Effect of gravity-induced stress on sandstone erosion: physical and numerical modelling

Weathering of sandstone is a widely studied topic by scientists from a number of geological, geomorphological and stone conservation disciplines. This research project is focused on a detailed study of the effect of gravity induced stress on the weathering of natural and artificial sandstone monuments. The fundamental concept – negative feedback between stress and erosion – has been published by us in 2014 in Nature Geoscience journal. A number of issues from this paper, however remain to be resolved. In this research project, elaborate 3D physical and numerical models of both sandstone landforms and man-made monuments (such as the monuments of the ancient town of Petra, Jordan) will be set up. A physically-based model for sandstone degradation will be developed, implemented in the finite element code and used in analyses of various natural and man-made sandstone forms. The effect of load on the erosion rate will be studied experimentally on various natural cemented sandstones. The effect of stress will also be studied on the evolution of open fracture porosity in sandstone aquifers.