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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Bubble Trail And Folia In Cenote Zapote, Mexico: Petrographic Evidence For Abiotic Precipitation Driven By Co2 Degassing Below The Water Table, Rafael López-Martínez, Fernando Gázquez, José M. Calaforra, Philippe Audra, Jean Y. Bigot, Teresa Pi Puig, Rocío J. Alcántara-Hernández, Ángel Navarro, Philippe Crochet, Liliana Corona Martínez, Raquel Daza Brunet
Bubble Trail And Folia In Cenote Zapote, Mexico: Petrographic Evidence For Abiotic Precipitation Driven By Co2 Degassing Below The Water Table, Rafael López-Martínez, Fernando Gázquez, José M. Calaforra, Philippe Audra, Jean Y. Bigot, Teresa Pi Puig, Rocío J. Alcántara-Hernández, Ángel Navarro, Philippe Crochet, Liliana Corona Martínez, Raquel Daza Brunet
International Journal of Speleology
Folia are speleothems that resemble bells, inverted cups, or bracket fungi, and whose origins are still controversial. Cenote Zapote (an underwater cave) in the Yucatán Peninsula (México), is home to some of the largest folia reported to date. These speleothems are currently growing in an active underwater system, meaning this site offers an excellent opportunity to constrain the different formation models proposed for folia, which have traditionally relied on inactive examples. In Cenote Zapote, folia are closely related to bubble trails and cupolas, suggesting an underwater CO2-degassing process. In thin section, they display a succession of columnar-open and …
Sulfur (34S/32S) Isotope Composition Of Gypsum And Implications For Deep Cave Formation On The Nullarbor Plain, Australia, Matej Lipar, Mateja Ferk, Sonja Lojen, Milo Barham
Sulfur (34S/32S) Isotope Composition Of Gypsum And Implications For Deep Cave Formation On The Nullarbor Plain, Australia, Matej Lipar, Mateja Ferk, Sonja Lojen, Milo Barham
International Journal of Speleology
Large deep caves with little relation to surface topography are distinctive karst features on the Nullarbor Plain of Australia. The presence of gypsum deposits and chemoautotrophic bacteria within the caves have been suggested as evidence for cave formation and (or) enlargement via sulfuric acid speleogenesis. To test this hypothesis, the stable sulfur isotope compositions (δ34S) of both cave gypsum and surface gypsum were measured. Analyses yielded relatively high, positive δ34S values from both cave gypsum and surface gypsum, arguing against gypsum genesis via microbial chemoautotrophy, and more broadly, sulfuric acid speleogenesis. Instead, the gypsum is interpreted …
Anthropogenic Infilling Of A Bermudian Sinkhole And Its Impact On Sedimentation And Benthic Foraminifera In The Adjacent Anchialine Cave Environment, Jacquelyn N. Cresswell, Peter J. Van Hengstum, Thomas M. Iliffe, Bruce E. Williams, Gil Nolan
Anthropogenic Infilling Of A Bermudian Sinkhole And Its Impact On Sedimentation And Benthic Foraminifera In The Adjacent Anchialine Cave Environment, Jacquelyn N. Cresswell, Peter J. Van Hengstum, Thomas M. Iliffe, Bruce E. Williams, Gil Nolan
International Journal of Speleology
In the mid-20th century, an inland brackish pond from Bermuda, known as Eve’s Pond, was filled with marine sediment from an adjacent coastal lagoon. At this time, an eyewitness reported “…sediment billowing out of the Green Bay Cave for days…”, which is a marine-dominated anchialine cave located proximal to the former location of Eve’s Pond (~200 m). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of this infilling event on cave sedimentation and benthic meiofaunal communities, as proxied by the unicellular protists foraminifera that remain preserved in the sediment record. Eight sediment cores were collected from …
Integrated Approach For Sinkhole Evaluation And Evolution Prediction In The Central Ebro Basin (Ne Spain), Oscar Pueyo Anchuela, Andrés Pocoví Juan, Antonio M. Casas Sainz, Javier Gracia Abadias, Carlos L. Liesa Carrera
Integrated Approach For Sinkhole Evaluation And Evolution Prediction In The Central Ebro Basin (Ne Spain), Oscar Pueyo Anchuela, Andrés Pocoví Juan, Antonio M. Casas Sainz, Javier Gracia Abadias, Carlos L. Liesa Carrera
International Journal of Speleology
