathymetric contour extracted
from NOAA) showing the domes and canyon topography. Figure 2 shows the
visible deformation ?cracks? around Whiting Dome due to down slope
movement.

Figures 3, 4 & 5 show the typical high resolution 3m binning MBES
(Multi Beam Echo Sounder) images that are normally produced for site
surveys (data acquired in 2006 - 2008). Compare the details of these
seafloor images with the bathymetry chart submitted by BP to MMS in
the application to drill Macondo A and B wells in figure 6. The
locations of the two relief wells (C & D) drilled after the blowout on
20 April 2010 are also plotted in figure 6.

Figure 1 The dome & canyon seafloor topography of the Gulf (NOAA
contour superimposed within rectangular boundary).

Figure 1a NOAA bathymetric map (extracted)

Figure 3 U-shaped valley seafloor expression of a lateral fault
intercepted a NE-SW trending Normal fault at the northern edge of the
2 giant mud-volcanoes.1000 m WD, offshore Sumatra.

Figure 4 Steep gradient seafloor developing an ellipsoid bulge due to
sediment movement downslope. Superficial slumps, tensional crevices,
gullies and longitudinal waves indicate the direction of creep. Water
depth 700-900m, offshore Sumatra, Indonesia.

Figure 5 Landslides and crevices at the edge of a submarine plateau.
Water depth > 1000m, offshore Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Figure 6 BP's bathymetry chart submitted to MMS, updated with relief
well locations (C & D).

Figure 7 BP's bathymetry chart superimposed with satellite image from
Google Earth. Dark seabed irregular band represents the steep slope of
escarpment.

Figure 8 Satellite Image of the seafloor extracted from Google Earth.

Figure 2 showing the visible deformation "cracks" around Whiting Dome
due to down slope movement.


http://phoenixrisingfromthegulf.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/the-gulf-of-mexico-is-dying-2/

The Gulf of Mexico is Dying
Posted on April 9, 2011
A Special Report on the BP Gulf Oil Spill

By Dr. Tom Termotto

It is with deep regret that we publish this report. We do not take
this responsibility lightly, as the consequences of the following
observations are of such great import and have such far-reaching
ramifications for the entire planet. Truly, the fate of the oceans of
the world hangs in the balance, as does the future of humankind.

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) does not exist in isolation and is, in fact,
connected to the Seven Seas. Hence, we publish these findings in
order that the world community will come together to further
contemplate this dire and demanding predicament. We also do so with
the hope that an appropriate global response will be formulated, and
acted upon, for the sake of future generations. It is the most basic
responsibility for every civilization to leave their world in a better
condition than that which they inherited from their forbears.

After conducting the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference for over
seven months, we can now disseminate the following information with
the authority and confidence of those who have thoroughly investigated
a crime scene. There are many research articles, investigative
reports and penetrating exposes archived at the following website.
Particularly those posted from August through November provide a
unique body of evidence, many with compelling photo-documentaries,
which portray the true state of affairs at the Macondo Prospect in the
GOM.


.....As the diagrams clearly indicate, the geology around the well
bore has been blown. This occurred because of drilling contiguous to
a salt dome (1), as well as because of the gas explosions which did
much damage to the integrity of the well casing, cementing, well bore,
well head, and foundation around the well head. Eighty-seven straight
days of gushing hydrocarbon effluent under great pressure only served
to further undermine the entire well system. Finally, when it was
capped, putting the system back under pressure forced the upsurging
hydrocarbons to find weaknesses throughout the greater system, which
revealed all sorts of compromised, fractured and unsettled geology
through which the hydrocarbons could travel all the way to the
seafloor and into the GOM.

