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Klimchouk’S Impact On The Development Of Speleogenetic Models For Castile Evaporites: West Texas And Southeastern New Mexico, Usa, Kevin W. Stafford
Klimchouk’S Impact On The Development Of Speleogenetic Models For Castile Evaporites: West Texas And Southeastern New Mexico, Usa, Kevin W. Stafford
International Journal of Speleology
Due to the pioneering work of Alexander Klimchouk (2007), hypogene karst is now recognized as being complex and extensive throughout Permian strata of the greater Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico (USA). Klimchouk heavily influenced our current understanding of hypogene speleogenesis in the Permian Ochoan Castile Formation where we now recognize diverse hypogene manifestations that include vertically-extensive breccia pipes, laterally-extensive blanket breccias, morphologically-varied caves, diagenetically-altered sulfates, and unique venting structures. Underlying Bell Canyon strata provide the transmissive zone for delivery and removal of solutionally aggressive fluids to the conformably overlying Castile evaporites. Current speleogenetic models indicate that …
Predictive Modeling Of Cave Entrance Locations: Relationships Between Surface And Subsurface Morphology, William Blitch, Adia R. Sovie, Benjamin W. Tobin
Predictive Modeling Of Cave Entrance Locations: Relationships Between Surface And Subsurface Morphology, William Blitch, Adia R. Sovie, Benjamin W. Tobin
International Journal of Speleology
Cave entrances directly connect the surface and subsurface geomorphology in karst landscapes. Understanding the spatial distribution of these features can help identify areas on the landscape that are critical to flow in the karst groundwater system. Sinkholes and springs are major locations of inflow and outflow from the groundwater system, respectively, however not all sinkholes and springs are equally connected to the main conduit system. Predicting where on the landscape zones of high connectivity exist is a challenge because cave entrances are difficult to detect and imperfectly documented. Wildlife research has a similar issue of understanding the complexities of where …
Book Review: De Waele, J., Gutiérrez, F., 2022. Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology And Caves, Augusto S. Auler
Book Review: De Waele, J., Gutiérrez, F., 2022. Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology And Caves, Augusto S. Auler
International Journal of Speleology
No abstract provided.
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 …
Barite Replacement Boxwork In The Frasassi Caves (Italy), Sandro Galdenzi
Barite Replacement Boxwork In The Frasassi Caves (Italy), Sandro Galdenzi
International Journal of Speleology
The Frasassi caves, located in the Sentino River Gorge in Ancona Province (Marche, Italy), contains boxwork in a small zone in the inner part of the cave system where it is closely associated with subaqueous corrosion produced by sulfuric acid speleogenesis. The boxwork consists of barite that replaces calcite spar-filled veins and limestone porosity and projects from the corroded cave walls. The replacement involved only the calcite that protrudes from the rock surfaces, indicating that the process took place in the cave environment, and therefore the boxwork is not simply a product of differential corrosion. I hypothesize that the boxwork …
A Reply To The Comment On “Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species” By Nitzu Et Al. (2018), Int. J. Speleol., 47 (1): 43-52, Eugen I. Nitzu, Ioana N. Meleg, Andrei Giurginca
A Reply To The Comment On “Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species” By Nitzu Et Al. (2018), Int. J. Speleol., 47 (1): 43-52, Eugen I. Nitzu, Ioana N. Meleg, Andrei Giurginca
International Journal of Speleology
No abstract provided.
