| Abstract: | Some investigations on the early organization of karst system are carried out through modeling the dissolution evolution processes of stochastic fracture networks in carbonate rock. It is assumed that water flow in fracture network is laminar, and the dissolution rate process can be described with an empirical equation, The results suggest that a karst system is a self-organization system. It can spontaneously create higher hierarchical level out of a relative homogeneous structure through amplifying the microscopic heterogeneity of initial flow field. Under given boundary conditions, a karst system with initial fracture network of varied hierarchical levels is likely to have stronger tendency to lead to a typical karst system featuring conduit passages than a system with initial network of unique hierarchical level. Through merging local flow systems, a karst system concentrates the limited flow into a few pathways to promote the formation of higher hierarchical level. |
