Standard guide for karst collapse investigation and its technical essential

Abstract

Karst collapses are one of the six major geological hazards in China and the unique geological hazard in karst regions. Karst collapse is mainly distributed in southwest, south, and central China. According to incomplete statistics, there are 3315 karst collapse disasters recorded in China, which are distributed in 22 provinces (autonomous regions), such as Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, and Hubei. Due to extreme weather conditions and increasingly intensive engineering activities, karst collapses have occurred more frequently in recent years. These collapses have seriously affected human daily life, urban planning, and engineering construction. In 2012, under the support of the geological survey project, the project of “karst collapse investigation in key areas” was implemented. In order to standardize and guide karst collapse investigation and evaluation on scale of 1:50,000 in China, we developed the “Standard Guide for Karst Collapse Investigation (1:50,000).” This standard stipulates the objective of investigation, survey area classification and basic work, design document compiling, investigation content, technical methods and primary demands of investigation, comprehensive evaluation, database construction, data compilation and achievement establishment, quality control examination, and achievement acceptance metrics. The standard can be applied to karst collapse investigation on scale of 1:50,000 and can be a reference in the investigation and exploration of karst collapses on other scales.