Environmental Management Hazards

Environmental Management Hazards

The Role of Structural Controls in the Formation and Development of Dolines: )A Case Study of the Noakoh Anticline, Kermanshah Province, Iran(

Document Type : Applied Article

Authors
Arezou Cheraghi
Shahram Bahrami
Somayeh Khaleghi
Kazem Nosrati
Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jhsci.2026.416040.941
Abstract
Geological structures such as faults, fractures, and other tectonic lineaments are among the key factors controlling the formation and development of dolines. These structures enhance permeability and intensify dissolution processes in carbonate rocks. The Novakoh anticline is located in the Folded Zagros Belt, Kermanshah Province, which is influenced by the convergence of the Turan and Arabian platforms and is mainly composed of the Asmari-Shahbazan limestone unit. The present study investigates the influence of tectonic structures and topographic slope on the formation and morphometric characteristics of dolines in this area. A total of 36 dolines were analyzed using drone-based mapping, and the parameters of area, depth, elongation ratio, and orientation angle were calculated for each doline. Dolines were divided into two groups based on axis orientation: the first group trends northeast–southwest (52.7%), and the second group trends northwest–southeast (36.1%). Dominant elongation trend of dolines (NE–SW) is closely corresponds to the main trend of lineaments of Noakoh anticline (NE-SW). Comparative analysis indicates that the dolines in the first group have higher mean area (5825 m²), depth (6.91 m), and elongation coefficient (1.69) than those in the second group. In addition, rose diagram analysis revealed that the orientations of lineaments, doline axes, the topographic slopes surrounding the dolines, are predominantly northeast–southwest, indicating the effects of fold axis, fractures orientation and topographic slopes on their formation and morphology.
Keywords
Noakoh Anticline
Azimuth Orientation
Tectonic Structures
Doline Morphometry
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Environmental Management Hazards
Volume 13, Issue 1
Spring 2026
Pages 67-80