Evaporite karst processes, landforms, and environmental problems

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Publication Date

4-5-2007

Publication Title

Environmental Geology

Volume Number

53

Abstract

Evaporite karst is widespread, but relatively unknown when compared with carbonate karst; this special issue addresses that lack of familiarity. Evaporite rocks have much higher solubilities and faster dissolution rates than carbonate rocks, and they also commonly have lower mechanical strengths and more ductile rheologies. Many of these factors are dependent on the local hydrogeology, and when combined they can result in areas where karst features evolve on a human time scale, rather than a geological time scale. Karst collapse and subsidence are common in such areas, making them problematical for the local population. The evaporite karst environment is very sensitive to changes in the local hydrology and hydrogeology, so that human factors such as groundwater extraction, drainage, and irrigation can act as triggering factors to collapse events. Some evaporite karst features such as caves and saline springs have been beneficially exploited, but most of them, including sinkholes, subsidence, and water degradation, pose a threat to the local environment and a hazard to development.

Keywords

Evaporites, Karst, Hydrogeology, Sinkholes, Environmental geology

Document Type

Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0715-9

Language

English

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