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Full-Text Articles in Speleology

Flow Regime Evolution Of A Major Cave System In The Eastern Alps (Hirlatzhöhle, Dachstein), Lukas Plan, Gottfried Buchegger, Eva Kaminsky, Gabriella Koltai, Tanguy Racine, Jacek Szczygieł Oct 2022

Flow Regime Evolution Of A Major Cave System In The Eastern Alps (Hirlatzhöhle, Dachstein), Lukas Plan, Gottfried Buchegger, Eva Kaminsky, Gabriella Koltai, Tanguy Racine, Jacek Szczygieł

International Journal of Speleology

The 116 km-long and 1560 m-deep Hirlatzhöhle is one of the major cave systems in the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA; Austria). It is located in the NW part of the Dachstein, an extensive karst massif encompassing 576 km² with its highest point at 2995 m a.s.l. In contrast to most other caves in the NCA, Hirlatzhöhle comprises old (epi)phreatic passages located up to 1 km above the base level as well as two modern major drainage systems. The aim of this study is to define the palaeo- and the active flow conditions in combination with speleogenesis, and the age of …


Comparing Capabilities Of Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1 And The Microbial Community Of Iron Caves To Reduce Fe(Iii), Aaron Douglas Pham Jan 2021

Comparing Capabilities Of Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1 And The Microbial Community Of Iron Caves To Reduce Fe(Iii), Aaron Douglas Pham

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Caves are generally formed by the erosion and/or dissolution of rock and its subsequent removal by water. Iron ore caves (IOCs) form despite being hosted by relatively insoluble and weathering-resistant rock. Due to the discovery of a microbial community behind the walls of these caves, it was hypothesized that these bacteria could be responsible for speleogenesis. Iron ore exists in an oxidized (Fe(III)) state, but reduced (Fe(II)) form is soluble. It was further reasoned that the bacteria might be able to reduce Fe(III) through direct metabolic activity, which uses iron as an electron acceptor. Here we show that cave microorganisms …


Comparison Of Fe(Iii) Reduction Rates By Iron-Reducing Bacteria Within Sub Muros Samples From Quadrilátero Ferrífero Iron-Ore Caves, Brazil, Summer Ellis Jan 2020

Comparison Of Fe(Iii) Reduction Rates By Iron-Reducing Bacteria Within Sub Muros Samples From Quadrilátero Ferrífero Iron-Ore Caves, Brazil, Summer Ellis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Previous research investigating the speleogenesis of iron-ore caves (IOC) in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, or “Iron Quadrangle,” of Brazil suggests that microbial iron reduction and subsequent dissolution of the surrounding Fe(III) rich rocks is responsible for cave formation. A soft intra-wall substance (sub muros) containing iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB) was discovered underneath the durable crusts of cave walls. The goal of the study was to determine if reduction rates were comparable between sub muros samples, while additionally observing how different electron donors affect microbial iron reduction. To do this, I compared Fe(III) reduction rates between sub muros samples collected from …


Influence Of Spring Flow Reversals On Cave Dissolution In A Telogenetic Karst Aquifer, Mammoth Cave, Ky, Chelsey Kipper Oct 2019

Influence Of Spring Flow Reversals On Cave Dissolution In A Telogenetic Karst Aquifer, Mammoth Cave, Ky, Chelsey Kipper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An often overlooked connection between karst groundwater systems and surface water is spring flow reversal, the flow of river water into karst springs caused by changes in hydraulic gradient. Karst aquifers are subject to the intrusion of river water when the hydraulic head of a base level river is higher than the hydraulic head of a base level spring. When this occurs, the flow out of the spring reverses, allowing river water to enter base level conduits. River water thus becomes a source of recharge into karst basins, transporting both valuable nutrients and harmful contaminants into karst aquifers. The rapid …


Gypsum Karst Speleogenesis In Barber County, Kansas Of The Permian Blaine Formation, Kaitlyn Gauvey Jan 2019

Gypsum Karst Speleogenesis In Barber County, Kansas Of The Permian Blaine Formation, Kaitlyn Gauvey

Master's Theses

Field reconnaissance examining the Permian Blaine Formation and the karst features within those rocks were conducted on two ranches in Barber County, Kansas. Karst features are developed dominantly in gypsum and include caves, sinkholes, losing streams, springs, and other surficial karst features. The Blaine Formation is known as a significant karst unit and major aquifer system in Oklahoma; however, little work has been conducted in Kansas. This study identifies the processes that lead to karst development in the Blaine Formation in Kansas and represents the first stage of a karst study to develop predictive karst models. This survey of caves …


