Control of tectonic evolution on karstification and karst collapse in the Lianzhou Basin, northwestern Guangdong Province

Objective There is still a lack of systematic understanding of the evolution process of the Lianzhou Basin since the Mesozoic and its response to karstic development. Methods Based on the comprehensive analysis of the latest field geological investigations, hydrogeological drilling, dissolution experiments, and three-dimensional geological modelling, the tectonic evolution stages of the basin can be divided, and the karstification of each stage can be discussed by considering the existing geological data. Results Before the Cretaceous, carbonate rocks with strong dissolution were successively deposited under the rise or fall movement of the crust, which laid a material foundation for karstic development. The Indosinian movement caused vertically multilayered strata to form an E-W-trending structure, and the Yanshanian movement made the straddle-oblique superimposed a NE-SW-trending structure. They controlled the geological structures, spatial distribution, and dissolution behaviors of carbonate strata. And th