Geo-Hazard Assessment for Pipelines Crossing the Continental Slope

The major geo-hazard for pipelines laid across the continental s ope are the sudden and mostly unpredictable downslope soil movement generally called mass gravity flows. Slope failures developing into mass gravity flow that might damage a pipeline is a key issue for pipeline design. Geo-hazard assessment is a multi-disciplinary effort and it involves expertise in geology, geophysics, sedimentology, geotechnics, fluid dynamics and modelling. The present paper presents an integrated approach to assess geo-hazards across the continental slope. In addition to the individual aspects of geo-hazard assessment, such as potential flow pattern recognition, soil properties mapping, slope stability and mass flow modelling, the paper describes the importance of proper planning of the activities, starting at a very early stage to optimise the collection of survey data, and the interaction among the different disciplines, which are not sequentially inked but highly integrated