Mysterious Louisiana Sinkhole Created by Explosive Gas-Rich Quakes

Gas-charged fluid may have explosively generated earthquakes preceding the giant Louisiana sinkhole.

I wasn’t totally wrong when trying to link the Louisiana sinkhole to exploding lakes!

The Louisiana sinkhole opened up near Bayou Corne in southeast Louisiana on August 3, 2012. Since then it has never stopped growing. Now it is completely filled with filthy water and measures an amazing 215,000 square feet (20,000 square meters) and about 330 feet (100 m) deep. Look at a pictural evolution of the Louisiana sinkhole!

The cavity opened up on the western edge of the Napoleonville salt dome. It is mined for salt and its salt caverns are used to store hydrocarbons and industrial wastes. But the origin of the Louisianna sinkhole – how it formed – has remained mysterious until now! A collapse of a salt cavern? Seisimic events?

So what created the Louisiana sinkhole?

The formation of a large sinkhole at the Napoleonville salt dome, Assumption Parish, Louisiana, in August 2012 was accompanied by a rich sequence of complex seismic events.

Just a day before the discovery of the Assumption Parish’s sinkhole, 62 quakes were recorded. Analysis of these seismic events show that all occurred at an approximate depth of 470 m at the western edge of the salt dome, close to the sinkhole. This area is significantly above and to the west of the salt cavern whose collapse researchers think caused the sinkhole. In other words the sinkhole was not created by the collapse of a salt cavern!

So what the hell?

The seismic data suggest that the sinkhole-linked quakes were caused by explosive events similar to volcanic eruptions. Although still unknown, the explosive mechanism can be attributed to high‐pressure flow of natural gas or water charged with natural gas. Bubbling gas was seen in waters near the area before and after the sinkhole gaped open.

The origin of the natural gas behind the tremors is still unknown. The surges of natural gas that caused the tremors may have weakened the salt cavern and caused its collapse. Alternatively, a collapse of part of the salt cavern may have caused a nearby gas pocket to give off surges of gas, later followed by the complete collapse of the salt cavern.

So the mysterious Louisiana Sinkhole was created by explosive gas-rich quakes? The LA sinkhole was created by quakes caused by underground explosions? It seems that everything speak for it… And what if these mysterious giant Siberia craters had formed the same way?

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