I’ve been poking holes into the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico since 2003. The locations have varied from south of the Alabama/Florida line across to the Texas/Louisiana line, and as far offshore as the last reaches of U.S. territorial waters 200 miles out. Water depths ranged from 300 feet to 8200 feet. Guess what? I’ve seen sand storms that caused landslides.

Recently, we took a rig back to a well we drilled in 2007. The ROV (remotely operated vehicle) dove to do a bottom survey and take a look at the PLET (pipeline end termination), and other infrastructure required to produce a well in deep water. I was shocked at what I saw. Everything was half buried in silt and sand.

When you look at the oceans and the rivers, you see what, a pretty view, a place to fish or ski or play in the sand along the shore? A view of the surface is two-dimensional, like the floor plan of a new house or a stick drawing sketched on a piece of paper. Our view of our atmosphere and into reaches beyond is three-dimensional, because we can see depth along with height and width. We deep-water oilfield-types get to see the ocean three-dimensional—mountains, canyons, cliffs, valleys and plains.

Continuous deposition?

As the Mississippi River snakes its way down the continent, it erodes the land. Along the way, the Missouri, the Arkansas, the Red, the Illinois, the Ohio, the Tennessee rivers and countless other smaller tributaries add the silt and sand they have gathered from nearly 2 million square miles of earth. How much is it, millions of tons and millions of cubic yards? I don’t know that it’s even measurable with any degree of accuracy, but I know all of it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. And I didn’t mention the Rio Grande, the Colorado (Texas Colorado,) the Sabine, or the Pearl rivers.

The ROV is a very expensive submarine that is flown, or driven, through the depths of the ocean. We can’t see where we’re going or what we’re doing without headlights. Just like on an automobile. Sometimes, there is so much silt, depending on current and location in relation to the mouth of the Mississippi River, that it’s like driving a car with the bright lights on though a snowstorm, even 50, 60 miles offshore.

There is a reason the Gulf of Mexico is called a continuous deposition basin. The rivers are continually dumping their load. We’ve seen places where the sediments finally became heavy enough on the side of a canyon or mountain that a mudslide occurred.

Eventually, in the far, far future, the Mississippi River will be at the bottom of another Grand Canyon and there will be a highway from Brownsville, Texas, to Cuba.