Evaluation of karst hazards benefits from the integration of different techniques, methodologies and approaches. Each one presents a different signature and is sensitive to certain indicators related to karst hazards. In some cases, detailed analysis permits the evaluation of representativeness either from isolated approaches or by means of integrated analyses. In this study, we present the evaluation of an area with high density of karstic collapses at different evolutionary stages through the integration of surficial, historical, geomorphological and geophysical data in order to finally define the evolutionary model for karst activity development. The obtained dataset permits to identify different steps …
Groundwater Lowering And Stream Incision Rates In The Central Appalachian Mountains Of West Virginia, Usa, Gregory S. Springer, Holly A. Poston, Ben Hardt, Harold D. Rowe
Groundwater Lowering And Stream Incision Rates In The Central Appalachian Mountains Of West Virginia, Usa, Gregory S. Springer, Holly A. Poston, Ben Hardt, Harold D. Rowe
International Journal of Speleology
Surface channel incision rates are of broad geomorphological interest because they set the boundary conditions for landscape change by affecting changes in local relief and hillslope angles. We report groundwater table lowering rates associated with subsurface Buckeye Creek and the surface channel of Spring Creek in southeastern West Virginia, USA. The mountainous watersheds have drainage areas of 14 km2 and 171 km2, respectively. The lowering rates are derived from U/Th-dating of stalagmites and the paleomagnetostratigraphy of clastic sediments in Buckeye Creek Cave. The oldest stalagmites have a minimum age of 0.54 Ma and we use a minimum …
Concentration And Stable Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Co2 In Cave Air Of Postojnska Jama, Slovenia, Magda Mandić, Andrej Mihevc, Albrecht Leis, Ines Krajcar Bronić
Concentration And Stable Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Co2 In Cave Air Of Postojnska Jama, Slovenia, Magda Mandić, Andrej Mihevc, Albrecht Leis, Ines Krajcar Bronić
International Journal of Speleology
Partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and its isotopic composition (δ13CairCO2) were measured in Postojnska jama, Slovenia, at 10 locations inside the cave and outside the cave during a one-year period. At all interior locations the pCO2 was higher and δ13CairCO2 lower than in the outside atmosphere. Strong seasonal fluctuations in both parameters were observed at locations deeper in the cave, which are isolated from the cave air circulation. By using a binary mixing model of two sources of CO2, one of them being the atmospheric CO2 …
2d And 3d Imaging Of The Metamorphic Carbonates At Omalos Plateau/Polje, Crete, Greece By Employing Independent And Joint Inversion On Resistivity And Seismic Data, Hamdan Ali Hamdan Dr, Nikos Economou, Giorgos Kritikakis, Nikos Andronikidis, Emmanuil Manoutsoglou, Antonis Vafidis, Pangratis Pangratis, Georgina Apostolidou
2d And 3d Imaging Of The Metamorphic Carbonates At Omalos Plateau/Polje, Crete, Greece By Employing Independent And Joint Inversion On Resistivity And Seismic Data, Hamdan Ali Hamdan Dr, Nikos Economou, Giorgos Kritikakis, Nikos Andronikidis, Emmanuil Manoutsoglou, Antonis Vafidis, Pangratis Pangratis, Georgina Apostolidou
International Journal of Speleology
A geophysical survey carried out at Omalos plateau in Chania, Western Crete, Greece employed seismic as well as electrical tomography methods in order to image karstic structures and the metamorphic carbonates (Tripali unit and Plattenkalk group) which are covered by post-Mesozoic deposits (terra rossa, clays, sands and gravels). The geoelectrical sections image the metamorphic carbonates which exhibit a highly irregular relief. At the central part of the plateau the thickness of post-Mesozoic deposits (terra rossa, clays, sands and gravels) ranges from 40-130 m. A 3D resistivity image was generated by inverting resistivity data collected on a grid to the south …
Tracer Tests In Karst Hydrogeology And Speleology, Nico Goldscheider, Joe Meiman, Michiel Pronk, Christopher Smart
Tracer Tests In Karst Hydrogeology And Speleology, Nico Goldscheider, Joe Meiman, Michiel Pronk, Christopher Smart
International Journal of Speleology