(1)?The rock beds in the vicinity of a salt dome are highly fractured
and permeable due to stress and deformation which occur as the salt
dome thrusted upwards.? (Per BK Lim, Geohazards Specialist)

We also have faults* to deal with in this scenario of which there are
both deep and shallow. Depending on the current vital stats of the
blown out well, especially its actual depth; the number, location and
severity of the breaches throughout the well system; the pressure at
the wellhead; as well as the type and status of geological
formations/strata it has been drilled into, these faults will become
prominently configured into the future stability of the whole region.
Larger faults can open up much greater opportunities for the
hydrocarbons to find their way to the seafloor via cracks and
crevices, craters and chasms. In fact the numerous leaks and seeps
throughout the seafloor surface, which are quite apparent from various
ROV live-feeds, give testimony to sub-seafloor geological formations
in great turmoil and undergoing unprecedented flux.

*?Once the oil gets into the shallow faulted zones, we have an
uncontrollable situation. The place where most of the oil and gas is
coming out is at the foot hills of the continental shelf as shown in
figure 134-1 in the article ?BP continues to dazzle us with their
unlimited magic?. The discovery by WHOI of the 22 mile long river of
oil originated from these leaks. So the leaks will be mainly along
the faults where I have marked (shallow) in ?What is going on at West
Sirius? and deep strike-slip faults (red line) on fig 134-1.? (Per BK
Lim, Geohazards Specialist)

Just how bad is this situation? There are actually three different
ongoing disasters -- each more grave and challenging than the previous
one -- which must be considered when assessing the awesome destruction
to the GOM by the Oil & Gas Industry.

I. A single gushing well at 70 -- 100,000 barrels per day of
hydrocarbon effluent for 87 days into the GOM at the Macondo Prospect
along with two smaller rogue wells

II. Numerous leaks and seeps within five to ten square miles of the
Macondo well with an aggregate outflow of an unknown amount of
hydrocarbon effluent per day into the GOM

III. Countless small gushers and mini-spills, leaks and seeps,
throughout the Gulf of Mexico, where oil drilling has been conducted
for many decades, with an aggregate outflow into the GOM that can not
even be estimated, but is well in excess of any guesstimate which
would ensure its slow and steady demise (not too unlike the
petrochemical cesspool known as the Caspian Sea).

It is the last scenario which we all face and to which there is no
easy or obvious solution. The truth be told, there currently does not
exist the technology or machinery or equipment to repair the damage
that has been wrought by the process of deep undersea drilling,
especially when it is performed in the wrong place. Therefore,
wherever the oil and gas find points of entry into the GOM through the
seafloor, some of these leaks and seeps will only continue to get
worse. Here?s why:

Methane gas mixed with saltwater and mud makes for a very potent
corrosive agent. Under high pressure it will find every point of
egress through the rock and sediment formations all the way up to the
seafloor where it will find any point of exit that is available. The
longer and more forcefully that it flows throughout the fractured
area, which is dependent on the volume, temperature and pressure at
the source of the hydrocarbons, the more its corrosive effects will
widen, broaden and enlarge the channels, cracks and crevices
throughout the sub-seafloor geology, thereby creating a predicament
that no science, technology or equipment can remedy.


.....Environmental and Health Impacts of the BP Gulf Oil Spill

#2 The deeper the geological source of the hydrocarbons, the more
radioactive isotopes present in the oil and gas.

That hydrocarbons pulled from the bowels of the earth have a
scientifically verified radioactive component(s) is the dirty little
secret of the Oil & Gas Industry. So secret in fact that, if it were
to get out, this single scientific fact would seal the fate of the
entire industry. It also undergirds the correct understanding that
oil and gas are both abiotic in nature and abiogenic in origin --
facts which cast a refreshing light on the notion of Peak Oil .

Yes, we have reached Peak Oil , but not because of the untenable
Fossil Fuel Theory which has been known to be false by the Oil and
Gas Industry since its inception. It has been asserted that the
Macondo Prospect sits on a reservoir of abiotic oil the size of Mount
Everest, one of the two largest batholiths with proven oil and gas
mega-reserves in the GOM. However, that doesn?t make it economically
feasible or technologically prudent to extract; nor is it smart to
engage in such utter folly, as the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon
dramatically demonstrated.

Soon after the BP Gulf Oil Spill began there appeared a headline which
was more telling than them all:
?They?ve Literally Punched A Hole Into Hell: We Need A Crash
Alternative Energy Program Now, Assuming We Even Survive?

