Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-669899f699-vbsjw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-28T05:09:35.041Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

13 - Hazards associated with karst

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2011

By
Francisco Gutiérrez
Edited by
Irasema Alcántara-Ayala  and
Andrew S. Goudie
Irasema Alcántara-Ayala
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City
Andrew S. Goudie
Affiliation:
St Cross College, Oxford
Get access

Summary

Introduction: why are hazards associated with karst important?

Karst refers to terrains in which the geomorphology and hydrology, both at the surface and in the subsurface, are largely governed by dissolution of carbonate and/or evaporite rocks. Some distinctive characteristics of karst environments include: (1) the presence of enclosed depressions (dolines or sinkholes and poljes), swallow holes and large springs; (2) the prevalence of underground drainage through channels resulting from dissolutional enlargement of discontinuity planes. Groundwater flow in these interconnected conduits circulates much faster than in aquifers controlled by granular or fracture permeability (Ford and Williams, 2007). Three main types of karst settings can be differentiated: bare karst, covered or mantled karst and interstratal karst, depending on whether the soluble rocks are exposed at the surface, covered by unconsolidated deposits or overlain by non-karst rocks (caprocks), respectively.

Karst developed in evaporite rocks has distinctive features primarily due to the higher solubility and lower mechanical strength of the evaporites (Gutiérrez et al., 2008a). The equilibrium solubilities of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) and halite (NaCl) in distilled water are 2.4 and 360 g/l, respectively. By comparison, the solubilities of calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (MgCa[CO3]2) minerals in regular meteoric waters are commonly lower than 0.1 g/l. The solubilities of these carbonate minerals are largely dependent on the pH of the water, which is generally controlled by the carbon dioxide partial pressure.

