Identification, prediction, and mitigation of sinkhole hazards in evaporite karst areas

Sinkholes usually have a higher probability of occurrence and a greater genetic diversity in evaporite terrains than in carbonate karst areas. This is because evaporites have a higher solubility and, commonly, a lower mechanical strength. Subsidence damage resulting from evaporite dissolution generates substantial losses throughout the world, but the causes are only well understood in a few areas. To deal with these hazards, a phased approach is needed for sinkhole identification, investigation, prediction, and mitigation. Identification techniques include field surveys and geomorphological mapping combined with accounts from local people and historical sources. Detailed sinkhole maps can be constructed from sequential historical maps, recent topographical maps, and digital elevation models (DEMs) complemented with building-damage surveying, remote sensing, and high-resolution geodetic surveys. On a more detailed level, information from exposed paleosubsidence features (paleokarst), speleological explorations, geophysical investigations, trenching, dating techniques, and boreholes may help in investigating dissolution and subsidence features. Information on the hydrogeological pathways including caves, springs, and swallow holes are particularly important especially when corroborated by tracer tests. These diverse data sources make a valuable database—the karst inventory. From this dataset, sinkhole susceptibility zonations (relative probability) may be produced based on the spatial distribution of the features and good knowledge of the local geology. Sinkhole distribution can be investigated by spatial distribution analysis techniques including studies of preferential elongation, alignment, and nearest neighbor analysis. More objective susceptibility models may be obtained by analyzing the statistical relationships between the known sinkholes and the conditioning factors. Chronological information on sinkhole formation is required to estimate the probability of occurrence of sinkholes (number of sinkholes/km² year). Such spatial and temporal predictions, frequently derived from limited records and based on the assumption that past sinkhole activity may be extrapolated to the future, are non-corroborated hypotheses. Validation methods allow us to assess the predictive capability of the susceptibility maps and to transform them into probability maps. Avoiding the most hazardous areas by preventive planning is the safest strategy for development in sinkhole-prone areas. Corrective measures could be applied to reduce the dissolution activity and subsidence processes. A more practical solution for safe development is to reduce the vulnerability of the structures by using subsidence-proof designs.     

Subsidence hazards due to evaporite dissolution in the United States

Evaporites, including gypsum (or anhydrite) and salt, are the most soluble of common rocks; they are dissolved readily to form the same type of karst features that typically are found in limestones and dolomites, and their dissolution can locally result in major subsidence structures. The four basic requirements for evaporite dissolution to occur are: (1) a deposit of gypsum or salt; (2) water, unsaturated with CaSO₄ or NaCl; (3) an outlet for escape of dissolving water; and (4) energy to cause water to flow through the system. Evaporites are present in 32 of the 48 contiguous states of the United States, and they underlie about 35–40% of the land area. Karst is known at least locally (and sometimes quite extensively) in almost all areas underlain by evaporites, and some of these karst features involve significant subsidence. The most widespread and pronounced examples of both gypsum and salt karst and subsidence are in the Permian basin of the southwestern United States, but many other areas also are significant. Human activities have caused some evaporite–subsidence development, primarily in salt deposits. Boreholes may enable (either intentionally or inadvertently) unsaturated water to flow through or against salt deposits, thus allowing development of small to large dissolution cavities. If the dissolution cavity is large enough and shallow enough, successive roof failures above the cavity can cause land subsidence or catastrophic collapse.     

Unusual cases of mining subsidence from Great Britain, Germany and Colombia

Subsidence involves sinking of the ground surface. The movement generally is localised and may or may not involve some amount of horizontal movement. It may be rapid or take place gradually over a period of time. Subsidence may be brought about by natural causes as, for example, when the roof of a cavern in limestone is weakened to the extent that it is no longer self-supporting and so collapses. Other more exotic examples are associated with volcanism and earthquakes. Perhaps, however, subsidence is more frequently associated with movements caused by mining activities, that is, the removal of mineral deposits, be they in solid, liquid or gaseous form, from within the ground. Mining is one of the earliest activities of man and has taken place in every continent. Subsidence also can result from subsurface excavations such as tunnels, caverns, cellars and sewers. One of the added problems of some forms of subsidence is that it is impossible to predict. This, coupled with the fact that the presence of potentially collapsible voids may be unknown, unrecorded or simply forgotten about further complicates the problem. The objectives of this paper are to document and draw attention to a number of unusual examples of subsidence. These have been generated due to the mining of chalk in southern England, the collapse of slate mines and caverns in Germany, the underground extraction of evaporites in Northern Ireland, fault reactivation in Wales and northern England and the extensive extraction of pumice on the flanks of Galeras volcano in Colombia.     