Speleogenetic Evolution And Geological Remote Sensing Of The Gypsum Plain, Eddy County, New Mexico, Jessica Shields May 2018

Speleogenetic Evolution And Geological Remote Sensing Of The Gypsum Plain, Eddy County, New Mexico, Jessica Shields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Permian evaporites of the Gypsum Plain region of the Delaware Basin host extensive karst phenomena, as well as unique diagenetic alterations of host strata. Because of the complex, poorly understood hydrogeologic system, little has been established concerning the relation and evolution of the overprinted, modern and ancient karst manifestations within the Gypsum Plain, as a whole. Through a combination of traditional field studies and the development of improved remote sensing methodologies, this study established the speleogenetic evolution of the Gypsum Plain in relation to the greater tectonic, stratigraphic, hydrogeologic and climatic history of the Delaware Basin. Emphasis was focused on …


Genesis Of Schlottenkarren On The Avon Peninsula Of Nova Scotia (Canada) With Implications For The Geochronology Of Evaporite Karsts And Caves Of Atlantic Canada, Max Moseley Jun 2017

Genesis Of Schlottenkarren On The Avon Peninsula Of Nova Scotia (Canada) With Implications For The Geochronology Of Evaporite Karsts And Caves Of Atlantic Canada, Max Moseley

International Journal of Speleology

Exposed schlottenkarren karst terrains developed on gypsum-anhydrite evaporites in the Canadian Maritime provinces might be post-Glacial landscape features (formed on glacially-denuded rocks after they are uncovered by progressive erosion of overlying glacial tills) or exhumed pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) morphologies (filled with glacial till and revealed by erosion of the tills). In this paper the hydrological conditions necessary for the formation of schlottenkarren, the speleogenetic processes involved and their chronology are reconsidered and reinterpreted. It is proposed that they are essentially pre-LGM features which have survived from the Wisconsinan. It is concluded that the degree of glacial scouring and denudation …


Timing Of Speleogenesis Of Las Karmidas Cave (Mexico): First Description Of Pseudokarst Developed In Ignimbrite, María Del Pilar Aliaga-Campuzano, Rafael López-Martínez, Pablo Dávila-Harris, Ramón Espinasa-Pereña, Adriana Espino Del Castillo, J.P. Bernal Apr 2017

Timing Of Speleogenesis Of Las Karmidas Cave (Mexico): First Description Of Pseudokarst Developed In Ignimbrite, María Del Pilar Aliaga-Campuzano, Rafael López-Martínez, Pablo Dávila-Harris, Ramón Espinasa-Pereña, Adriana Espino Del Castillo, J.P. Bernal

International Journal of Speleology

Las Karmidas Cave (Puebla State, Mexico) is an unusual type of pseudokarstic cavity generated by piping and erosive processes within the contact of a diamicton and an overlying Quaternary ignimbrite. Morphological evidence suggests that the cave was developed in two stages: a phreatic stage and a vadose stage. The latter was characterized by the formation of carbonate speleothems. The absolute upper-age limit for the cave (168 +7.1/-7.5 ka) was established by U-Th dating of zircons grains extracted from the overlying ignimbrite, whilst a minimum age for the transition from a phreatic to vadose regime (95.6 ± 2.1 ka) was constrained …


Speleogenesis And Delineation Of Megaporosity And Karst Geohazards Through Geologic Cave Mapping And Lidar Analyses Associated With Infrastructure In Culberson County, Texas, Jon T. Ehrhart Dec 2016

Speleogenesis And Delineation Of Megaporosity And Karst Geohazards Through Geologic Cave Mapping And Lidar Analyses Associated With Infrastructure In Culberson County, Texas, Jon T. Ehrhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gypsum Plain region of the Delaware Basin hosts approximately 1800 km2 of the Castile Formation outcrop. A myriad of karstic developments from closed sinkholes to large multi-kilometer cave systems have been documented within the region. Karst studies on the distribution and speleogenetic evolution within Castile strata began within the last decade with ever increasing data resolution. In this study, a combination of both physical field surveys and analyses of high resolution (~30 cm accuracy) LiDAR data was used to create a theoretical model for karst development across the region. This idealized model considers speleogenetic formation type variations (hypogene …