This article presents an introduction to the fundamentals of tracing techniques and their application in cave and karst environments, illustrated by case studies from the Mammoth Cave, USA, and a small experimental site in Switzerland. The properties and limitations of the most important artificial tracers are discussed, and the available methods of tracer injection, sampling, online monitoring and laboratory analysis are presented. Fully quantitative tracer experiments result in continuous or discrete concentration-time data series, i.e. breakthrough curves, and concomitant discharge data, which make it possible to obtain detailed information about groundwater flow and contaminant transport. Within the frame of speleological …
Hydrogeochemical Processes As Environmental Indicators In Drip Water: Study Of The Cueva Del Agua (Southern Spain), Angel Fernandez-Cortes, Jose Maria Calaforra, Francisco Sánchez-Martos
Hydrogeochemical Processes As Environmental Indicators In Drip Water: Study Of The Cueva Del Agua (Southern Spain), Angel Fernandez-Cortes, Jose Maria Calaforra, Francisco Sánchez-Martos
International Journal of Speleology
Karst caves exhibit a wide range of hydrological and hydrochemical responses to infiltration events, due to their physical heterogeneity in space and dynamic variability over time, and due to non-Gaussian inputs (rain) and outputs (discharge). This paper reviews different approaches of studying seepage water in caves, in order to understand the infiltration regimen in the non-saturated zone of karst areas. As an illustration, we describe a four-year study of the active carbonate-water system in the Cueva del Agua (Granada, southern Spain) that automatically logs the discharge from a stalactite. The results indicate that: (1) the drip water regime is not …
Contribution Of Artificial Galleries To The Knowledge Of Karstic System Behaviour In Addition To Natural Cavern Data, Benjamin Garry, Thibaut Blondel, Christophe Emblanch, Christophe Sudre, Séverine Bilgot, Alain Cavaillou, Daniel Boyer, Michel Auguste
Contribution Of Artificial Galleries To The Knowledge Of Karstic System Behaviour In Addition To Natural Cavern Data, Benjamin Garry, Thibaut Blondel, Christophe Emblanch, Christophe Sudre, Séverine Bilgot, Alain Cavaillou, Daniel Boyer, Michel Auguste
International Journal of Speleology
The study of karstic systems is mainly based on hydrodynamic and hydrochemical data collected at system inlets (rainfall) and outlets (springs). Indeed, some complementary data base coming from speleological and hydrogeological explorations of natural cavities exist. However, they are not completely representative of all the types of flows. These kinds of flow which have a large part in general hydrodynamics of a system are already the result of a structured organization of karst due to complex phenomena of limestone dissolution. Artificial galleries have the advantage to be easily accessible. Moreover, they cut randomly flows which are much less structured or …
Groundwater Contamination In Caves: Four Case Studies In Spain, Monserrat Jiménez-Sánchez, Heather Stoll, Iñaki Vadillo, Manolo López-Chicano, María Domínguez-Cuesta, Wenceslao Martín-Rosales, Mónica Meléndez-Asensio
Groundwater Contamination In Caves: Four Case Studies In Spain, Monserrat Jiménez-Sánchez, Heather Stoll, Iñaki Vadillo, Manolo López-Chicano, María Domínguez-Cuesta, Wenceslao Martín-Rosales, Mónica Meléndez-Asensio
International Journal of Speleology
Groundwater quality was monitored in four Spanish caves using concentrations of nitrate, potassium, phosphorus and in some cases total organic carbon. Three of the caves are located in NW Spain and contain prehistoric cave paintings and hence have special conservation interest. Of these, two are open show caves (Tito Bustillo and Pindal Caves), while the other one (Herrerías Cave) is not managed for tours and is partially closed off to public access. The fourth cave (Las Maravillas Cave) is located in SW Spain and is opened to the public because of its geological features and natural beauty. In this paper, …
Seasonal Variations Of Co2 And 222Rn In A Mediterranean Sinkhole - Spring (Causse D’Aumelas, Se France), Christelle Batiot-Guilhe, Jean-Luc Seidel, Hervé Jourde, Olivier Hébrard, Vincent Bailly-Comte