Karst breakdown mechanisms from observations in the gypsum caves of the Western Ukraine: implications for subsidence hazard assessment

The term karst breakdown is employed in this paper to denote the totality of processes and phenomena of gravitational and/or hydrodynamic destruction of the ceiling of a karst cavity and of the overlying sediments. It refers not only to the existence of a surface subsidence (collapse) feature but, first of all, to the internal (hidden in the subsurface) structures that precede development of a surface form. This study reports and discusses the results of direct mapping and examination of breakdown structures in the gypsum karst of the Western Ukraine, at the level of their origin, i.e., in caves. The accessibility of numerous laterally extensive maze cave systems in the region provided an excellent opportunity for such an approach, which made it possible to examine the relationship between breakdown structures and particular morphogenetic or geological features in caves, and to reveal stages of breakdown development. It is found that breakdown is initiated mainly at specific speleogenetically or geologically weakened localities, which classify into a few distinct types. The majority of breakdowns, which are potent to propagate through the overburden, relate with the outlet cupolas/domepits that represent places where water had discharged out of a cave to the upper aquifer during the period of transverse artesian speleogenesis. Distribution of breakdown structures does not correlate particularly well with the size of the master passages. Several distinct mechanisms of breakdown development are revealed, and most of them proceed in several stages. They are guided by speleogenetic, geological and hydrogeological factors. The study confirms that a speleogenetic approach is indispensable to the understanding of breakdown pre-requisites and mechanisms, as well as for eventual subsidence hazard assessment. Direct observations in caves, aimed both at speleogenetic investigation and breakdown characterization on regional- or site-specific levels, should be employed wherever possible.     

A multi-method approach to study the stability of natural slopes and landslide susceptibility mapping

In this paper, a multi-method approach for the assessment of the stability of natural slopes and landslide hazard mapping applied to the Dakar coastal region is presented. This approach is based on the effective combination of geotechnical field and laboratory works, of GIS, and of mechanical (deterministic and numerical) stability analysis. By using this approach, valuable results were gained regarding instability factors, landslide kinematics, simulation of slope failure and coastal erosion. This led to a thorough assessment and strong reduction in the subjectivity of the slope stability and hazard assessment and to the development of an objective landslide danger map of the SW coast of Dakar. Analysis of the results shows that the slides were influenced by the geotechnical properties of the soil, the weathering, the hydrogeological situation, and the erosion by waves. The landslide susceptibility assessment based on this methodological approach has allowed for an appropriate and adequate consideration of the multiple factors affecting the stability and the optimization of planning and investment for land development in the city.     

Evaporite karst in Sicily

Karst areas are distributed over most of Sicily. The most widespread karst rocks are carbonates, particularly limestones, but karst phenomena can also be seen in evaporites and particularly in salt mines. This report provides an overview of evaporite karst in Sicily, along with a “case history” that shows some of the evaporite karst risks to the environment. In the centre and south of Sicily, a thick sequence of Messinian evaporite rocks are subject to dissolution from meteoric and formation waters. In areas where potassium salts and rock salts are being mined, some geomorphologic changes result from the drilling of boreholes and the collapse of underground mines, thus lowering or collapsing the land surface. An example is the old salt mine “Muti-Coffari”, situated in the commune of Cammarata, where there is a modification of the surface flow of the River Platani. Meteoric waters and runoff flow down through a borehole, enter the underground mine cavity and dissolve the salts, and then the resulting brine flows into a branch of the river, making it salty. Field investigations showed the presence of salt along the edges and on the bed of the stream where it comes out of the cave. Therefore, interventions for risk mitigation are necessary since the old mine constitutes a serious danger for damage or collapse of nearby infrastructures, and can lead to degradation of the river ecosystem and the natural environment.     

GIS and ANN coupling model: an innovative approach to evaluate vulnerability of karst water inrush in coalmines of north China

Evaporites, including rock salt (halite) and gypsum (or anhydrite), are the most soluble among common rocks; they dissolve readily to form the same types of karst features that commonly are found in limestones and dolomites. Evaporites are present in 32 of the 48 contiguous states in USA, and they underlie about 40% of the land area. Typical evaporite-karst features observed in outcrops include sinkholes, caves, disappearing streams, and springs, whereas other evidence of active evaporite karst includes surface-collapse structures and saline springs or saline plumes that result from salt dissolution. Many evaporites also contain evidence of paleokarst, such as dissolution breccias, breccia pipes, slumped beds, and collapse structures. All these natural karst phenomena can be sources of engineering or environmental problems. Dangerous sinkholes and caves can form rapidly in evaporite rocks, or pre-existing karst features can be reactivated and open up (collapse) under certain hydrologic conditions or when the land is put to new uses. Many karst features also propagate upward through overlying surficial deposits. Human activities also have caused development of evaporite karst, primarily in salt deposits. Boreholes (petroleum tests or solution-mining operations) or underground mines may enable unsaturated water to flow through or against salt deposits, either intentionally or accidentally, thus allowing development of small to large dissolution cavities. If the dissolution cavity is large enough and shallow enough, successive roof failures can cause land subsidence and/or catastrophic collapse. Evaporite karst, natural and human-induced, is far more prevalent than is commonly believed.     

