Talk:Lake Peigneur
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Quote: "by greatly increasing the depth of the lake from three feet to 1,300 feet" Can this be correct? A three-foot-deep lake had 11 barges on it???? Chesspieceface 05:54, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
- The links indicate that the barges were all in the canal and sucked into the lake when the canal's flow reversed. 216.169.166.235 14:30, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
HA...if only it would happen in the LIS too!!
- Is there some pictures to show for this page? Thomas1917 09:07, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
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- I know that there's a good deal of actual footage of the disaster, as I've seen it, but I don't know where or how we could get access to it, or some stills from it, for this article. siafu 15:22, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
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- The DamnedInteresting link has a B/W picture of barges, but I can't tell if they are being sucked in or if they have popped back up. Truly a fascinating event! --Mdwyer 04:31, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Physics
According to the formula sqrt (2gh) there is enough potential energy to accelerate the water flow to 320 km/hr given a 1300 foot elevation drop. Using google calculator I determined that a 2 sq mile lake (1300 acres) 11 feet deep could drain through a 50 square meter hole (8m diameter) in three hours time. A person tipping over the rim into that rate of flow would be pressurized to 40 atmospheres in about 15 seconds, assuming a constant diameter hole. Has anyone ever worked out the physics of this much water heading south this fast? From the size of the objects unrecovered, the surface orifice must have been much larger.
[edit] Map/Data errors
Texaco claimed that the mine shafts were not accurately mapped. Probably true, since some shafts in this mine were over 100 years old. It's likely that the penetrated shaft was much younger, and better charted. Does anyone know where to get references to the age of the penetrated shaft? Does the drilling permit describe where the well was drilled? RPellessier | Talk 16:32, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Video
History channel had a program on this lake. The video is amazing. youtube video of history channel on lake Peigneur -Ravedave 04:27, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
- It was included in the Engineering Disasters series of Modern Marvels (I remember watching it on TV late at night). Does youtube keep their video files up indefinitely? If so, we should put a direct link on the page-- nothing tells the story like the footage. siafu 04:38, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
The only problem is the copyright status of the video. Is it legal to link to it? --Skatingrox 02:29, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
-- I just added the link, and now read your comment. Surely it's fine to link to external sites? Any copyright issue is a YouTube issue surely??
Something to note: When water hits salt, the salt dissolves. Hitting the mine shaft is not necessary to create a disaster like this. Drilling into the salt dome itself is enough to start the disaster. At the time of the disaster there was a debate in the drilling community about what would happen should some one drill into a salt dome. This settled the arguement.
I'm not sure what arguement was settled. Salt domes are drilled into all the time. This is one of the signs of where oil deposits are located. I know b/c I've been involved in such projects. Their are certain precautions that have to be taken. Different fluids can be used in order to minimize the dilution of the salt before the well is cemented.
Salt domes, yes. This was a salt mine, that had excavated 100 foot wide and tall caverns underground. That salt had been replaced by air. There's normally not air in salt domes, but yes in operating salt mines. Xj14y 08:40, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Ecosystem and geography changes
Does anyone know if any significant surveys of changes to the lake's ecosystem have been made? For that matter, the lake is incredibly deep - but is that because the entire floor of the lake was ripped away, or because the depth of the salt mine is included? It would be very useful to have a geological survey of the lakebed. Captainktainer * Talk 12:12, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Accuracy of article
As I read the article now, (and I grew up not far from there, maybe 7-8 miles) it is incorrect, as it says:
"The lake then proceeded to drain into the hole, with the salt underneath absorbing water nearly as fast as it poured in, resulting in the draining of the lake into the salt mine."
What was punctured was an enormous cavern under that lake where salt had been removed over the years. The salt did not act as a sponge and suck up the whole lake and half the Delcambre Canal. There isn't a sweet underground chamber with tons of little white bits of table salt in it. It's got to be ground in some cases, and in other cases, water is used to erode the rock purposely, then the water is removed during processing to make it ready for consumption. The ground up rock that we put on our food and dissolve in water does not absorb water.
I'm going to change that wording, as I think it is misleading. There are two types of salt mining, and both involve rocks. Unfortunately, I can't figure out which one this was, without making an assumption. More research needed. Xj14y 06:58, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
The occupant of the small boat claims, in the video, that he ran it ashore rather than walking to the former shoreline through the mud. VERIFICATE AND REVISE MAIN ARTICLE. 68.47.175.117 17:01, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
