Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)

Runnels are characteristic erosional features on karstified soluble rocks and can occasionally develop on less soluble rocks (i.e. sandstones and granites) but are poorly reported in Malaysia. This research summarizes boulder distribution, size, petrology and runnel morphology in a Pleistocene post-...

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Main Authors: Dodge-Wan, Dominique, Ramasamy, Nagarajan
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49877
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author Dodge-Wan, Dominique
Ramasamy, Nagarajan
author_facet Dodge-Wan, Dominique
Ramasamy, Nagarajan
author_sort Dodge-Wan, Dominique
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Runnels are characteristic erosional features on karstified soluble rocks and can occasionally develop on less soluble rocks (i.e. sandstones and granites) but are poorly reported in Malaysia. This research summarizes boulder distribution, size, petrology and runnel morphology in a Pleistocene post-glacial mudflow on Mount Kinabalu. The goal is to investigate the runnel formation on granites. Colonization of boulders by cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens and higher plants is observed and related to rock surface meso-scale and micro-scale features. The coarse porphyritic texture of the granite contributes to the fragmentation and mechanical weathering of large K-feldspar crystals in the runnels. The damp runnel micro-environment is preferentially covered with mosses further enhancing weathering and erosion. As runnels deepen, the remnant protruding fins of rock weaken and may break off. The runnels are subaerial pseudokarst features, not the result of dissolution.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2016
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-498772017-09-13T15:41:43Z Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo) Dodge-Wan, Dominique Ramasamy, Nagarajan Runnels are characteristic erosional features on karstified soluble rocks and can occasionally develop on less soluble rocks (i.e. sandstones and granites) but are poorly reported in Malaysia. This research summarizes boulder distribution, size, petrology and runnel morphology in a Pleistocene post-glacial mudflow on Mount Kinabalu. The goal is to investigate the runnel formation on granites. Colonization of boulders by cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens and higher plants is observed and related to rock surface meso-scale and micro-scale features. The coarse porphyritic texture of the granite contributes to the fragmentation and mechanical weathering of large K-feldspar crystals in the runnels. The damp runnel micro-environment is preferentially covered with mosses further enhancing weathering and erosion. As runnels deepen, the remnant protruding fins of rock weaken and may break off. The runnels are subaerial pseudokarst features, not the result of dissolution. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49877 10.1007/s11629-014-3169-z restricted
spellingShingle Dodge-Wan, Dominique
Ramasamy, Nagarajan
Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title_full Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title_fullStr Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title_full_unstemmed Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title_short Runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu (Pinosuk Gravel Formation, Sabah, N Borneo)
title_sort runnel development on granitic boulders on the foothills of mount kinabalu (pinosuk gravel formation, sabah, n borneo)
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49877