Mantle-generated hydrocarbons come from very young geological
formations deep in the earth, and are the product of extremely
powerful geo-thermal forces. The presence of radioactive isotopes
such as uranium, thorium, radium show up in much greater
concentrations the deeper the well bore is drilled into the earth?s
crust, and are ubiquitous throughout the mantle. Therefore, the
hydrocarbon constituents, which are actually found in the interstitial
spaces, porous rock formations and quaternary sediments and are
scattered everywhere because of their liquid and gaseous states, exist
within and around this highly radioactive environment.

How radioactive is the hydrocarbon effluent upsurging from the wells
in the GOM that are drilled at 12, 15, 18, 20, 25 or 30,000 feet
through the crust and into the mantle? Here?s a link to the American
Petroleum Institute website that will partially answer this question:
Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM ) in North American Oilfields

Here?s another link to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
website page entitled Radiation Protection that shows just how serious
this matter has become from an environmental health standpoint.

Oil and Gas Production Wastes (Naturally-Occurring Radioactive
Materials identified by the EPA)

Whenever there is a higher concentration of methane gas in the mix of
oil/gas that comes out of any given well, it means that:

?The more methane that is present reflects the amount of Uranium and
Thorium in the oil reserve. The deeper the oil, the younger the
radiological decay is that produces helium.?

?Helium is a naturally occurring gas formed in oil reserves. So common
that helium detectors have been used to discover oil reserves. Helium
is an inert gas known to be a by-product from the radiological decay
of uranium and thorium. Uranium and Thorium are known to be in great
quantities at greater depths. Yes, radioactive elements occur
naturally and can be found and detected in smaller amounts in shallow
oil reserves. Oil reserves that do not produce large amounts of
methane also lack uranium and thorium. The presence of methane is
proportional to the presence of uranium and thorium, both radioactive
elements.?

?The energy coming from uranium and thorium decay is thought to be the
most significant energy source inside the earth,? Tolich said. ?So
this is the driving engine for things such as tectonic plate
movements, volcanoes and earthquake. We are looking for neutrinos,
particularly electron antineutrinos ? coming from uranium and thorium
decay inside the earth. The uranium and thorium is distributed all
through the earth in the mantle.? (Per
http://oilandgasleaks.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/urgent-radioactive-oil-from-bp-blowout/
)

Uranium, thorium neutrino research could determine Earth?s age, energy
production

>From our many discussions with those knowledgeable at the OSATF (Oil
Spill Academic Task Force) here in Tallahassee, FL, it became evident
early on in the spill that the percentage of methane of the total
hydrocarbon composition was quite high. Some observed that it
appeared to very slowly decrease, yet remained high right up until the
capping of the gusher. Hence, we know that this oil spill in the GOM
has a very definite radioactive component which must be addressed.

Please understand that we are not suggesting that the fish will start
glowing with radiation; only that long term exposure to low level
radioactivity has its obvious consequences to all living organisms.
In the meantime, those living on the GOM coastline ought to introduce
copious amounts of seaweed (e.g. kelp) into their diets.

Where it concerns the release of radioactivity into the waters, there
is simply no way to put this genie back into the bottle within the
current scientific paradigm ? unless there is alchemical science yet
to be revealed or new age technologies to be developed.

As we said in the introduction, ?It is with great regret that we file
this report.?

May we all do our part in spreading the awareness of these realities,
so that many more of US will be in the position to make informed
decisions about where we live, work and play, what we eat, our health
and safety, our livelihoods, our families, our communities ? ? ?
and our shared environment known as Mother Earth.

The Seventh Sign of the HOPI Prophecy:
?You will hear of the sea turning black,
and many living things dying because of it.?


Phoenix Rising from the Gulf
http://phoenixrisingfromthegulf.wordpress.com/

Conclusive Evidence That BP Misrepresented Gulf Oil Spill Sent To Congress
Posted on February 26, 2012
PRESS RELEASE:

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Received on Wed 29 Feb 2012 02:46:12 AM PST