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We are pleased to announce that the latest issue of the journal Surveys in Geophysics features an article on the application of non-invasive research techniques in the identification of karst formations. Among the authors of this article is Dr. Grzegorz Gajek (Department of Geology, Soil Science, and Geoinformation at UMCS).
Pasierb B., Gajek G., Urban J. et al., 2024. Integrated Geophysical and Geomorphological Studies of Caves in Calcarenite Limestones (Jaskinia pod Świecami Cave, Poland). Surv Geophys. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-023-09821-9
The occurrence of subsurface karst caves can cause the development of superficial depressions which, in turn, may pose a construction hazard. Identifying such a substratum requires integrated non-invasive measurement methods. The main objective of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the non-invasive ERT, TLS, and GPR survey techniques in identifying the karst floor and determining the direction of discontinuities around the cave. The paper analyzes the limitations of the methods used in the study of heterogeneous media. These limitations are related to the methodology and measurement conditions, data processing, and interpretation in the context of the resolution and depth range. The study was conducted using the example of the Jaskinia pod Świecami cave, formed in the Sarmatianal calcarenites in Poland. The research confirmed its complex karst-anthropogenic genesis. The cave was formed as a result of the infiltration of rainwater and the dissolution of limestone by groundwater, while the paleokarst forms that are characteristic of it and of the surrounding caves and occur in their vicinity, i.e., narrow ridges called "karst candles", were formed as a result of water circulation during the local permafrost degradation in the middle Pleistocene. However, these forms were modified in the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene, as indicated by ERT images.
Publication list of Institute staff
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