Ryan Butler

Geology 1010: Extra Credit

Tues/Thurs. 10a.m Class

NOVA Sinkholes-Buried Alive

PBS Documentary
Sinkholes-Buried Alive discusses several types of sinkholes across the United States. Some
are naturally occurring and some have been created by man. Sinkholes have devastating effects
on landscapes and property. The documentarys title Buried Alive references a man in Tampa,
Florida, who was buried, when a sinkhole opened under his house. The house collapsed into the
hole taking the man with it. We will discuss two types of sinkholes.
Sinkholes are naturally occurring phenomena in Florida. As the rain falls, the acidic water
then begins to seep into the bedrock and eventually breakdown and erode the limestone bedrock
creating a cavern. As the caves increase in size they create instability, depending on how close
the cavern is to the surface, and what type of soil sits on top of the cavern. The instability can
also be increased with the population pumping groundwater from these aquifers.
The damage to property in Florida is being increased due to a population explosion.
Contractors are building homes around lakes in Florida knowing the demographics potentially
have sinkholes. Contractors are not required to have a geological survey done to test the
underlying bedrock before building, thus leaving the property owners at risk of damage to their
property.
The second type of sinkhole is caused by man. Across the nation there are underground salt
deposits. Instead of opening the ground and mining the salt, they drill and pump water into the
salt deposits. This process is called brining and is much more efficient. The salt water is piped to
a processing plant, where the water is evaporated leaving the salt behind. The issue with brining

is after the salt has been removed this creates a cavern. And with time, the soil above the cavern
naturally begins to collapse and fill the cavern therefore creating a manmade sinkhole.
Texas Brine was sued for a sinkhole that caused property damage in Louisiana. They had to
pay to relocate a town. They purchased the all of the homes in Bayou Corne, due to the
increasing size of the sinkhole, and the possibility of losing the town into the cavern.