基于GIS技术的全国地面塌陷灾害危险性评价

本文运用GIS的缓冲区、叠加、空间分析等功能,从地貌类型、碳酸盐岩类型、水文地质条件、人类活动及土地利用因素方面,对以岩溶塌陷和采空塌陷为代表的中国地面塌陷灾害危险性进行评价.其中模型中各影响因素的权重值主要是通过层次分析法来确定;而影响因素中的分类值则是地面塌陷点的分布概率.评估结果表明,地面塌陷极高危险区主要分布在中国的广西、贵州、云南,其次是湖北、湖南、重庆、四川、陕西.     

Subsidence hazards in different types of karst: evolutionary and speleogenetic approach

The typology of karst, based on distinguishing the successive stages of general hydrogeological evolution, between which major boundary conditions and the overall circulation pattern change considerably, gives a natural clue to classify and tie together karst breakdown settings, speleogenetic styles and breakdown development mechanisms. Subsidence hazards vary substantially between the different karst types, so that classifying individual karst according to typology can provide an integrated general assessment. This provides a useful basis for selection and realization of region- and site-specific assessment schemes and management strategies. Intrastratal karst types, subjacent karst in particular, are most potent in generating subsidence problems. Exposed karst types, especially open karst, are the least likely to pose subsidence hazard problems, despite their being recognized more obviously as karstic areas.     

GIS在高速公路岩溶路基病害研究中的应用—— 以水任—南宁高速公路为例

随着人口的增长、经济的发展,一些新高速公路的建设不可避免地经过岩溶发育地区,水任- 南宁高速公路No. 4合同段大约有10km穿过岩溶极为发育的岩溶谷地,下伏著名的地苏地下河系,对路基的稳定性造成巨大威胁。本文以该路段为例,从多源空间数据的管理、数据可视化、动态分段、数据查询、空间分析和专题地图制作等方面介绍GIS在高速公路岩溶路基病害研究中的应用。      

Shallow landslides in pyroclastic soils: a distributed modelling approach for hazard assessment

An effective assessment of shallow landslide hazard requires spatially distributed modelling of triggering processes. This is possible by using physically based models that allow us to simulate the transient hydrological and geotechnical processes responsible for slope instability. Some simplifications are needed to address the lack of data and the difficulty of calibration over complex terrain at the catchment's scale. We applied two simple hydrological models, coupled with the infinite slope stability analysis, to the May 1998 landslide event in Sarno, Southern Italy. A quasi-dynamic model (Barling et al., 1994) was used to model the contribution to instability of lateral flow by simulating the time-dependent formation of a groundwater table in response to rainfall. A diffusion model [Water Resour. Res. 36 (2000) 1897] was used to model the role of vertical flux by simulating groundwater pressures that develop in response to heavy rainstorms. The quasi-dynamic model overestimated the slope instability over the whole area (more than 16%) but was able to predict correctly slope instability within zero order basins where landslides occurred and developed into large debris flows. The diffusion model simulated correctly the triggering time of more than 70% of landslides within an unstable area amounting to 7.3% of the study area. These results support the hypothesis that both vertical and lateral fluxes were responsible for landslide triggering during the Sarno event, and confirm the utility of such models as tools for hazard planning and land management.     

基于Web-GIS构建昆明市地质灾害信息系统

简要介绍基于GIS平台的昆明市地质灾害信息系统的总体结构和功能,并对系统实现过程中几个关键问题进行讨论,为昆明市地质灾害信息的规范化管理以及地质灾害预报提供支撑。     

Characteristics and temporal-spatial distribution of geohazards in western Sichuan

Xinqiao Gully is located in the area of the 2008 Wenchuan M_s 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan province, China. Based on the investigation of the 2023 “6-26” Xinqiao Gully debris flow event, this study assessed the effectiveness of the debris flow control project and evaluated the debris flow hazards. Through field investigation and numerical simulation methods, the indicators of flow intensity reduction rate and storage capacity fullness were proposed to quantify the effectiveness of the engineering measures in the debris flow event. The simulation results show that the debris flow control project reduced the flow intensity by 41.05% to 64.61%. The storage capacity of the dam decreases gradually from upstream to the mouth of the gully, thus effectively intercepting and controlling the debris flow. By evaluating the debris flow of different recurrence intervals, further measures are recommended for managing debris flow events.     