Type
Chapter
Information
Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention , pp. 161 - 176
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abelson, M., Baer, G., Shtivelman, V.et al. (2003). Collapse-sinkholes and radar interferometry reveal neotectonics concealed within the Dead Sea basin. Geophysical Research Letters, 30(10), 1545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrejchouk, V. (2002). Collapse above the world's largest potash mine (Ural, Russia). International Journal of Speleology, 31, 137–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Autin, W. J. (2002). Landscape evolution of the Five Islands of south Louisiana: scientific policy and salt dome utilization and management. Geomorphology, 47, 227–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, B. F. (1991). On calculating the risk of sinkhole collapse. In Kastning, E. H. and Kastning, K. M. (eds.), Proceedings of the Appalachian Karst Symposium. National Speleological Society. Radford, Virginia, pp. 231–236.Google Scholar
Beck, B. F. (2005a). Soil piping and sinkhole failures. In White, W. B.. (ed.), Enyclopedia of Caves. New York: Elsevier, pp. 523–528.Google Scholar
Beck, B. F. (ed.) (2005b). Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication 144, 677 p.
Bonacci, O., Ljubenkov, I. and Roje-Bonacci, T. (2006). Karst flash floods: an example from the Dinaric karst (Croatia). Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 6, 195–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinkmann, R., Wilson, K., Elko, N.et al. (2007). Sinkhole distribution based on pre-development mapping in urbanized Pinellas County, Florida, USA. In Parise, M. and Gunn, J. (eds.), Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards in Karst Areas: Recognition, Analysis and Mitigation. Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publication 279, pp. 5–11.Google Scholar
Buskirk, E. D., Pavelk, M. D. and Strasz, R. (1999). Education about and management of sinkholes in karst areas: initial efforts in Lebanon. In Beck, B. F.. (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema, pp. 263–266.Google Scholar
Buttrick, D. and Schalkwyk, A. (1998). Hazard and risk assessment for sinkhole formation on dolomite land in South Africa. Environmental Geology, 36, 170–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Closson, D., Abu Karaki, N., Hussein, M. J., Al-Fugha, H. and Ozer, A. (2003). Space-borne radar interferometric mapping of precursory deformations of a dyke collapse, Dead Sea area, Jordan. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24, 843–849.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. H. (1989). Airborne multispectral scanning of subsidence caused by Permian gypsum dissolution at Ripon, North Yorkshire. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 22, 219–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. H. (2008). The classification, recording, databasing and use of information about building damage caused by subsidence and landslides. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 41, 409–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. H. and Calow, R. C. (1998). Avoiding Gypsum Geohazards: Guidance for Planning and Construction. British Geological Survey Technical Report WC/98/5, 57 pp. http://www.bgs.ac.uk/dfid-kargeoscience/database/reports/colour/WC98005_COL.pdf
Cooper, A. H. and Saunders, J. M. (2002). Road and bridge construction across gypsum karst in England. Engineering Geology, 65, 217–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, N. C. (1984). Sinkhole flooding associated with urban development upon karst terrain: Bowling Green, Kentacky. In Beck, B. F.. (ed.), Proceedings of the First Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema, pp. 283–292.Google Scholar
Cruden, D. M. and Krahn, J. (1978). Frank rockslide, Alberta, Canada. In Voight, B.. (ed.), Rockslides and Avalanches, vol. 1. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 97–112.Google Scholar
Bruyn, I. A. and Bell, F. G. (2001). The occurrence of sinkholes and subsidence depressions in the Far West Rand and Gauteng Province, South Africa, and their engineering implications. Environmental Engineering Geoscience, 7, 281–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreybrodt, W. (2004). Dissolution: evaporite and carbonate rocks. In Gunn, J.. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 295–300.Google Scholar
Ege, J. R. (1984). Mechanisms of surface subsidence resulting from solution extraction of salt. Geological Society of America. Reviews in Engineering Geology, 6, 203–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, D. and Williams, P. (2007). Karst Hydrogeology and Geomorphology. Chichester: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frumkin, A. and Ford, D. C. (1995). Rapid entrenchment of stream profiles in the salt caves of Mount Sedom, Israel. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 20, 139–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galve, J., Gutiérrez, F., Lucha, P.et al. (2009a). Probabilistic sinkhole modelling for hazard assessment. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 34, 437–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galve, J. P., Gutiérrez, F., Lucha, P.et al. (2009b). Sinkholes in the salt-bearing evaporite karst of the Ebro River valley upstream of Zaragoza city (NE Spain): geomorphological mapping and analysis as a basis for risk management. Geomorphology, 108, 145–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, Y. and Alexander, E. C. (2008). Sinkhole hazard assessment in Minnesota using a decision tree model. Environmental Geology, 54, 945–956.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerrero, J., Gutiérrez, F., Bonachea, J. and Lucha, P. (2009). A sinkhole susceptibility zonation based on paleokarst analysis along a stretch of the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed railway built over gypsum- and salt-bearing evaporites (NE Spain). Engineering Geology, 102, 62–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F. and Cooper, A. H. (2002). Evaporite dissolution subsidence in the historical city of Calatayud, Spain: damage appraisal and prevention. Natural Hazards, 25, 259–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F., Galve, J. P., Guerrero, J.et al. (2007). The origin, typology, spatial distribution, and detrimental effects of the sinkholes developed in the alluvial evaporite karst of the Ebro River valley downstream Zaragoza city (NE Spain). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32, 912–928. doi 10.1007/s00254-008-1590-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F., Cooper, A. H. and Johnson, K. S. (2008a). Identification, prediction and mitigation of sinkhole hazards in evaporite karst areas. Environmental Geology, 53, 1007–1022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F., Guerrero, J. and Lucha, P. (2008b). A genetic classification of sinkholes illustrated from evaporite paleokarst exposures in Spain. Environmental Geology, 53, 993–1006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F., Calaforra, J. M., Cardona, F.et al. (2008c). Geological and environmental implications of evaporite karst in Spain. Environmental Geology, 53, 951–965.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez, F., Galve, J. P., Lucha, P.et al. (2009). Investigation of a large collapse sinkhole affecting a multi-storey building by means of geophysics and the trenching technique (Zaragoza city, NE Spain). Environmental Geology, in press.CrossRef
