A Geospatial Analytical Framework to Identify Seafloor Geohazards in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract:

The offshore environment from the seafloor to the atmosphere has many hazards influencing the longevity of infrastructure, from extreme metocean conditions to geological events such as submarine landslides. Notably, the Taylor oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by a submarine landslide in 2004 and has continued to leak. As offshore socio-economic activities increase, the infrastructure and risks of deleterious impacts to that infrastructure also are on the rise. Thus, there is a need to compile disparate data and information related to offshore systems and develop a geohazard predictive model that identifies hazardous metocean and bathymetry conditions, as well as forecast potential hazards for current and future offshore infrastructure. This task requires an interdisciplinary effort by experts in geology, geophysics, oceanography, geosciences, and machine learning to utilize current capabilities in geohazard assessment and develop new, advanced technologies to further our understanding of where and when natural hazards to infrastructure occur. NETL is developing an advanced analytical framework that collects, processes, and analyzes metocean and bathymetry data for the northern Gulf of Mexico. This information is leveraged into the development of a smart tool that advances the current state of knowledge for offshore hazards. Our approach employs a variety of multidimensional, multiscale spatial data that includes both conditions conducive to a submarine landslide event as well as trigger mechanism events that may induce a submarine landslide. Additional risks from extreme metocean conditions are also assessed by the smart tool to estimate spatially-explicit risks. However, the availability, accuracy, and inconsistency of this data present challenges for performing robust analytics. The final product of this technology will advance the current state of knowledge, offering insights to improve infrastructure longevity, support the identification of shallow hazards, and is expected to drive offshore innovations relevant to EOR, carbon storage, renewable energy, and infrastructure. This presentation will highlight the work completed thus far, the challenges identified, and provide a road map for future progress on this project.