Controls of Dolomitization on Matrix Porosity and its Effect on Cave Passage Development

Carbonate dissolution has been the focus of a wide range of research, including landscape evolution, erosion of architectural features, reservoir development, carbon-dioxide sequestration, and the global carbon cycle. Due to the lower reactivity of dolomite, challenges that accompany the quantification of dolomite reaction kinetics in traditional low-temperature experiments persist. Therefore, our understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms of dolomite dissolution remains limited compared to the more common and more reactive carbonate minerals, calcite and aragonite. This is especially true for studies of karst development and speleogenesis involving dolomite host rocks. Our objective is to determine how dolomitization governs the physicochemical properties of dolomites, which in turn control their susceptibility to cave passage formation. We apply a novel combination of advanced geochemical techniques with experimental dissolution studies and numerical simulation to explain karstification processes in dolomites.

This project is funded by the Seed Grant Program of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute and is a collaboration with Dr. Ben Tobin and Dr. Ben Tutolo.