Assessment of suffosion-related hazards in karst areas using GIS technology

This paper describes an application of the geographic information system (GIS) technology to a ground stability assessment in the karst area of Dzerzhinsk, Russia. In the stability analysis, the groundwater level changes in the karst aquifer could cause suffosion sinkholes when the gravitational force was greater than the soil strength. The GIS technology was used to combine various data and to delineate the zones of potential gravitational collapse and suffosion collapse in the area.

A genetic classification of sinkholes illustrated from evaporite paleokarst exposures in Spain

This contribution analyses the processes involved in the generation of sinkholes from the study of paleokarst features exposed in four Spanish Tertiary basins. Bedrock strata are subhorizontal evaporites, and in three of the basins they include halite and glauberite in the subsurface. Our studies suggest that formation of dolines in these areas results from a wider range of subsidence processes than those included in the most recently published sinkhole classifications; a new genetic classification of sinkholes applicable to both carbonate and evaporite karst areas is thus proposed. With the exception of solution dolines, it defines the main sinkhole types by use of two terms that refer to the material affected by downward gravitational movements (cover, bedrock or caprock) and the main type of process involved (collapse, suffosion or sagging). Sinkholes that result from the combination of several subsidence processes and affect more than one type of material are described by combinations of the different terms with the dominant material or process followed by the secondary one (e.g. bedrock sagging and collapse sinkhole). The mechanism of collapse includes any brittle gravitational deformation of cover and bedrock material, such as upward stoping of cavities by roof failure, development of well-defined failure planes and rock brecciation. Suffosion is the downward migration of cover deposits through dissolutional conduits accompanied with ductile settling. Sagging is the ductile flexure of sediments caused by differential corrosional lowering of the rockhead or interstratal karstification of the soluble bedrock. The paleokarsts we analysed suggest that the sagging mechanism (not included in previous genetic classifications) plays an important role in the generation of sinkholes in evaporites. Moreover, collapse processes are more significant in extent and rate in areas underlain by evaporites than in carbonate karst, primarily due to the greater solubility of the evaporites and the lower mechanical strength and ductile rheology of gypsum and salt rocks.     

Development of a 3D GIS and its application to karst areas

There is a growing interest in modeling and analyzing karst phenomena in three dimensions. This paper integrates geology, groundwater hydrology, geographic information system (GIS), database management system (DBMS), visualization and data mining to study karst features in Huaibei, China. The 3D geo-objects retrieved from the karst area are analyzed and mapped into different abstract levels. The spatial relationships among the objects are constructed by a dual-linker. The shapes of the 3D objects and the topological models with attributes are stored and maintained in the DBMS. Spatial analysis was then used to integrate the data in the DBMS and the 3D model to form a virtual reality (VR) to provide analytical functions such as distribution analysis, correlation query, and probability assessment. The research successfully implements 3D modeling and analyses in the karst area, and meanwhile provides an efficient tool for government policy-makers to set out restrictions on water resource development in the area.     

基于GIS和RS的喀斯特流域枯水资源影响因素识别――以贵州省为例

喀斯特流域是由独特的地貌、水系结构及水文动态过程组成的地域综合体。因此,影响喀斯特流域枯水资源的因素复杂多样,除气候等条件外,流域的植被类型、土地利用类型、岩组类型、地貌类型等也是影响喀斯特流域枯水资源的重要因素。本文选取了19个典型喀斯特流域为研究对象,以1991至1995年水文数据和遥感数据为基础,通过实地调查,制定基于GIS和RS为基础的喀斯特流域枯水资源影响因素信息提取方法,提取各个喀斯特流域单元中枯水水资源影响因素,通过关联度分析,得出不同的自然因素对枯水资源的贡献率,即岩组类型因素> 土地利用类型因素> 地貌类型因素> 植被类型因素。在各自然因素中,白云岩、半喀斯特低中山、草地与枯水资源的关系最为密切。      

城市地质环境风险性分区评价GIS软件的设计与实现

本文介绍了研究开发出的基于Microsoft VisualC++6.0平台的城市地质环境风险性分区评价GIS软件,包括该系统软件开发的理论和方法及软件开发的必要性、适应性、基本结构、主要功能、设计思路和实现过程。     

GIS在矿产资源评价中的应用

随着计算机技术的发展，GIS已经运用到了许多行业之中。在地质矿产勘查领域，其应用也开始由科研阶段向生产阶段转化。文章主要介绍GIS概念及其在地质及矿产资源评价中的应用现状、应用途径、应用步骤等，并对其将来的应用前景和发展方向做了评述。