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Carbonate Cave Aquifer: Karst Conduit Evolution (2D)

2D karst-speleogenesis lab: a cubic-law fracture-flow network coupled to first-order calcite dissolution kinetics grows real conduit apertures node by node, until one fracture path preferentially widens into a breakthrough trunk conduit.

Geology & Earth Science2DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion replaces a decorative particle-and-hotspot animation with the real mechanism behind karst cave formation: a cubic-law fracture-flow network solved as a resistor mesh every frame, coupled to first-order calcite-dissolution kinetics that grow each fracture's aperture based on how much undersaturated water actually reaches it. Acidity, hydraulic head and initial fracture heterogeneity all feed directly into the same equations that decide which fracture — if any — wins the competition and widens into a breakthrough trunk conduit, so the emergent, sometimes counter-intuitive behaviour of karst aquifers (a widening conduit that barely moves total spring discharge until the whole path connects) is something you watch happen rather than take on faith.

⚙ Under the hood

A 9×5 lattice of limestone fractures between a recharge surface and a spring outlet. Flow follows the cubic law (conductance ∝ aperture³) and is solved as a resistor-mesh network via Gauss-Seidel relaxation on hydraulic head every frame. Water enters undersaturated and approaches the acidity-set calcite equilibrium concentration along each path with first-order kinetics, where residence time equals fracture length over local flow velocity — so the amount dissolved directly grows that fracture's aperture, reinforcing whichever path started slightly ahead. Verified numerically: the widest fracture grows roughly exponentially once flow concentrates into it, while total spring discharge stays comparatively flat until the whole path from recharge to spring has enlarged — the real, throttled behaviour of a developing karst conduit network, not a scripted animation.

karstspeleogenesiscubic lawcalcite dissolutionfracture flow networkreactive transport

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install