Measurement of rates of surface lowering of limestone in the southern Pennines: an example in the Wye catchment, Derbyshire, UK

Measurement of the differential denudation between chert and limestone in a Carboniferous limestone sequence that was cut during excavations for a railway tunnel (in 1865) has provided a means of assessing limestone dissolution rates in a valley side setting in the southern Pennines over the last ∼150 years. Dissolution rates of 0.031 mm/annum have been determined. This rate falls within the range of previously determined limestone dissolution rates in the UK, which have been described in the context of different methods of measurement and the difference in denudations rates over time.