Texas A&M University
Department of Oceanography
Newly discovered seafloor channels formed by super-salty, flowing water
Practical matters
The Main Ingredient:
Details about three slope canyons formed by moving salt.
Brine-flow channels are interesting to geological
oceanographers because the flows are confined to unique areas, where salt
is near the seafloor instead of buried beneath sediment. But a practical
side of this discovery also should be considered: the brine-flows' effect
on oil pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico.
The deep-water oil plays within the Gulf of Mexico are
some of the most promising in the world. Pipelines are the preferred method
of transporting large quantities of oil, and the emplacement of pipelines
on the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico up to now has been relatively easy.
But with the installment of pipelines on the seafloor
in very deep water -- deeper than 1,500 meters -- the possibility exists
that the high-density brine-flows may bend, damage, or even destroy the
pipes. 
Research for this project was led by Dr. William R. Bryant, professor and head of the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. Scientists and graduate students from Texas A&M and Louisiana State University also participated in research cruises. Dr. Bryant's e-mail address is wbryant@ocean.tamu.edu.
http://oceanography.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/1998/3/bryant-4.html
Copyright 1998-1999, Department
of Oceanography, Texas A&M University.
Updated November 24, 1998. (abdw)
Send Quarterdeck inquiries to quarterdeck@ocean.tamu.edu.
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