Hungr, O. (2007). Dynamics of rapid landslides. In Sassa, K., Fukuoka, H., Wang, F. and Wang, G. (eds.), Progress in Landslide Science. Berlin: Springer, pp. 47–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyatt, J. and Jacobs, P. (1996). Distribution and morphology of sinkholes triggered by flooding following Tropical Storm Alberto at Albany, Georgia, USA. Geomorphology, 17, 305–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyatt, J., Wilkes, H. and Jacobs, P. (1999). Spatial relationship between new and old sinkholes in covered karst, Albany, Georgia, USA. In Beck, B. F., Pettit, A. J. and Herring, J. G. (eds.), Proceedings of the Seventh Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema, pp. 37–44.Google Scholar
James, A. N. (1992). Soluble Materials in Civil Engineering. New York: Ellis Horwood.Google Scholar
Johnson, K. S. (1989). Development of the Wink Sink in Texas, U.S.A., due to salt dissolution and collapse. Environmental Geology and Water Science, 14, 81–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, K. S. (1997). Evaporite karst in the United States. Carbonates and Evaporites, 12, 2–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, K. S. (2008). Gypsum-karst problems in constructing dams in the USA. Environmental Geology, 53, 945–950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kappel, W. M. (1999). The Retsof salt mine collapse. In Galloway, D., Jones, D. R. and Ingebritsen, S. E. (eds.), Land Subsidence in the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1182, pp. 111–120.Google Scholar
Kasting, K. M. and Kasting, E. H. (2003). Site characterization of sinkholes based on resolution of mapping. In Beck, B. F. (ed.), Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Reston:ASCE, pp. 72–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klimchouk, A. B. and Andrejchuk, V. (2005). Karst breakdown mechanisms from observations in the gypsum caves of the Western Ukraine: implications for subsidence hazard assessment. Environmental Geology, 48, 336–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaMoreaux, P. E. and Newton, J. G. (1986). Catastrophic subsidence: an environmental hazard, Shelby County, Alabama. Environmental Geology and Water Sciences, 8, 25–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, G. and Zhou, W. (1999). Sinkhole in karst mining areas in China and some methods of prevention. Engineering Geology, 52, 45–50.Google Scholar
López-Chicano, M., Calvache, M. L., Martín-Rosales, W. and Gisbert, J. (2002). Conditioning factors in flooding of karstic poljes, the case of the Zafarraya polje (South Spain). Catena, 49, 331–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loucks, R. G. (1999). Paleocave carbonate reservoirs: origins, burial-depth modifications, spatial complexity and reservoir implications. AAPG Bulletin, 83, 1795–1834.Google Scholar
Lucha, P., Cardona, F., Gutiérrez, F. and Guerrero, J. (2008). Natural and human-induced dissolution and subsidence processes in the salt outcrop of the Cardona Diapir (NE Spain). Environmental Geology, 53, 1023–1035.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mancini, F., Stecchi, F., Zanni, M. and Gabbianelli, G. (2009). Monitoring ground subsidence induced by salt mining in the city of Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Environmental Geology, 58, 381–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maréchal, J. C., Ladouche, B. and Dörfliger, N. (2008). Karst flash floods in a Mediterranean karst, the example of Fontaine de Nimes. Engineering Geology, 99, 138–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marinos, P. G. (2001). Tunnelling and mining in karstic terrain: an engineering challange. In Beck, B. F. and Herring, J. G. (eds.), Proceeding of the Eighth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 3–16.Google Scholar
Milanovic, P. T. (2000). Geological Engineering in Karst. Belgrade: Zebra.Google Scholar
Milanovic, P. (2002). The environmental impacts of human activities and engineering constructions in karst regions. Episodes, 25, 13–21.Google Scholar
Milanovic, P. (2004). Dinaride polje. In Gunn, J. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 291–293.Google Scholar
Paukstys, B., Cooper, A. H. and Arustiene, J. (1999). Planning for gypsum geohazard in Lithuania and England. Engineering Geology, 52, 93–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richardson, J. J. (2003). Local land use regulation of karst in the United States. In Beck, B. F. (ed.), Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. ASCE Special Publication 112, pp. 492–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romanov, D., Gabrovsek, F. and Dreybrodt, W. (2003). Dam sites in soluble rocks: a model of increasing leakage by dissolutional widening of fractures beneath a dam. Engineering Geology, 70, 17–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tharp, T. M. (1995). Mechanics of upward propagation of cover-collapse sinkholes. Engineering Geology, 52, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsui, P. C. and Cruden, D. M. (1984). Deformation associated with gypsum karst in the Salt River Escarpment, northeastern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 21, 949–959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waltham, A. C. and Fookes, P. G. (2003). Engineering classification of karst ground conditions. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 36, 101–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waltham, T., Bell, F. and Culshaw, M. (2005). Sinkholes and Subsidence. Chichester: Springer-Praxis.Google Scholar
Warren, J. K. (2006). Evaporites: Sediments, Resources and Hydrocarbons. Berlin: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, E. L., Aron, G. and White, W. B. (1986). The influence of urbanization on sinkhole development in central Pennsylvania. Environmental Geology and Water Sciences, 8, 91–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, P. (2004). Dolines. In Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science, ed. Gunn, J.. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 304–310.Google Scholar
Yechieli, Y., Abelson, M., Bein, A., Crouvi, O. and Shtivelman, V. (2006). Sinkholes “swarms” along the Dead Sea coast: reflection of disturbance of lake and adjacent groundwater systems. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 118, 1075–1087.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W. (2007). Drainage and flooding in karst terranes. Environmental Geology, 51, 963–973.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W. and Beck, B. F. (2008). Management and mitigation of sinkholes on karst lands: an overview of practical applications. Environmental Geology, 55, 837–851.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W., Beck, B. F. and Adams, A. (2003). Application of matrix analysis in delineating sinkhole risk areas along highway (I-70 near Frederick Maryland). Environmental Geology, 44, 834–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×