Quantitative Characteristics of Karstic Denudation: the Kungur Cave in cis-ural

Abstract

Since 1985, experiments have been conducted in the Kungur cave on the rate of dissolution of the host rocks and observations on the hydrogeochemical processes and morphometric parameters of the speleosystem. According to the long-term data, the rate of dissolution for the karst massif as a whole is about 20 m³ per year per 1 km². In 2013, the dissolution rate of gypsum blocks embedded in lakes ranged from 0.026 to 0.039 g/year. The elevation marks of the observation stations equipped in the supporting columns of the longest cavern cave Dlinniy, have been constantly decreasing since the beginning of the measurements (2013). At the remaining stations, they are within the measurement error. In areas of development of sulphate karst, it is necessary to take into account the relatively high rate of dissolution process (several years or decades), commensurate with the service life of the engineering structures. The processes occurring on the surface and inside the karst massifs at present affect the course of the development of dangerous geological phenomena, including failures and floods.