Statistical Analysis of Karst Geometry

@inproceedings{Vuilleumier2012a,
 abstract = { Static methods to stochastically simulate karstic networks require new quantitative parameters to take into account the global network architecture related to its speleogenesis. According to the widely-used classification of Palmer, six specific cave patterns can be discriminated and are mainly linked to the type of recharge and the initial aquifer permeability. These factors determine the type of connectivity of the network (dendritic or anastomotic) and the distribution of passage orientations (rectilinear/angular or curvilinear). To introduce this knowledge in stochastic simulators, this paper presents the different morphometric parameters we have chosen to test on real cave survey data.
The connectivity degree of a network is assessed through Howard parameters. Considering the system as a graph, Howard parameters are computed from the number of external nodes, internal nodes and cycles. To gain insight on passage orientation distribution, conduit directions are plotted by means of stereographic projections. The tortuosity of the segments, given by the ratio between Euclidean and curvilinear distance between two nodes, is also computed.
This paper presents the results of the computation of the aforementioned parameters on six 2D networks of Palmer's classification and twenty actual 3D karst network representations. Their relevance for the systematic classification of karst systems is discussed. },
 author = { Vuilleumier, Cecile AND Collon, Pauline },
 booktitle = { Proc. 32nd Gocad Meeting, Nancy, France },
 month = { "sep" },
 title = { Statistical Analysis of Karst Geometry },
 year = { 2012 }
}