At 11:50 am Central Time, on Sat. January 19, the Assumption Parish Police Jury posted on their website, "There has been increased seismic activity near the cavern this morning as well as developments of cracks on Oxy 3 pad. At approximately 10:00 this morning, another burp occurred in the sinkhole. The State Police helicopter has arrived to provide aerial viewing.

::::::::

BACKGROUND: Last Spring Louisiana's Corne and Grand Bayou residents noticed strange bubblings in the bayou for many weeks, and they reported smelling burnt diesel fuel and sulfur. Then suddenly a sinkhole the size of three football fields appeared on Aug. 3, swallowing scores of 100-foot tall cypress trees. The sinkhole resulted from the failure of an abandoned underground brine cavern. The Department of Natural Resources issued a Declaration of Emergency on Aug. 6, and 150 families were evacuated.

For maps, diagrams and additional information, please see the previous articles in this series:

Bayou Sinkhole Site Update: Flammable Tap Water (Nov. 2, 2012) at click here

Alarming Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Seismic Activity, Odors, Health Symptoms Reported (Oct. 30, 2012) at click here

Mysterious Bayou Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Radiation, Hydrocarbons Detected (Sept. 29, 2012) at click here

Dangerous Levels of Radium at Corne Bayou Sinkhole (Aug. 26, 2012)  at click here

Does Sudden Sinkhole Portend a Nuclear-sized Explosion? (Aug. 17, 2012) at click here

NAPOLEONVILLE, LA: At 11:50 am Central Time, on Sat. January 19, the Assumption Parish Police Jury posted on their website,  "There has been increased seismic activity near the cavern this morning as well as developments of cracks on Oxy 3 pad. At approximately 10:00 this morning, another burp occurred in the sinkhole. The State Police helicopter has arrived to provide aerial viewing. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available."  http://assumptionla.wordpress.com/author/assumptionla/

UPDATE added 4:49pm Eastern time:  At 3:30 pm Central Time, Jan, 19, 2013, the Assumption Parish Police Jury posted this update from the DNR on their website:

The Office of Conservation, in consultation with Assumption Parish Incident Command, is advising that the Texas Brine facility sinkhole appears to be undergoing a growth event, indicated by a recent upswing in measured seismic activity that began to decrease about the time of this morning's release of debris and crude oil to the top of the sinkhole, as well as the appearance of cracks on the surface of the Oxy 3 well pad, located directly above Texas Brine's failed cavern and on the eastern side of the sinkhole.

Monitoring of seismic activity and direct field observations from ground level and overflights are part of the ongoing response to determine the potential extent of this latest growth event -- one of several observed since the formation of the sinkhole. Observations indicate that the current growth event is centered on the east side of the sinkhole -- possibly related to shifting of salt and material within the cavern collapse zone. After a period of heightened activity, the number and strength of sharp seismic events dropped markedly following the release of debris and hydrocarbons from the sinkhole -- though impacts at the surface on the eastern side of the sinkhole will continue to be monitored closely.

Following the appearance of the well pad surface cracks on the southwestern corner of the Oxy 3 well pad, the Office of Conservation advised that personnel and equipment should be removed from the site to ensure safety while observation and analysis of the growth event are ongoing.

Though the exact timing and extent of episodic growth events cannot be predicted, the Office of Conservation and its consultants had identified the Oxy 3 well pad as being within the area of potential sinkhole growth, and has maintained constant monitoring of subsurface conditions and activity for signs of instability in order to act quickly to protect the safety of the public and workers on site.(end of update.)

The most recent cave-in at the sinkhole occurred on Dec. 12, 2012, as reported on that date by the Assumption Parish Police Jury.

August 2012 - January 2013 Comparison Photos
This first image shows an inset of an image from the August 11, 2012, flyover, superimposed on approximately the same area of  a still from the Jan. 17, 2013 flyover.


The second image shows the Jan. 17, 2013 flyover image, with the inset removed from its red frame, for comparison.


Three-Month Comparison Photos (November and August, 2012)
Photos from two flyovers, exactly three months apart, show the growth of the sinkhole over that period.


A video of the January 17th flyover can be seen at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKiPb3h4q00

A video of the December 27, 2012 flyover shows additional detail of encroaching waters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6AlzqncYYE

Attempts at containment have been ongoing, but do not seem to have met with much success.

This article is an update. Please see previous articles for more detailed information.

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.