If too much limestone dissolves in an underground cave, it can weaken the structural integrity of the cave and lead to collapse or sinkholes. This process is known as karstification and can occur over a long period of time as water continuously dissolves the limestone rock.
This would usually be caused by the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestones. Dissolution is a chemical weathering process.
I'm not really sure what you had in mind. Given that the cave is in limestone (as the vast majority of them are) there has to be a dimensional limit to the dissolution and erosion processes. The floor is there by default: it is the lowest surface along a passage at that given time in the cave's development.
While a funnel-shaped depression of limestone eroded by rainwater is called a limestone pavement or a doline, a cave is a naturally occurring underground void typically formed through chemical weathering and erosion processes such as the dissolution of limestone by acidic groundwater.
Carbonic acid, formed when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in rainwater, is a key player in the formation of caves. As this acidic water flows through limestone, it dissolves the rock and creates caverns and passageways underground. Over time, these natural processes can result in the creation of elaborate cave systems.
No, a funnel-shaped depression of limestone dissolved by rain is called a sinkhole. A cave is a natural underground void or cavity that is typically larger and more complex in structure than a sinkhole.
Most sinkholes form when mildly acidic water dissolves limestone underground, this forms a limestone cave. A sinkhole occurs when the cave collapses.
A cave?
Yes, caves are formed when carbonic acid, which is created by the reaction of water with carbon dioxide, dissolves underground limestone. Over time, the dissolved limestone is carried away by water, creating large openings and chambers that we call caves.
The opening formed when acid groundwater dissolves limestone is called a karst landscape. This process creates features such as caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers due to the chemical weathering of limestone by acidic water.
An acid cave forms when acidic groundwater dissolves limestone or other carbonate rocks, creating underground voids and passageways. Over time, the acidic water enlarges these cavities and forms unique underground features such as stalactites and stalagmites. Factors like the presence of carbon dioxide in the water contribute to the acidic conditions that lead to cave formation.
Solid limestone may change into a cave when it is dissolved by acidic rainwater or groundwater over long periods of time. The water dissolves the limestone, creating underground voids and passages that eventually form a cave system. Other factors like tectonic activity or volcanic activity can also contribute to cave formation in certain circumstances.
This would usually be caused by the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestones. Dissolution is a chemical weathering process.
Mammoth Cave is a limestone cave system, located in Kentucky, USA. It is a type of karst landscape, characterized by the dissolution of soluble rocks like limestone, resulting in unique underground formations and passageways.
I'm not really sure what you had in mind. Given that the cave is in limestone (as the vast majority of them are) there has to be a dimensional limit to the dissolution and erosion processes. The floor is there by default: it is the lowest surface along a passage at that given time in the cave's development.
Limestone caves are sometimes called solution caves because they are formed through a process called solution weathering. This occurs when water containing carbon dioxide dissolves the limestone rock, creating cave systems over time. The dissolved limestone is carried away in the form of a solution, hence the term "solution cave."
As water flows through a limestone, some of the rock dissolves. This process can lead to the formation of cavities and caves. If a cave becomes too large and unstable to support the overbearing rock, it will collapse, leaving a sink hole at the surface.
It is all thanks to the rock's solubitlity in water, but cave development in any give limestone region is also controlled by the specific geology, hydrology, geomorphology and continued precipitation over 10s or 100s of 1000s of years.