GeologyRocksLimestone Erosion Rate?
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This varies a lot depending
Fri, 07/17/2009 - 12:29This varies a lot depending on climate, but here's some figures from Enos (1991)
All units are in mm/kyr (m/Myr)
Lowland, Maritime, temperate (i.e NW Europe): 32+/-11
Mountain, Maritime, temperate (Cent. Europe): 102+/-65
Mountain, Maritime, temperate (Mt Ranier): 3000-8000
Mediterranean, high-mountains (Italy, France): 449
The above are general figures. For limestones only, there are also figures for chemical weathering:
Jamaica: 73
Derbyshire: 83
Mendips: 63
Texas: 5
For coastal erosion of limestones:
Red Sea, reef limestones: 1000
Bikini Atoll, beach rock: 300
Aldabra Atoll, reef limestone (intertidal): 500-4000
For a waterfall, I think something along the lines of 100 mm/kyr would be about right. I suspect there are papers on this kind of thing for specific examples, rather than the general paper I referenced above.
Enos, P. (1991) Sedimentary parameters for computer modeling. Bulletin of the Kansas Geological Survey, 1991, 233, 64-99
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Limestone Erosion Rate?
Submitted by Benauld on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 10:41.Does anybody happen to know of a rough average for the erosion of a limestone? I'm thinking of the formation of a gorge, for example, through a limestone escarpment by a waterfall? I'm hoping for an answer in mm/yr or inch/century etc. Something along the lines of Malham Cove, or Niagara Falls, although the latter really doesn't count because of it's protective cap of more resistant rock.
Many Thanks!