Theoretical Investigation of the Duration of Karstic Denudation on Bare, Sloping Limestone Surface

Author

Gábor Szunyogh

Files

Publication Date

2005

Publication Title

Acta Carsologica

Volume Number

34

Issue Number

1

Abstract

This paper deals with the question of how the duration of karstic denudation depends on the dip angle, the annual amount of precipitation, the rain intensity, and the prevailing wind direction and speed in case of an initially plane, sloping limestone surface without soil cover. The answer is given by the solution of a differential equation system describing the lowering speed of the rock surface. It turns out that the rate of the denudation does not increase in proportion to the intensity of precipitation and that it can never exceed a maximal value. Furthermore, long, soft rains result in higher annual denudation than short, abundant downpours. With increasing wind-speed the corrosion rate also increases, but above a certain wind speed the dissolution does not become faster. This paper presents numerical examples with diagrams about how these factors affect the expected duration of denudation.

Keywords

Karstic denudation, Lowering speed, Rain intensity, Slope angle, Theoretical model, Wind

Document Type

Article

Language

English and Slovenian

Identifier

K26-00151

Recommended Citation

Szunyogh, Gábor, "Theoretical Investigation of the Duration of Karstic Denudation on Bare, Sloping Limestone Surface" (2005). KIP Articles. 41.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/41