February 2006 Meeting Abstract
Scientific Policy and Salt Dome Utilization and Management-
Lessons Learned from the Five Islands of South Louisiana
The Buffalo Association of Professional Geologists (BAPG) is pleased to announce that its monthly dinner meeting will be held at the Millennium Hotel (formerly Four-Points Sheraton) located at 2040 Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga, New York on February 15th, 2006. The topic of the dinner presentation and discussion will be "Scientific Policy and Salt Dome Utilization and Management - Lessons Learned from the Five Islands of South Louisiana" presented by Whitney J. Autin, PhD. from the State University of New York at Brockport.
Mineral resource development of the Five Islands correlates with instability of both underground facilities and the land surface. Historical activities include room and pillar and solution mining for salt, Frasch mining for sulfur, geostorage of petroleum in salt caverns, and oil and gas extraction from the flanks of the salt diapirs. The most significant problem was at Jefferson Island, where, on 20 November 1980, an oil and gas drill test accidentally pierced an operating room and pillar mine. The accident resulted in catastrophic land loss, temporary draining of a sinkhole lake, and permanent closure of the salt mine. Issues of surface and underground stability also occurred on the other domes.
The rate, magnitude, and pattern of natural landscape modification by salt domes have implications for the safe utilization of mineral extraction and geostorage facilities. Geological characterization of salt dome landscapes and subsurface structures are necessary to develop policies that ensure safe salt dome utilization. Salt dome resource planning should include detailed characterization of internal and external stratigraphy and structure; modeling of geomorphic, soil and rock mechanic, and hydrologic processes; routine and emergency planning at operating facilities; and closure and post-closure plans.
Dr. Whitney J. Autin is an Associate Professor in the Department of the Earth Sciences at SUNY College at Brockport. He received his Ph.D. in geology from Louisiana State University in 1989, and matriculated while a full-time staff member of the Louisiana Geological Survey in the geologic mapping and industrial minerals programs. His research interests integrate surface processes, sedimentology and stratigraphy, and soil formation to reconstruct Quaternary landscape evolution. This approach to landform analysis has been successfully applied to environmental management of mineral resources, exploration methods for aggregate resources, mitigation of flood hazards, neotectonics, geoarchaeology, and water resources management.
This promises to be a well-attended meeting. Please RSVP as soon as possible to be assured of a seat.
Daniel J. Krause
BAPG Executive Vice-President