Work

Gravimetric Detection of Cave Space and Sinkhole Hazard with Growth Inversion: Valaská Village Case in Karst (Slovakia)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Underground water flow in karst areas and changing water levels due to extreme rain can lead to creation of caverns and sinkhole hazard. Such is the historical experience of the Valaská village in central Slovakia. To better understand the current sinkhole threat in the village, we aim at detecting shallow caverns using microgravimetry. Our broader objective is to examine the capabilities of the Growth inversion methodology to detect and characterize shallow cave space. In our study we focus on the benefits and weak points of the Growth inversion approach, which is a free-geometry inversion method based on model exploration and growing source bodies. Since a sole gravimetric inversion produces ambiguous results, we pay attention to the role and setup of the several free user-adjustable inversion parameters of Growth. We examine tuning these parameters for specific needs of shallow cavities detection. Valaská experienced sinkholes in 1964, 1968 and 2019. That of 1964 is known for a curious loss of a horse sunk into a karst chimney. Our gravimetric work shows that the sinkhole hazard at the exposed lot in Valaská is ongoing despite the taken mitigation construction measures. The Growth approach proved to be applicable and useful in microgravimetric identification of sinkhole threat and detection of shallow caverns in karst.

Source: Geosciences

DOI: 10.3390/geosciences16050179