I am wondering what the nature of the soil will be after an event like this? Sand + heat = glass, right?
I read that sand must be heated to 3,200°F to form glass and wood eventually burns at nor more than 1,600°F. Of course wood burns at lower temperatures, but without an accelerant, 1,600°F is about it, from what I’ve read. If however, one or more of the upgrader plants, along with associated chemicals and products catches, it could be a whole other ballgame. They are however, located away from the city itself and because of the billions invested, trees have been cleared FAR away from the plants for safety.
FWIW, in the 1950s, the Canadian and Alberta governments examined using underground nuclear explosions to boil the bitumen, reducing the viscosity of the oil so that it could be recovered using existing oilfield technology. The plan, ‘Project Oilsands’, aka ‘Project Cauldron’ involved the explosion of 100 nuclear bombs underground. Eventually, due to fears of Soviet espionage and government change towards non-proliferation, the plan was scrapped. THEN, you might have seen soil changed to glass!