Abstract
Climate change has led to many catastrophic events. In summer 2022, southern China witnessed a record-breaking heat wave. For example, Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province (China), experienced a 2-month period of extreme hot weather. Rock outcrops exposed to strong solar radiation and high temperatures can experience rapid increase in temperature and repeated thermal cycles, which can affect the fabric and physical/mechanical properties of the rock and threaten the preservation of rock-hewn heritage. China has many examples of carbonate rock-hewn heritage with high historical and artistic value. Most are found in subtropical coastal areas with high heat and humidity, and where they might experience extreme high-intensity heat events in the future. Therefore, to study the impact of heat wave events on such examples of cultural heritage, a realistic heat wave aging test was performed in this study using samples of dolostone freshly quarried from near the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou world heritage site. The nature of deterioration of the dolostone was evaluated using the capillary water absorption coefficient, surface hardness, and splitting tensile strength. The pore system of the dolostone samples was determined using the nitrogen adsorption method. Experimental results showed that the mechanical properties of the dolostone decreased moderately, while the water absorption capacity and porosity (micropores–mesopores) increased, indicating that high-temperature heating affects the physical and mechanical properties of dolostone to a certain extent. On the basis of the rapid rate of global warming and the increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme high-temperature events in China, the influence of thermal cycling on rock-hewn heritage deserves further attention.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Aoki H, Matsukura Y (2007) A new technique for non-destructive field measurement of rock-surface strength: an application of the Equotip hardness tester to weathering studies. Earth Surf Proc Land 32(12):1759–1769. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1492
ASTM c1006/c1006M – 20a. (2020) Standard test method for splitting tensile strength of masonry nits.
Benavente D, Cultrone G, Gómez-Heras M (2008) The combined influence of mineralogical, hygric and thermal properties on the durability of porous building stones. Eur J Mineral 20(4):673–685. https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2008/0020-1850
Bertolin C, Sesana E (2023) Natural hazards affecting cultural heritage: assessment of flood and landslide risk for the 28 existing Norwegian stave churches. Int J Build Pathol Adapt. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-03-2022-0042
BS EN 1925:1999. (1999) Natural stone test methods-determination of water absorption coefficient by capillarity. London: British Standards Institution.
China Meteorological Administration (CMA). (2022) The comprehensive intensity of heatwave events in China has reached the strongest since 1961. https://www.cma.gov.cn/2011xwzx/2011xqxxw/2011xqxyw/202208/t20220817_5038081.html. Accessed 6 Apr 2023. (in Chinese)
China Meteorological Administration Climate Change Centre (CMACCC) (2022) Blue Book on Climate Change in China 2022. Beijing: Science Publishing. P.109. (in Chinese)
Feng D, Li XF, Wang XZ et al (2018) Water adsorption and its impact on the pore structure characteristics of shale clay. Appl Clay Sci 155:126–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.01.017
Frederikse T, Landerer F, Caron L et al (2020) The causes of sea-level rise since 1900. Nature 584:393–397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2591-3
Fu YH (2020) On the geological landscapes heritages and their significances of West Lake and its surrounding area in Hangzhou. Georeview 66(02):475–484
Gogoi T, Alam J, Chatterjee R (2022) Mineralogy and pore structure characterization of Lower Oligocene to Early Miocene formations in parts of Assam-Arakan basin. North East India Curr Sci 123(2):202–213. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v123/i2/202-213
ICOMOS China (2015) Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China. Beijing: Cultural Relics Press. p. 115.
Kou, Y. (2022) Research on asphalt heating in limited space based on asphalt characteristics. Doctoral dissertation. Chang 'an University. https://doi.org/10.26976/d.cnki.gchau.2022.000259.
Lai P, Moulton K, Krevor S (2015) Pore-scale heterogeneity in the mineral distribution and reactive surface area of porous rocks. Chem Geol 411:260–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.07.010
Li, HS. (2011) Character and evaluation method of historical rock deterioration. Doctoral thesis. China University of Geosciences (Beijing). (in Chinese)
Lin Z (1987) The historical characteristics of the development of hangzhou culture in the Southern Song Dynasty. J Hangzhou Normal Univ 03:1–8 (in Chinese)
Lin S, Li H, Huang PC, Duan XY (2022) Characteristics of high temperature, drought circulation situation in summer 2022 in China. J Arid Meteorol 40(05):748–763 (in Chinese)
Lin’an Planning and Nat resources Bureau (LPNB) (2019) List of mines with valid mining licenses in Lin'an District. http://www.linan.gov.cn/art/2019/8/1/art_1229293352_2747465.html.. Accessed 29 Mar 2023. (in Chinese)
Mallapaty S (2022) China’s extreme weather challenges scientists studying it. Nature 609(7929):888. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02954-8
Middel A, Hab K, Brazel AJ et al (2014) Impact of urban form and design on mid-afternoon microclimate in Phoenix Local Climate Zones. Landsc Urban Plan 122:16–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.11.004
Morakar PR, Hiremath CP, Jakati DM (2023) Impact of climate change-induced rainfall on the agriculture pattern of Goa—a geographical perspective. J Clim Change 9(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.3233/JCC230002
Murru DM, Freire-Lista R, Fort MJ et al (2018) Evaluation of post-thermal shock effects in Carrara marble and Santa Caterina di Pittinuri limestone. Constr Build Mater 186:1200–1211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.08.034
