Simulation of Climatic Conditions within the Caves Through a Controlled Laboratory Environment to Estimate the Annual Dissolution Rate of Karstic Shapes Inside Katale Khor and Saholan Caves

Aims & Backgrounds: Katlekhour Cave near Garmab (Zanjan) and Saholan Cave in southeast Mahabad, two Iranian tourist caves, attract a large number of tourists annually. Indiscriminate entry and higher number of tourists into the fragile and sensitive environment of the caves increase the concentration of carbon dioxide and disturb the chemical equilibrium inside the cave and it also has devastating effects, like erosion and corrosion, on Karst forms inside the cave. Therefore, this paper attempts to investigate the annual dissolution rate of cave forms by simulating and reconstructing climatic conditions inside a controlled laboratory environment.  Methodology: To achieve the objectives of the study, data on temperature, relative humidity and CO2 content within the caves in question during two 15-day periods in February due to low number of tourists and April due to high tourist presence inside the caves were collected using triple tool of temperature, humidity, and Co2 gauge model (AZ 77535). Next, by simulating the same conditions in a controlled laboratory environment, the amount of annual dissolution of the forms inside the caves was calculated using weighting method. Findings: The amount of dissolution and scaling of forms is 0.9445 g / year for Katlekhour and 2.20 g / year for Saholan Cave. Of this amount, 0.7661 g is 81.12% of total dissolution for Katlekhour Cave and 1.6991 g is 84.45% for Saholan Cave are attributed to tourists’ presence. Conclusion: Maximum presence of tourists in Katlekhour and Saholan Caves caused the micro-climates in which the increased level of the concentration of de-carbohydrate increases the temperature of cave and decreases the moisture. As a result of these changes, the formation process of karstic shapes within the caves is disrupted, resulting in the destruction and shattering of the forms.