Abstract
The KDR (karst development rate) of rocks and their PCR(porosity of carbonate rocks) are common research topics in Jinfo Mountain. The use of traditional carbonate research methods (TCRMs) for karst studies has been shown to be costly and time-consuming. Therefore, this study attempted to find a new, reliable, low-cost, and time-saving method for karst research. The Jinfo Mountain area is a typical carbonate rock area that is suitable for karst research. In this study, many images of rock samples from the Jinfo Mountain were obtained using rock-polarizing microscopes, which provided a good basis for the karst study of Jinfo Mountain. Furthermore, in this study, image analysis technology was used to find the karst development rate of rocks and their porosity. To ensure the accuracy of these research results, we compared the research results obtained using the image analysis techniques with those obtained using TCRM. The comparison showed that the image analysis technology is a feasible research techniques for studying karst in the Jinfo Mountain area. Furthermore, it has good reference significance for other karst study outside the Jinfo Mountain area.