Hypogenic karst beneath the Athabasca Oil Sands: Implications for oil sands mining operations

Salt dissolution tectonism and origin of lacustrine carbonate beds: Mn‐Fe‐calcite and Mn‐siderite micro‐spherulite fabrics of the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation, Athabasca Oil Sands deposit, western Canada

“…The morphogenesis of poikilotopic calcite‐cemented sand intervals and the three lacustrine carbonate beds characterised by micro‐spherulite facies is interpreted to have been responsive to the ascent of Ca‐bicarbonate‐saturated formation waters that emanated from the dissolution trends in underlying Devonian strata. These flows of Devonian formation water up‐section emanated from Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous karstic carbonate dissolution trends and were linked to Cordilleran deformation of the Alberta Basin foreland (Baniak & Kingsmith, 2018; Broughton, 2015; Chateâu et al, 2019; Hein et al, 2013; Longstaffe et al, 1992; Machel et al, 2012; Walker et al, 2017). Measurements of δ 18 O stable isotopes of pore water and calcite and dolomite minerals associated with Palaeozoic carbonate strata of the central‐western Alberta Basin to the south‐west of the study area indicate that carbonate‐evaporite karstification processes sourced these bicarbonate‐saturated solutions.…”

A Hypogene Karst Development Pattern Controlled by the Deep-Cycle of Groundwater in the Syncline in Huanjiang, Guangxi, China

“…A large number of hypogene karst caves have been discovered around the world in the last 20 years (e.g., in Eastern Europe, western Ukraine, central Italy, the Middle East, New Mexico, Tennessee, Australia). Phenomena that could not be explained by epigenic karst in the past are now well explained by hypogene karst [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Therefore, it has to be admitted that our understanding of hypogene karst morphology and theory is more widespread and profound than before.…”