Seasonal Variations Of Co2 And 222Rn In A Mediterranean Sinkhole - Spring (Causse D’Aumelas, Se France), Christelle Batiot-Guilhe, Jean-Luc Seidel, Hervé Jourde, Olivier Hébrard, Vincent Bailly-Comte
International Journal of Speleology
Carbon dioxide and 222Rn monitoring of the atmosphere of a Mediterranean sink hole - spring (SE France) during two hydrological cycles (from September 2004 to September 2006) showed seasonal variations with very high concentrations during summer (greater than 6% and 20 000 Bq/m3, respectively). Gas dynamics in caves often show seasonal variations. Meteorological parameters (barometric pressure and temperature mainly), cave geometry and fracture networks control exchanges between the cavity and outside atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and 222Rn may have different sources (atmosphere, soil, bedrock, deep gas diffusion, in situ oxidation of organic matter and, in some caves, …
Caves And Speleogenesis At Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen, Stein-Erik Lauritzen
Caves And Speleogenesis At Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen, Stein-Erik Lauritzen
International Journal of Speleology
Blomstrandsøya, at Kongsfjord (78° 57’N), Spitsbergen, is within the high arctic, a completely permafrozen zone. The bedrock consists of Paleozoic marbles and has yielded a surprising amount of karst features. Early phases of hydrothermal, possibly Caledonian, speleogenesis and subsequent Devonian karstification with redbed deposits is well documented. 62 active seacaves, and more than 30 relict karst caves were found in the coastal cliffs and in escarpment faces around the island. All caves have very limited extent; they are either quite short, like most of the active sea caves, or they are soon choked by frozen sediments and ground ice after …
Comparative Estimate Of Resistance To Drought For Selected Karstic Aquifers In Bulgaria, Tatiana Orehova
Comparative Estimate Of Resistance To Drought For Selected Karstic Aquifers In Bulgaria, Tatiana Orehova
International Journal of Speleology
Effective management of water resources requires adequate knowledge of groundwater system including the influence of climate variability and climate change. The drought of 1982-1994 in Bulgaria has led to important decrease of springflow and lowering of water levels. Therefore, groundwater demonstrated its vulnerability to drought. The purpose of this paper is to determine relative resistance of selected aquifers in Bulgaria to a prolonged decrease of recharge to groundwater. The drought resistance indicator has been defined for some karstic aquifers based on the method proposed in report of BRGM. The data from National Hydrogeological Network located in the National Institute of …
Surface Cover Infiltration Index: A Suggested Method To Assess Infiltration Capacity For Intrinsic Vulnerability In Karstic Areas In Absence Of Quantitative Data, Levent Tezcan, Mehmet Ekmekci
Surface Cover Infiltration Index: A Suggested Method To Assess Infiltration Capacity For Intrinsic Vulnerability In Karstic Areas In Absence Of Quantitative Data, Levent Tezcan, Mehmet Ekmekci
International Journal of Speleology
Karst is a hydrogeological environment of importance not only for its water resources potential but also for its scenic and economic potential, thereby increasing the intensity of human impact. The uniqueness of karst in this regard stems from its high sensitivity and vulnerability to imposed pressures and its distinctive response to these pressures. Therefore, a clear definition and formulation of the concept of ‘intrinsic vulnerability’ is essential for the design of vulnerability and/or management criteria of the karstic system as a resource. In this regard, the recharge rate, the amount of water passing through the unsaturated zone into the aquifer, …
Human Impact On Karst: The Example Of Lusaka (Zambia), Jo De Waele, Roberto Follesa
Human Impact On Karst: The Example Of Lusaka (Zambia), Jo De Waele, Roberto Follesa
International Journal of Speleology
