Offshore Analysis of Seafloor Instability and Sediments (OASIS Partnership) with Applications to Offshore Safety and Marine Archaeology

PIs: Bentley, Samuel (Louisiana State University, through the Cooperative Agreement); Chaytor, Jason (U.S. Geological Survey, through the Interagency Agreement)
Start Year: 2022 | Duration: 5 years
Partners: USGS, LSU, The Water Institute of the Gulf, SEARCH, Inc.

Project Abstract:

The Mississippi River Delta Front (MRDF) off the coast of Louisiana is a heavily sedimented area of known seafloor instability that is prone to subsea gravity flows (e.g., mudflows, debris flows, hypopycnal flows, turbidity flows, gravity currents, etc.). Despite previous research —primarily limited to discrete study areas within the MRDF — and recent developments in seafloor mapping, sampling, and modeling, large knowledge and data gaps exist regarding the environmental forcing mechanisms driving gravity flow occurrence, as well as the location, frequency, and magnitude of such events. The MRDF also contains extensive development of State and Federally regulated oil and gas infrastructure, as well as numerous known and potential archaeological sites (e.g., historic shipwrecks). The purpose of this Agreement is for BOEM and its designated Federal partners to assist the State of Louisiana in: (1) producing a map of the entire MRDF for the first time using modern seafloor mapping tools and techniques, (2) collecting and analyzing oceanographic, geological, and geotechnical data sets at selected locations within the MRDF, (3) incorporating numerical modeling and machine learning to identify areas of low-to-high probability for future gravity flow occurrence and associated risk to offshore infrastructure, (4) evaluating new and/or existing technologies to detect and monitor gravity flow events, and (5) identifying benthic habitats and conducting archaeological analyses of selected shipwrecks that have been or have the potential to be impacted by gravity flows. This information will primarily be used to inform the State’s and BOEM’s environmental analyses and regulatory decision-making regarding offshore conventional and renewable energy development.