Hydrodynamic Model of Formation of Karst Voids

Abstract

The physical representation of the dynamic picture of the karst development pursues various objectives, among which, in particular, is to assess the characteristic time scale of their formation. Obviously, this problem is quite complicated because of the many-sidedness of the process of karsting, proceeding with both: general characteristics and local features. In particular, karst voids can have a variety of forms, some of which have some regularity due to similarity with a certain geometric figure. For example, for karst, a funnel-shaped form with a base on the earth's surface is quite common. The effectiveness of the leaching factor is directly dependent on the geological quality of the medium and the duration of the action of the water. It seems that to confirm the uniformity of the mechanism, the action of which leads to the elution of the solid rock, one can turn to the approximation of the hydrodynamic boundary layer arising when flowing over a solid surface. The rate of washing out of solid rock from the karstic cavity depends on the flow of water, which can vary depending on the flow regime. However, we can talk about some average characteristic, if we assume, for example, that the water movement is laminar. it should be noted that the value of the rate of karst leaching used for numerical evaluation is very approximate. it nevertheless seems that with the help of the model we have used, it is possible to obtain more accurate quantitative estimates.