Characteristics of red clay creep in karst caves and loss leakage of soil in the karst rocky desertification area of Puding County, Guizhou, China

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences 2011-06, Vol.63 (3), p.543-549
• Main Authors: Yang, Ping, Tang, Yi-Qun, Zhou, Nian-Qing, Wang, Jian-Xiu, She, Tian-Yu, Zhang, Xiao-Hui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biogeosciences; Carbonate rocks; Caves; Clay; Creep tests; Desertification; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environmental science; Environmental Science and Engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Geochemistry; Geology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Karst; Marine and continental quaternary; Natural hazards: prediction, damages, etc; Original Article; Rocks; Soil erosion; Soil surfaces; Soils; Surficial geology; Terrestrial Pollution
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-010-0721-1

The loss of surface soil and water in the karst rocky desertification area of carbonate rock in Chenqi village, Puding County, Guizhou Province was monitored in this study. The results show that the major form of surface soil loss in the area is the loss of soil through underground channels. A creep test of red clay formed by loss through underground channels was conducted. The results of the test show that the creep curve of the red clay samples includes two stages: attenuation creep stage and stable creep stage. The creep law for the red clay samples in the karst cave can be described by Buger’s model. The parameters of Buger’s equation were deduced by fitting the creep curve, which provides the reference for analyzing the surface soil loss leaking through the underground channels.