3-D Seismic Data For Marine Geohazards
Source : PIB
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Why in News ?

3-D seismic data can help apprehend precursors of marine geohazards from interactions between seabed & marine sediments.

Key Facts

• Deep down in the ocean marine sediments move over the base of the ocean, shaping the probability of geohazards.
• Scientists have now used 3D seismic data to understand the interaction between bottom surface of marine sediments and the seafloor in the northern Taranaki basin offshore New Zealand.
• This can help apprehend the precursors of marine geohazards.
• Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, and scientists from Norway and Switzerland used high-resolution 3D seismic data
• This aims to unravel geomorphology of recurrent cases of movement of soil, sand, regolith, and rock downslope like a solid in Taranaki basin off New Zealand.
• This is technically called mass wasting of sediments.

What is Marine Geo-hazard ?

• Marine geohazards take place when the seafloor is unstable and is not able to withstand the transport processes of marine sediments from landwards deep into the ocean bottom.
• In such a situation, placement of drilling rigs becomes hazardous due to instability of the seabed.
• While understanding marine sediments interaction during their flow over the seabed is crucial to detect triggers of marine hazards like landslides, associated morphological investigation is a very challenging task, and geophysical/seismic prospecting methods are essential for it.

About the Study

• With the help of 3D seismic data the study offers a unique approach to comprehend the recurrent mass wasting processes and also understand how the seabed interacts with the bottom surface of marine sediments.
• The geological period between 23.03 and 2.5 Million years ago called Neogene succession.
• The study shows that the mass transport deposits are characterized into blocky-MTDs.
• It consisting of moderate to high amplitude, variably deformed rafted blocks, and chaotic masses composed of slides and debris flow deposits indicating a disturbed marine environment.
• Study will help understand different flow mechanisms associated with sediment movement over the seafloor.
• It will also shed light on several flow indicators that define the dynamics of the sediment mass movement or the dominant transport directions and mechanism of the mass flow.
• Understanding of these phenomena can help apprehend precursors of marine geohazards or the nature and physiography of the seafloor over which sediments can move.
• According to WIHG team similar geomorphological exercises can be extended to Indian and global marine sedimentary basins.

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