Researchers discovered NASA's airborne radar data could have the ability to predict sinkholes.
Sinkholes are openings in the ground that occur when surface layers of the Earth collapse into a cavern below, a NASA news release reported.
Analysis of the radar data showed the ground above a sinkhole that formed near Bayou Corne last year deformed significantly at least a month before the event. The surface area moved about 10.2 inches towards where the sinkhole would form.
"While horizontal surface deformations had not previously been considered a signature of sinkholes, the new study shows they can precede sinkhole formation well in advance," Researcher Cathleen Jones, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in the news release. "This kind of movement may be more common than previously thought, particularly in areas with loose soil near the surface."
Sinkholes tend to form in what is called "karst" terrain in which rocks below the surface can be easily dissolved by groundwater. When these rocks dissolve they leave caverns below the surface that can swallow up cars and even buildings. The Bayou Corne sinkhole was manmade; it occurred when a sidewall collapsed above an underground storage cavity. Investigations showed the facility been mined too close to a salt dome.
"Our work shows radar remote sensing could offer a monitoring technique for identifying at least some sinkholes before their surface collapse, and could be of particular use to the petroleum industry for monitoring operations in salt domes," Ron Blom of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in the news release . "Salt domes are dome-shaped structures in sedimentary rocks that form where large masses of salt are forced upward. By measuring strain on Earth's surface, this capability can reduce risks and provide quantitative information that can be used to predict a sinkhole's size and growth rate."
