| Popis: |
Rock weathering plays important role in landscape formation, especially in carbonate areas. Here, soluble carbonate rocks are being chemically weathered (dissolved) resulting in development of karst landscape. Rock dissolution products are quickly removed from the surface (mostly transported underground), allowing measurements of surface denudation. Northern Velebit National Park and Krka National Park are built from carbonate rocks of different susceptibility to weathering, resulting in their differential weathering and formation of the karst relief. To measure the intensity of rock weathering and the rate of surface denudation, we used two methods: (1) the method of measuring the mass loss of rock tablets exposed to natural environment and (2) direct measurements on exposed surfaces using micro-erosion meter. In rock tablet method we used (a) "standard" limestone tablets and (b) tablets of local rocks, placing the sets of tablets on the surface, but also in the ground, i.e., at the soil-rock contact. Preliminary results show that the intensity of rock weathering measured using rock plates depends on their lithology, but also on local environmental factors. Furthermore, the intensity of denudation measured with a micro- erosion meter is lower than that measured with rock tablets. |
