WWS presents at the ICPC 2022 Plenary Conference

WWS CEO Carlos Pirmez presented a paper at the Annual meeting of the International Cable Protection Committee.  The paper, entitled “The impact of turbidity currents on submarine infrastructure: insights from subsea pipeline incidents and 3D numerical models“, described the impact of turbidity currents to a gas pipeline in the Philippines using detailed reconstruction of the flow and sediment movement on the seabed. An integrated atmospheric-coastal-deepwater modelling enabled forecasting which storms may pose a higher risk to the local infrastructure, providing the foundation of an Early Warning System for protection of the pipeline.  Co-authors in the presentation were: Michele Bolla Pittaluga and Gaetano Porcile (WWS), Octavio Sequeiros and Alessandro Frascatti (Shell), Elena Bastianon (Univ. of Hull) and Jasim Imran (Univ. of South Carolina).

Image on the right shows the study area in Northern Mindoro Is. where multiple rivers feed sediment to the narrow shelf.  During the passage of typhoons, waves and currents stir the sediment triggering strong turbidity currents that flow into the deeper waters, menacing the submarine infrastructure (red dots – pipeline, source: Global Energy Monitor; green lines – submarine cables, source: Telegeography). Base image from Google Earth.