|
IV RECENT RESEARCH BY IGCP 299
PARTICIPANTS
IV1 WORLD KARST CORRELATION
DISTRIBUTION OF THE KARST IN PERM REGION
K. A. GORBUNOVA , Reader ,
Perm University , Perm , 614600 , Russia
The Perm Region territory of 160.6 km2 is
situated within three large geostructures:the eastern margin of the Eastern European
platformm , Pre-Urals foredeep and the folded belt of the Urals zone. The karstic
rocks:Paleozoic limestones , dolomites , gypsums , anhydrites , salts are exposed or occur
not deep from the surface on the area of about 30 thousand km2.
In the east part of the platform on the boundary with
Pre-Urals foredeep , the karst is developed in the arches and on the limbs of tectonic
swells. In the Ufa swell arch there are karstified flat-pitching Artinskian and partially
Kungurian limestones and dolomites. The plateau is karstic waters' catchment area. Along
its margins there flow out karstic springs.
The western and eastern limbs and the northern plunge of Ufa swell are composed of gypsums
, anhydrites , limestones and dolomites of Iren horizon of the Kungurian stage of the
Lower series of the Perm system .To the north these deposits are spread in the arch of the
Krasnokamsk-Polasna swell. Upon all this area karstic breccia is found. The karstic forms
are represented with numerous sinkholes , basins, karstic ravines and karstic lakes. In
the Kungur area there is Kungur ice cave (5.6 km).
The Solikamsk and the southern part of the Pechora tectonic basin of
thePre-Urals foredeep are characterized with karst in the salts of Kungurianstage. In
places of salts leaching there have been formed considerable in area closed lows with
great thickness of loose Quaternary deposits. Saline springs open onto the surface.
In the Urals folded belt the karst are mainly in the limestones
and dolomites of the Devonian , Carboniferous , Permian , to a lesser degree Ordovician
and Silurian system. The karstified rocks occur in the form of anticline and syncline
folds accompanied with fracture dislocations. Typical are sinkholes , basins , lost rivers
, springs , caves andblind creeks.
Various kinds of the human activities ,being called as technogenic impact
change karstic processes course. These changes have various trends. In most cases the
technogenic impact lead to activization of karstic processes as a result of the
environment components deformation which determine the basic conditions and factors of
karst formation.The karst activization has a negative impact on engineering geological
constructions and may cause hazardous situations.
THE SOUTH-EAST KARST PROVINCE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
K. G. GRIMES
Regolith Mapping , PO Box 362 , HAMILTON , Victoria , 3300.
The South-East Karst Province of South Australia
is an extensive area oflow relief with dolines , cenotes , uvalas and a variety of cave
types developed in the soft , porous ,flat- lying Tertiary ( Miocene) Gambier Limestone ,
and also as syngenetic karst in the overlying calcarenite dunes of the Pleistocene
Bridgewater Formation (Marker , 1975; Lewis , 1984) . Shallow swampy dolines and subjacent
and covered karst depressions occur in superficial Quaternary sediments. There are some
similarities with the Nullarbor Karst Region (also developed on extensive soft flat-lying
Tertiarylimestone) but the climate is wetter and the younger dune ridges and surficial
sediments complicate the karst development in this region.
Systematic variations within the province reflect , in
particular , differences in the parent rock types, the extent and nature of the cover and
the hydrology - in particular the depth to the water table and its gradient (Marker ,
1975).
The most spectacular surface karst features are the collapse dolines ,
especially those that extend below the water table to form cenotes. These have formed
above large phreatic caverns. More numerous are the many small shallow swampy hollows that
appear on the flat plains between the dune ridges in the northern two-thirds of the
region. The hollows are of two maintypes: normal karst dolines' developed in the
calcareous coastal flat deposits , but limited in vertical range by the shallow water
tables; and small subjacent or covered karst subsidence dolines where quartzose dunes and
sheets overlie the older limestone. The larger shallow lakes with lunettes may not be
karst , but rather primary coastal lagoons that have been modified by the wind since the
sea withdrew from the flats.
The caves are dominantly phreatic in origin and vadose features
are extremely rare. Both joint and bedding plane control can be seen , but solution at
temporary water-table levels can make the latter hard to recognize in this area of flat-
bedded limestone. Many of the primary phreatic caverns have been modified by collapse ,
and collapse domes and passages are common .Cave diving has demonstrated the existence of
extensive underwater cave systems , and it appears that in the southern part of the region
the bulk of the cave development may well be below the present water table , though these
passages would have been at least partly drained during the lower sea levels of the last
glacial period.
