The study focuses on developing a fiber-reinforced composite that would exhibit good mechanical properties and climate resistance, and fire safety parameters would surpass commonly used fiber-reinforced polymers. The subject of development is a polysiloxane thermoset matrix reinforced with basalt fibers, which is processed by partial pyrolysis at 650 °C after curing. The heat release rate test showed virtually zero heat released, and the toxicity test showed only a very low amount of carbon monoxide. The flammability test showed no ignition, no radiation, and no glow. Composites for mechanical tests were prepared in three variants differing in the distribution of reinforcement. Due to the intended use of the composite for thin-walled panels or shells of buildings, the mechanical properties were compared in identical tests with fiber cement plates. The flexural strength of the composites was 3 to 10 times, and the impact energy was 10 to 100 times higher than the values measured on fiber cement, depending on the type and orientation of the composite. The flexural strength measured after 240 freeze–thaw conditioning cycles is higher than fiber cement by 1.3 to 2 times. The climate resistance of the composite should be the subject of further development.

The origin of highly permeable flow paths in carbonate-siliciclastic rocks, such as large-aperture fractures in aquifers in the Eastern Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (EBCB), is poorly understood. The karst potential was assessed from the rock carbonate content and the degree of disintegration after leaching in HCl. Surprisingly, dissolution of calcite in EBCB usually did not lead to rock disintegration until calcite > 78%. Instead, porosity increased significantly. High-porosity rock is held together by microns-thick secondary silica cement with a foam-like structure and considerable tensile strength. Three types of conduits occur in the EBCB: (i) bedding-parallel conduits associated with calcite-rich layers, (ii) subvertical fracture swarm conduits that develop on damaged zones of fracture swarms, and (iii) conduits formed by dissolution of calcite veins by groundwater flow. These are ghost-rock karst features where calcite is leached from the rock in the first phase and the residue is washed out by conduits under steep hydraulic gradients in the second phase. Very similar features have been described in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA. Research has shown that fractures with sharp-edged walls that give the impression of an extensional tectonics origin may actually be ghost-rock karst features in which dissolution and piping have played an important role in their enlargement.

Underwater drunken forest: Changes in growth direction and ornamentation in Conularia fragilis Barrande, 1867 (Lower Devonian, Czech Republic)

The Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (BCB) is the most important hydrogeological structure in the Czech Republic, with large sources of groundwater. The origin of high-transmissivity zones is poorly understood in many BCB areas. The doyen of Czech hydrogeology prof. Hynie described some of the largest springs to be of karst origin and he attributed the most permeable areas to facies transition between shallow-water sandstones and deep-water marlstones. In many BCB areas with large springs we can find thin sandstones and siltstones layers with high carbonate content even in stratigraphical levels corresponding with aquifers.Research is focused on Vysoké Mýto and Ustí synclines in BCB, 125 km east of Prague in the Czech Republic. Overall 167 rock samples were taken from borehole cores and rock outcrops in this area, the most from Jizera and Bílá Hora formations. Cores were taken from intervals where: (i) high carbonate content was expected, (ii) conduits and enlarged fractures were observed at outcrops and in wells, (iii) inflows to boreholes were determined by well logging. Calcium carbonate content was determined by calcimetry in cores. Cores were leached in 10 % hydrochloric acid to observe the degree of subsequent disintegration. Polished sections were prepared from selected cores and Ca, Si, Na, K, Al content was automatically mapped by SEM-EDS to visualize the calcium, silica, feldspar and clay mineral distribution in cores.Leaching in hydrochloric acid is an accelerated simulation of natural processes of dissolution by acidic solutions (Kůrková et al. 2019). In many aquifers in BCB there are thin calcite-rich layers with quartz sand which disintegrates after leaching calcite. Leaching of the samples in acid results in the decrease of sample strength, sometimes to their disintegration. Leaching experiments showed that the carbonate content is not the only controlling factor in the karstification process.In sediments with detrital quartz admixture in central or western parts of the BCB the total disintegration mostly occurs between 35-50% CaCO3 content depending on insoluble material content (Kůrková et al. 2020). In contrast, in the eastern part of the BCB, a degree of disintegration above 10% is documented in only 7% of the studied samples. In sediments with diagenetically precipitated cement from marine sponges even calcite content as high as 80% may not be sufficient for material to disintegrate after leaching. Disintegration occurs mainly along fractured zones where rock is heavily fractured.  It seems that the increased content of microcrystalline silica cementy in sandy limestones and calcareous sandstones (spongolites) of the studied area has a fundamental influence on the higher cohesion and resistance of rocks to dissolution. Cause for increased cohesion is the specific spatial distribution of  microcrystalline silica, which bound the quartz grains together or formed a foam-like supporting structure in fine calcite-rich deposits. The research was financially supported by the GA ČR 19-14082S. References:Kůrková I., Bruthans J., Balák F., Slavík M., Schweigstillová J., Bruthansová J., Mikuš P., Grundloch J. (2019): Factors controlling evolution of karst conduits in sandy limestone and calcareous sandstone (Turnov area, Czech Republic). Journal of Hydrology: 574: 1062-1073.