The main results of engineering karstology research conducted in Dzerzhinsk, Russia (1952-2002)

For nearly 50 years, a research organization whose activity is connected with the study of engineering karstology problems has functioned in Dzerzhinsk, Nyzhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. The main directions of its work are: Regional karst research. The region studied was mostly the Middle Volga. The special feature of this area is that karst rocks (limestone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite) lay from 10 to 70 m under the surface beneath sand and clays (covered karst). Under these conditions, the karst risk is mainly that of collapses occurring. That risk determines the methods and principles of investigation and antikarst protection. For 50 years karst monitoring has been ongoing in the Dzerzhinsk area. Evaluation of karst risk for construction. This research is based on parameters which characterize the risk and are considered within the framework of a "Karst-Construction" system. For quantitative characteristics of subsystem "Karst" probability-statistical laws of sinkhole formation are mostly used. Studies of the mechanism of the sinkhole development in covered karst. These investigations were based on laboratory tests. An engineering-geological classification of collapses according to the mechanism of its formation was worked out, and some applied engineering and engineering-geological tasks were solved. Investigations in designing antikarst protection. An engineering-geological classification of antikarst actions, modes of karst protection evaluation, and methods of defining the span of a settled collapse under a foundation were worked out. Studies of karstification with the help of geophysical methods. In these studies electromagnetic, precision gravimetry, and seismic techniques were mainly used. As a rule, geophysical investigations are carried out in conjunction with traditional methods (drilling, static sounding, etc.). The development of normative and methodological documents regarding investigation and construction design in karst regions. The researchers of this enterprise took part in the development of 6 normative and 10 methodological documents of federal, departmental and regional value. The results of investigations conducted in specific directions became a base for engineering karstology in Russia as an independent applied science separate from traditional karstology.