The major geo-hazard for pipelines laid across the continental slope 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 linked but highly integrated.
