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View Full Version : MSM (HuffPo) talking about Methane/Tsunami worst case scenario



DMac
22nd June 2010, 10:27 AM
This is one of (if not the) first instance of a MSM site openly talking about the methane gas issue and possible tsunami:

Gulf Oil Gusher: Danger of Tsunamis From Methane? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dk-matai/gulf-of-mexico-danger-of_b_619095.html)

gunDriller
22nd June 2010, 12:47 PM
DK Matai, the author of that article, is clueless.

he does not have a strong math background and is seeing bogeymen where none exist (explosions of methane at a depth of 5000 feet) when there's several very real mega-disasters already occurring in front of our faces.

yes, the well is spewing methane. it is floating to the surface. as it rises, the pressure decreases. yes, there is a chance of explosions and fires on the surface, not just a chance, it already happened.


if there is a tsunami, it's because of an earthquake or an geographically significant rockfall (e.g. a piece of the Canary Islands falls into the ocean and sends a wave across the Atlantic.)

most of the seafloor is in a state of equilibrium. yes, it has 70,000 psi beneath it - it also has 70,000 psi above it. so it stays in one place. that's a simplistic version, but close enough.

the oil is sitting beneath 2 to 5 miles of rock, which is how it got to 70,000 psi.

the rule of thumb for sea-water is, 1 atmosphere of pressure (14.7 psi, call if 15 psi) for every for every 33 feet you go down. go down 1 mile, 5280 feet, and you have 160 atmospheres, i.e. 2400 psi, on the ocean floor, where the oil is spewing out.


from the technically illiterate DK Matai -
"2. First Tsunami with Toxic Cloud

If the toxic gas bubble explodes, it might simultaneously set off a tsunami travelling at a high speed of hundreds of miles per hour. Florida might be most exposed to the fury of a tsunami wave. The entire Gulf coastline would be vulnerable, if the tsunami is manifest. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and southern region of Georgia might experience the effects of the tsunami according to some sources.

3. Second Tsunami via Vaporisation

After several billion barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of gas have been released, the massive cavity beneath the ocean floor will begin to normalise, allowing freezing water to be forced naturally into the huge cavity where the oil and gas once were. The temperature in that cavity can be extremely hot at around 150 degrees celsius or more. The incoming water will be vaporised and turned into steam, creating an enormous force, which could actually lift the Gulf floor. According to computer models, a second massive tsunami wave might occur."


/\ illiterate scaremongering by the HuffPo.

i suggest paying attention to the concerns of technically qualified people like Matt Simmons. 120,000 barrels a day of oil spewing into the gulf, from a well that is also rich in methane that was supposed to produce natural gas for 10 to 15 years. with BP adding about 10 million gallons of dispersant that is poisonous at 3 ppm. billions of dead fish, dolphins, crabs, and birds. that part is real.


this HuffPo guy - it's like people on the sinking Titanic worrying about a lightning strike.

i suggest keeping an eye on the geologists, geophysicist, & experienced oil industry engineers @
http://www.theoildrum.com/

if a tsunami becomes relevant, they will not hold back on talking about it.

DMac
22nd June 2010, 12:49 PM
I've read the theoildrum daily since the rig exploded back in April. They have fantastic coverage but anything alternative seems to be quickly poo-poo'd.

Just posting that a MSM site finally spoke of the worst case scenario.

osoab
22nd June 2010, 04:06 PM
Someone over @ GLP was disecting this article as being lifted from many sources including quotes on GLP.

I checked the article out when you posted the link.

About the author.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dk-matai


DK Matai is an engineer turned entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist with a keen interest in the well being of global society. DK founded mi2g in 1995, the global risk specialists, in London, UK, whilst developing simulations for his PhD at Imperial College. DK helped found ATCA – The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance – in 2001, a philanthropic expert initiative to address complex global challenges through Socratic dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global economy. ATCA addresses opportunities and threats arising from climate chaos, radical poverty, organised crime, extremism, informatics, nanotechnology, robotics, genetics, artificial intelligence and financial systems. ATCA has 5,000+ distinguished members from over 100 countries: including several from the House of Lords, House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress & Senate, G10's Senior Government officials and over 1,500 CEOs from financial institutions, scientific corporates, NGOs and 750+ Profs from academic centres of excellence.


His company's website.

http://www.mi2g.com/

Yeah, probably a swell fellow.