Abstract
In Great Britain, gypsum karst is widespread in the Late Permian (Zechstein) gypsum of north-eastern England. Here and offshore, a well-developed palacokarst with large breccia pipes was formed by dissolution of the underlying Permian gypsum. Farther south, around Ripon, the same rocks are still being dissolved, forming an actively evolving phreatic gypsum-maze cave system. This is indicated by the presence of numerous active subsidence hollows and sulphate-rich springs. In the English Midlands, gypsum karst is locally developed in the Triassic deposits south of Derby and Nottingham. Where gypsum is present, its fast rate of dissolution and the collapse of overlying strata lead to difficult civil-engineering and construction conditions; these can be further aggravated by water abstraction. Salt (halite) occurs within British Permian and Triassic strata, and has a long history of exploitation. The main salt fields are in central England and the coastal areas of northwest and northeast England. In central England, saline springs indicate that rapid, active dissolution occurs that can cause subsidence problems. In the past, subsidence was aggravated by shallow mining and the uncontrolled extraction of vast amounts of brine. This has now almost stopped, but there is a legacy of unstable buried salt karst, formed by both natural and induced dissolution. The buried salt karst occurs at depths ranging from about 40 m to 130 m; above these depths, the overlying strata are foundered and brecciated. In the salt areas, construction and development are hampered by both abandoned mines and by natural or induced brine runs, with their associated unstable ground.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ARTHURTON, R.S. and WADGE, A.J., 1981, Geology of the country around Penrith. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain (Sheet 24). HMSO. London.
ARUP GEOTECHNICS, 1990, Review of mining instability in Great Britain, Stafford brine pumping, v.3/vi. Arup Geotechnics for the Department of the Environment.
CALVERT, A.F., 1915, Salt in Cheshire. Spon Ltd, London, 1206 p.
COLLINS, J.F.N., 1971, Salt: a policy for the control of salt extraction in Cheshire. Cheshire C.C.
COOPER, A.H., 1986, Foundered strata and subsidence resulting from the dissolution of Permian gypsum in the Ripon and Bedale areas, North Yorkshire, p. 127–139in G.M. Harwood and D.B. Smith, eds., The English Zechstein and related topics. Geological Society of London, Special Publication, no. 22.
COOPER, A.H., 1988, Subsidence resulting from the dissolution of Permian gypsum in the Ripon area; its relevance to mining and water abstraction, p. 387–390in F.G. Bell, M.G. Culshaw, J.C. Cripps, and M.A. Lovell, eds., Engineering Geology of Underground Movements. Geological Society of London, Engineering Geology Special Publication, No. 5.
COOPER, A.H., 1989, Arborne multispectral scanning of subsidence caused by Permian gypsum dissolution at Ripon, North Yorkshire:Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology (London), v. 22, p. 219–229.
COOPER, A.H., 1995, Subsidence hazards due to the dissolution of Permian gypsum in England: investigation and remediation, p. 23–29in F.B. Beck, ed., Karst Geohazards: engineering and environmental problems in karstterrane. Proceedings of the fifth multidiciplinary conference on sinkholes and the engineering and environmental impacts of karst. Gatlinburg/Tennessee/2–5 April 1995, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 581 p.
COOPER, A.H. and BURGESS, I.C., 1993, Geology of the country around Harrogate. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 62 (England and Wales).
COOPER, A.H. and Saunders, J.M., 1999, Road and bridge construction across gypsum karst in England.In B.F. Beck, A.J. Pettit, and J.G. Herring, Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology of Sinkholes and Karst — 1999. Proceedings of the Seventh Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Harrisburg/Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 10–14, 1999, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 407–411.
EARP, J.R. and TAYLOR, B.J., 1986, Geology of the country around Chester and Winsford. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 109, 119 p.
ELLIOTT, R.E., 1961, The stratigraphy of the Keuper Series in Southern Nottinghamshire:Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, v. 33, p. 197–234.
FORSTER, A., CULSHAW, M.G., and BELL, F.G., 1995, Regional distribution of sulphate in rocks and soils of Britain.In M. Eddleston, S. Walthall, J.C. Cripps, and M.G. Culshaw, Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society, Engineering Geology of Construction, Manchester, September 1992. Engineering Geology Special Publication No 10. Geological Society of London, p. 95–104.
GRIFFITH, A.E., 1991, Tennant’s Ills.:Ground Engineering, v. 21, p. 18–21.
LAMONT-BLACK, J., YOUNGER, P.L., FORTH, R.A., COOPER, A.H., and BONNIFACE, J.P., 1999, Hydrogeological monitoring strategies for investigation subsidence problems potentially attributable to gypsum karstification.In B.F. Beck, A.J. Pettit, and J.G. Herring, Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology of Sinkholes and Karst — 1999. Proceedings of the Seventh Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Harrisburg/ Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 10–14, 1999, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 141–148.
NOTHOLT, A.J.G., and HIGHLEY, D.E. (1973)Salt. Mineral Dossier No. 7, Mineral Resources Consultative Committee, H.M.S.O. London, 36 p.
PATTERSON, D., DAVEY, J.C., COOPER, A.H., and FERRIS, J.K., 1995, The application of microgravity geophysics in a phased investigation of dissolution subsidence at Ripon, Yorkshire:Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology (London), v. 28, p. 83–94.
PAUKŠTYS, B., COOPER, A.H., and ARUSTIENE, J. (1997) Planning for gypsum geohazards in Lithuania and England, p. 127–135in Beck, F.B., and Stephenson, J.B. (eds.)The Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology of Karst Terranes. Proceedings of the Sixth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst Springfield/Missouri/6–9 April 1997, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
POOLE, E.G. and WILLIAMS, B.J., 1981, The Keuper Saliferous Beds of the Droitwich area:Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, no. 81/2, 19 p.
ROGERS, R.C., 1994, To be a gypsum miner. The Pentland Press, Durham, 183 p.
RYDER, P.F. and COOPER, A.H., 1993, A cave system in Permian gypsum at Houtsay Quarry, Newbiggin, Cumbria, England:Cave Science, v. 20, no. 1, p. 23–28.
SHERLOCK, R.L., 1921, Rock-salt and brine. Special reports of the mineral resources of Great Britain, Memoir of the Geological Survey, H.M.S.O. London, 122 p.
SMITH, B., 1918, The Chellaston gypsum breccia in its relation to the gypsum-anhydrite deposits of Britain:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, v. 74, p. 174–203.
SMITH, D.B., 1994, Geology of the country around Sunderland. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, sheet 21 (England and Wales).
THOMSON, A., HINE, P.D., GREIG, J.R., and PEACH, D.W., 1996, Assessment of subsidence arising from gypsum dissolution: Technical Report for the Department of the Environment. Symonds Group Ltd, East Grinstead, 288 p.
THOMSON, M.E., 1978, IGS studies of the geology of the Firth of Forth and its Approaches:Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, no. 77/17.
WALTHAM, A.C., 1989, Ground subsidence. Blackie, Glasgow and London, 202 p.
WILSON, A.A. and EVANS, W.B., 1990, Geology of the country around Blackpool. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 66 (England and Wales), 82 p.
WYNNE, T.T., 1906, Gypsum and its occurrence in the Dove Valley:Transactions of the Institute of Mining Engineers, v. 32, p. 171–192.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cooper, A.H. Environmental problems caused by gypsum karst and salt karst in Great Britain. Carbonates Evaporites 17, 116–120 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03176477
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03176477