Regnet JB, David C, Robion P et al (2019) Microstructures and physical properties in carbonate rocks: a comprehensive review. Mar Pet Geol 103:366–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.02.022
Shehzad K (2023) Extreme flood in Pakistan: Is Pakistan paying the cost of climate change? A short communication. Sci Total Environ 880:162973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162973
Siegesmund S, Ullemeyer K, Weiss T et al (2000) Physical weathering of marbles caused by anisotropic thermal expansion. Int J Earth Sci 89:170–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s005310050324
Siegesmund, S., Durrast. H. (2011) Physical and mechanical properties of rocks. Siegfried Siegesmund, Rolf Snethlage, edited. Stone in Architecture. Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14475-2
Smith BJ, Gomez-Heras M, McCabe S (2008) Understanding the decay of stone-built cultural heritage. Progr Phys Geogr 32(4):439–461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133308098119
Sousa L, Menningen J, López-Doncel R et al (2021) Petrophysical properties of limestones: influence on behaviour under different environmental conditions and applications. Environ Earth Sci 80:814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10064-3
Steiger M, Charola AE, Sterflinger K (2011) Weathering and deterioration. Siegfried Siegesmund, Rolf Snethlage, edited. Stone in Architecture. Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14475-2
Tanaka T, Kawase H, Imada Y et al (2023) Risk-based versus storyline approaches for global warming impact assessment on basin-averaged extreme rainfall: a case study for Typhoon Hagibis in eastern Japan. Environ Res Lett 18:054010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accc24
Thommes M, Cychosz KA (2014) Physical adsorption characterization of nanoporous materials: progress and challenges. Adsorption 20:233–250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-014-9606-z
Thommes M, Kaneko K, Neimark AV et al (2015) Physisorption of gases, with special reference to the evaluation of surface area and pore size distribution (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure Appl Chem 87(9–10):1051–1069. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2014-1117
UNESCO World heritage convention (WHC). World heritage list. (2011a) https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/?search=china&order=country. Accessed 6 Apr 2023.
UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC). (2011b) Map of inscribed property-west lake cultural landscape of Hangzhou. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1334/maps/. Accessed 6 May 2023.
Viles HA, Cutler NA (2012) Global environmental change and the biology of heritage structures. Glob Change Biol 18(8):2406–2418
Wang GW, Chang XC, Yin W et al (2017) Tingting Song a. Impact of diagenesis on reservoir quality and heterogeneity of the Upper Triassic Chang 8 tight oil sandstones in the Zhenjing area, Ordos Basin, China. Marine Petrol Geol 83:84–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2017.03.008
Wang YH, Viles H, Desarnaud J et al (2021) Laboratory simulation of salt weathering under moderate ageing conditions: Implications for the deterioration of sandstone heritage in temperate climates. Earth Surf Proc Land 46(5):1055–1066. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5086
Wei ZW, Yu JQ, Zhang BJ (2018) Investigation report on the conservation status of cave temples and stone carvings in Hangzhou city. Hangzhou Relics Museol 01:2–12 (in Chinese)
Weiss T, Siegesmund S, Kirchner D et al (2004) Insolation weathering and hygric dilatation: two competitive factors in stone degradation. Environ Geol 46:402–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1041-0
Wilhelm K, Viles H, Burke O et al (2016) Surface hardness as a proxy for weathering behaviour of limestone heritage: a case study on dated headstones on the Isle of Portland. UK Environ Earth Sci 75:931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5661-y
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2023) Provisional state of the global climate 2022. https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=22156#.ZCzbhXbP1dh. Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
Wu H, Li L, Lu X (2015) Geological remote sensing interpretation signs in the Xuancheng of Anhui-Lin’an of Zhejiang area. Geol Anhui 25(03):192–196 (in Chinese)
Yang H, Lohmann G, Stepanek C et al (2023) Satellite-observed strong subtropical ocean warming as an early signature of global warming. Commun Earth Earth Environ 4:178. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00839-w
Yu J, Zhang B, Shao P et al (2018) Condition assessment of Grottoes and stone carvings in Zhejiang Province. Stone 325(03):29–36. https://doi.org/10.14030/j.cnki.scaa.2018.0058. (in Chinese)
Zhang H, Wang Q (1998) The classification of grottoes and an analysis of its geoscience features. J Hebei Normal Univ 01:124–128 (in Chinese)
Zheng D (2008) Study on the ecogeographical regional system in China. The Commercial Press, Beijing, p 366
Acknowledgements
We thank Xu Li and Pu Qun, the senior technicians in the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering at Zhejiang University, for their assistance with the laboratory characterization.
Funding
The study was funded by the Postdoctoral Science Preferential Funding of Zhejiang Province, China No. ZJ2022022.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
YW conceived and designed the overall experiments of the study, including the outdoor heatwave aging test and physic-mechanical property evaluation, interpreted the dataset and wrote the manuscript. HZ contributed to collecting the meteorological data and rock properties data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Y., Zhang, H. Preliminary study on the impact of severe heat waves on dolostone weathering: implications for deterioration of carbonate rock-hewn heritage in SE China. Environ Earth Sci 83, 209 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-11519-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-11519-z