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 …
Unconfined Hypogene Evaporite Karst: West Texas And Southeastern New Mexico, Usa, Kevin W. Stafford, Jon T. Ehrhart, Adam F. Majzoub, Jessica M. Shields, Wesley A. Brown
Unconfined Hypogene Evaporite Karst: West Texas And Southeastern New Mexico, Usa, Kevin W. Stafford, Jon T. Ehrhart, Adam F. Majzoub, Jessica M. Shields, Wesley A. Brown
International Journal of Speleology
Diverse karst phenomena occur throughout the Gypsum Plain where the Castile Formation crops out over ~1800 km2 in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Hypergene karst is extensive and widespread, while traditional hypogene karst manifestations (both caves and intrastratal dissolution) occur in high frequency in the western outcrop region where surface denudation has been the greatest so as to induce surficial breaching. Unconfined hypogene karst occurrences have been recently identified, including two general variations: 1) artesian-like discharge features; and 2) venting structures. Artesian-like discharge features arise at surficially-breached hypogene caves and through high permeability regions on the margins of …
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 …
Gypsum Speleogenesis: A Hydrogeological Classification Of Gypsum Caves, José-María Calaforra, Fernando Gázquez
Gypsum Speleogenesis: A Hydrogeological Classification Of Gypsum Caves, José-María Calaforra, Fernando Gázquez
International Journal of Speleology
This article reviews the state of the art of speleogenetic investigations in gypsum karsts from numerous studies carried out over the past 50 years in Spain. A classification of gypsum karsts is proposed based on the hydrogeological, tectonic and stratigraphic criteria that decisively control the evolution of gypsum karsts. In this respect, lithological aspects of Messinian and Triassic-Permian gypsum series in south-eastern Spain are considered, such as the alternation of rhythmic levels of marl and gypsum, as well as geodynamic aspects. The influence of the hydrogeological characteristics of evaporite aquifers on gypsum cave speleogenesis is discussed; this includes speleogenetic processes …
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 …
Possible Evaporite Karst In An Interior Layered Deposit In Juventae Chasma, Mars, Davide Baioni, Mario Tramontana
Possible Evaporite Karst In An Interior Layered Deposit In Juventae Chasma, Mars, Davide Baioni, Mario Tramontana
International Journal of Speleology
This paper describes karst landforms observed in an interior layered deposit (ILD) located within Juventae Chasma a trough of the Valles Marineris, a rift system that belongs to the Tharsis region of Mars. The ILD investigated is characterized by spectral signatures of kieserite, an evaporitic mineral present on Earth. A morphologic and morphometric survey of the ILD surface performed on data of the Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) highlighted the presence of depressions of various shapes and sizes. These landforms interpreted as dolines resemble similar karst landforms on Earth and in other regions of Mars. The observed karst …
Genetic Analyses Determine Connectivity Among Cave And Surface Populations Of The Jamaican Endemic Freshwater Crab Sesarma Fossarum In The Cockpit Country, Manuel Stemmer, Christoph D. Schubart
Genetic Analyses Determine Connectivity Among Cave And Surface Populations Of The Jamaican Endemic Freshwater Crab Sesarma Fossarum In The Cockpit Country, Manuel Stemmer, Christoph D. Schubart
International Journal of Speleology
The Jamaican freshwater crab Sesarma fossarum (Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) is endemic to western central Jamaica where it occurs in cave and surface streams of karst regions. In the present study, we examine the population genetic structure of the species, providing evidence for intraspecific differentiation and genetic substructure among twelve sampled populations. Interestingly, crabs from caves appear genetically undistinguishable from representatives of nearby surface waters, despite previously observed and described morphometric differentiation. In contrast, genetic isolation takes place among populations from rivers and caves belonging to different watersheds. In one case, even populations from different tributaries of the same river were …
Longitudinal Profile And Sediment Mobility As Geomorphic Tools To Interpret The History Of A Fluviokarst Stream System, John Woodside, Eric Wade Peterson, Toby Dogwiler
Longitudinal Profile And Sediment Mobility As Geomorphic Tools To Interpret The History Of A Fluviokarst Stream System, John Woodside, Eric Wade Peterson, Toby Dogwiler
International Journal of Speleology
The complex drainage systems within karst settings can result in atypical longitudinal profiles. Features, such as cave entrances, can be expressed as anomalous ‘bumps’ in the longitudinal profile of a stream if downcutting has continued upstream of the area in which the water is pirated to the subsurface. Horn Hollow, a fluviokarst valley located in Carter Caves State Park Resort in northeastern Kentucky, was examined for these types of features. The objectives of this study were to determine if sediment mobility can be used as a proxy for anomalous areas along the profile of the valley and if detailed cross-sections …
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 …
Spatially Dense Drip Hydrological Monitoring And Infiltration Behaviour At The Wellington Caves, South East Australia, Catherine N. Jex, Gregoire Mariethoz, Andy Baker, Peter Graham, Martin S. Andersen, Ian Acworth, Nerilee Edwards, Cecilia Azcurra
Spatially Dense Drip Hydrological Monitoring And Infiltration Behaviour At The Wellington Caves, South East Australia, Catherine N. Jex, Gregoire Mariethoz, Andy Baker, Peter Graham, Martin S. Andersen, Ian Acworth, Nerilee Edwards, Cecilia Azcurra
