Rock versus wildfire

Scientists of the Institute of Geology, in collaboration with colleagues of the Faculty of Science, Charles University, completed their study assessing the effects of the 2022 wildfire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park on sandstone cliffs. The newly released article published in the prestigious Catena journal, informs that the fire usually heated the rock surfaces to temperatures not exceeding 310 °C, too low for any substantial mineral transformations but sufficient for a colour change. The most notable effect, still being in progress, is spalling – detachment of superficial rock layers. Based on field measurements in a model area, wasting of over 100 tons of rock could be estimated for the whole park area hit by the fire. The research also opened new themes to be addressed by experimental work in the future.