ANALYSIS OF THE KARST MASSIF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
DEVELOPMENT FOR ENGINEERING KARSTOLOGY
V. N. KATAEV, Cand. Sc.
Perm State University , Russia
The elements of structural control ( the form of
tectonic fold ,the pattern of faults and the pattern of joints in the rocks of the
tectonic fold ) have a relationship in geological space and time. The
tectonic development of area ,the lithological and the deformation characteristics of
rocks are influenced by the peculiarities of these elements of structural control.
In combination with other forms of control ( hydrodynamic ,
lithological , mineralogical and chemical ) the structural control in an area is defined
by the dynamic and development conditions of karst process in geological space. The
analysis of this control may be undertaken during the prognosis stage of karst
investigation. The most advantageous structural conditions necessary to promote karst
process were as follows: elongation in the direction of the regional underground water
movement ,which provided the hydrodynamic connection between different water tables and
with the surface drainage system .Moreover ,the efficiency of faults and joint zones as
karst controlling features will depend on the actual fault (or joint zones ) angle and the
direction of main movement of underground water.The faults ( or jointing) configuration ,
as a rule ,determines the degree of stream energy losses. For investigation of karst
process the joints and faults will be analyzed as elements of the physical structural and
the hydrodynamical anisotropic parameters of the massif.
As an illustrative example of the different role of joints for karst
process is presented the analysis of jointing conditions in the Juravlinskii limestone
massif (Urals) and Cloford Quarry area (Mendips, England) . The scheme of common variant
mechanisms of tectonic fold formations and possible patterns of karst active faults is
presented too in the text of the actual review.
THE GEOMORPHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEWLY
DEFINED "DALY POINT" AND "DAVIS POINT" ON CORAL
REEF FORMATION AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD
HORI , Nobuyuki
Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences ,
Hiroshima University , Hiroshima , Japan
Coral reefs have been formed under the control of
sea level changes during the Quaternary period. Especially ,present coral reefs have been
controlled by the Holocene transgression. HORI(1977) proposed a new explanatory model for
the distribution and formation of coral reefs of the world . The basal depths of outer
reef slope (Rd) is most important in this model , for it indicates the sea level at the
beginning of the coral reef formation.
The zone of the present coral reef formation is divided into the
following two subzones. One is the core zone which indicates the zone of coral reef
formation during the glacial period. The other is the peripheral zone of postglacial
times. The core zone shows the constant value (ca. 100-150 m) of Rd , but the peripheral
zone shows the geographical gradient of Rd.
Following DALY's idea of the glacial control theory , I would
like to introduce the term "Daly point" for the maximum depth of Rd ,and
"Dailyline" for the geographical gradient connecting these points (HORI , 1983)
. And taking DAVIS' idea of the marginal sea , I would like to introduce the term
"Davis point" for the marginal site of coral reef distribution which shows the
minimum depth of Rd , and "Davis line" for the geographical marginal line
connecting these points.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS OF GROWTH RATES OF SPELEOTHEMS
AND ITS CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
ARAKAWA , Tatsuhiko1 , HORI , Nobuyuki1 and MIURA
, Najime2
1 Faculty of Integrated Arts & Sciences , Hiroshima University , Japan
2 Dep.of Geography , Faculty of Education , Yamaguchi University, Japan
Karst landforms have presented many good examples
for climatic geomorphology. Absence of quantitative analysis , however , has been felt as
a great lack.
Analysis of carbonate speleothems offers an interesting field for
climatic geomorphology in karstic regions. A lot of speleothems such as stalagmites ,
stalactites and columns were collected from different climatic areas:
Hokkaido , Akiyoshi and the Ryukyu Islands (from the
northern to the southern part of Japan). Many speleothem rings (growth rings) were
dated by ESR , the volume of each layer of growth rings was calculated , and the
formations of each layer were analyzed using an electron microscope.
In the Ryukyu Islands , as an example for the subtropical zone ,
most of the growth rings showed ages of around and after 25,000 yr. B. P. Their growth
rates were more rapid than those of other areas. They consist of soft materials.
In the Akiyoshi limestone plateau , as an example for the
temperate zone ,speleothems showed the oldest dates. They consist of very fine material.
In the Tohma Cave area , as an example for the subpolar
zone , they consist of a very pure material , and the growth rate has been the slowest of
all.
|