Lusaka, the capital of Zambia with over 2,000,000 inhabitants, is built on an extensive plateau composed mainly of schists and dolomitic marbles, constituting a very important aquifer that provides the city with almost half of its drinking water needs. Recent demographic growth, leading to uncontrolled urban expansion, and mismanagement of the water resource and of urban waste has lead, in the past 20 years, to an overexploitation of the aquifer and to a generalised water quality depletion, putting in serious danger the future social and economical development of the capital. This third world city has, for these reasons, become a …
Subsidence Hazards As A Consequence Of Dam, Reservoir And Tunnel Construction, Petar Milanovic
Subsidence Hazards As A Consequence Of Dam, Reservoir And Tunnel Construction, Petar Milanovic
International Journal of Speleology
Considering all man-made structures in karst areas, dams, reservoirs and tunnels are the most vulnerable in relation to induced subsidence and caverns. Reservoirs that are located entirely or partially on karstified rocks covered with unconsolidated sediments are especially subsidence-prone. As a consequence of induced subsidence a number of reservoirs in karst areas failed and were never fully filled. Such subsidence formation is very damaging because the development is unpredictable and practically instantaneous. Reservoirs in karst areas may fail to fill despite an extensive site investigation programs and sealing treatment. Every problem is unique and past experiences are never repeated. This …
Karst Subsidence In South-Central Apulia, Southern Italy, Marco Delle Rose, Mario Parise
Karst Subsidence In South-Central Apulia, Southern Italy, Marco Delle Rose, Mario Parise
International Journal of Speleology
Subsidence in the karst of Apulia (Southern Italy), one of the classical karst areas of Italy, is described in this paper. The carbonate rocks that make up the geological structure of the Apulia region are affected by subsidence, which is of different type and intensity depending upon geological, topographical, and hydrogeological conditions. In particular, we discriminate between inland subsidence and coastal subsidence. Inland subsidence is generally restricted to the presence of individual cavities, either empty or partly or totally filled with deposits produced by dissolution of soluble rocks underground. Locally, such subsidence can cause severe effects on anthropogenic structures above. …
Environmental Vulnerability And Agriculture In The Karstic Domain: Landscape Indicators And Cases In The Atlas Highlands, Morocco, Brahim Akdim, Mohammed Amyay
Environmental Vulnerability And Agriculture In The Karstic Domain: Landscape Indicators And Cases In The Atlas Highlands, Morocco, Brahim Akdim, Mohammed Amyay
International Journal of Speleology
After the brief presentation of the major karstic areas in Morocco, the article focused essentially on the Atlas mountains to investigate the impact of the agriculture on the natural systems equilibrium. Socio-economic changes (demographic pressure, escalation of the landscape use, utilisation of new techniques in water harvesting, etc...) have sometimes fathered mechanisms of degradation. Many indicators seem to reflect these mechanisms. The pedologic indicators, soil erosion, the hydrologic and geomorphic indicators, are apprehended to demonstrate existent correlation between different variables and the often negative impacts of land over-use in the karstic domain of the Middle Atlas.
Impacts Of Agricultural Transformation On The Principal Karstic Regions Of France, Jean Nicod, Jean-Noël Salomon
Impacts Of Agricultural Transformation On The Principal Karstic Regions Of France, Jean Nicod, Jean-Noël Salomon
International Journal of Speleology
The recent extension of intensive agriculture on the karst plateaus has caused different types of impact: soil management, generalised and/or localised pollution. Yet paradoxically rural depopulation can also have negative impacts, which largely depend on the characteristics and the hydrological function of the different karst environments. They are often negative, particularly as far as the water quality is concerned, which is why protection measures are undertaken, either in a defined area for a catchment, or in the framework of regional parks. But this is not always the case, so it is appropriate to analyse the problem of karst pollution as …