International Journal of Speleology
Despite the fact that karst regions are recognised as significant groundwater resources, the nature of groundwater flow paths in the unsaturated zone of such fractured rock is at present poorly understood. Many traditional methods for constraining groundwater flow regimes in karst aquifers are focussed on the faster drainage components and are unable to inform on the smaller fracture or matrix-flow components of the system. Caves however, offer a natural inception point to observe both the long term storage and the preferential movement of water through the unsaturated zone of such fractured carbonate rock by monitoring of drip rates of stalactites, …
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 …
A New Karren Feature: Hummocky Karren, Lukas Plan, Christa Renetzeder, Rudolf Pavuza, Wilfried Körner
A New Karren Feature: Hummocky Karren, Lukas Plan, Christa Renetzeder, Rudolf Pavuza, Wilfried Körner
International Journal of Speleology
Karren are small-scale landforms on karst surfaces and many types have been described so far. Here we present an apparently new feature which was found on the Hochschwab karst massive in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria. So far only few outcrops each having less than 1 m² within a very restricted area have been found. Morphometric analysis reveals that the karren consist of a randomly distributed, dispersed assemblage of small hummocks and depressions in between. The mean distance between neighbouring hummocks is 4 to 5 cm and the mean height is 0.85 cm. Longitudinal sections are gently sinuous. The …
A Comparative Integrated Geophysical Study Of Horseshoe Chimney Cave, Colorado Bend State Park, Texas, Wesley A. Brown, Kevin W. Stafford, Mindy Shaw-Faulkner, Andy Grubbs
A Comparative Integrated Geophysical Study Of Horseshoe Chimney Cave, Colorado Bend State Park, Texas, Wesley A. Brown, Kevin W. Stafford, Mindy Shaw-Faulkner, Andy Grubbs
International Journal of Speleology
An integrated geophysical study was performed over a known cave in Colorado Bend State Park (CBSP), Texas, where shallow karst features are common within the Ellenberger Limestone. Geophysical survey such as microgravity, ground penetrating radar (GPR), direct current (DC) resistivity, capacitively coupled (CC) resistivity, induced polarization (IP) and ground conductivity (GC) measurements were performed in an effort to distinguish which geophysical method worked most effectively and efficiently in detecting the presence of subsurface voids, caves and collapsed features. Horseshoe Chimney Cave (HCC), which is part of a larger network of cave systems, provides a good control environment for this research. …
Minerogenetic Mechanisms Occurring In The Cave Environment: An Overview, Bogdan P. Onac, Paolo Forti
Minerogenetic Mechanisms Occurring In The Cave Environment: An Overview, Bogdan P. Onac, Paolo Forti
International Journal of Speleology
Perhaps man’s first motivation to explore caves, beyond using them as shelter, was the search for substances that were not available elsewhere: most of them were minerals. However, for a long time it was believed that the cave environment was not very interesting from the mineralogical point of view. This was due to the fact that most cave deposits are normally composed of a single compound: calcium carbonate. Therefore, the systematic study of cave mineralogy is of only recent origin. However, although only a limited number of natural cavities have been investigated in detail, about 350 cave minerals have already …
The Subterranean Fauna Of A Biodiversity Hotspot Region - Portugal: An Overview And Its Conservation, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira, Paulo A.V. Borges, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur R.M. Serrano, Pedro Oromí
The Subterranean Fauna Of A Biodiversity Hotspot Region - Portugal: An Overview And Its Conservation, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira, Paulo A.V. Borges, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur R.M. Serrano, Pedro Oromí
International Journal of Speleology
An overview of the obligate hypogean fauna in Portugal (including Azores and Madeira archipelagos) is provided, with a list of obligated cave-dwelling species and subspecies, and a general perspective about its conservation. All the available literature on subterranean Biology of Portugal since the first written record in 1870 until today has been revised. A total of 43 troglobiont and 67 stygobiont species and subspecies from 12 orders have been described so far in these areas, included in the so-called Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity. The subterranean fauna in Portugal has been considered moderately poor with some endemic relicts and it remains …
Teaching Resources In Speleology And Karst: A Valuable Educational Tool, Jo De Waele
Teaching Resources In Speleology And Karst: A Valuable Educational Tool, Jo De Waele
International Journal of Speleology
There is a growing need in the speleological community of tools that make teaching of speleology and karst much easier. Despite the existence of a wide range of major academic textbooks, often the caver community has a difficult access to such material. Therefore, to fill this gap, the Italian Speleological Society, under the umbrella of the Union International de Spéléologie, has prepared a set of lectures, in a presentation format, on several topics including geology, physics, chemistry, hydrogeology, mineralogy, palaeontology, biology, microbiology, history, archaeology, artificial caves, documentation, etc. These lectures constitute the “Teaching Resources in Speleology and Karst”, available online. …
Spatial Distribution Of Soda Straws Growth Rates Of The Coufin Cave (Vercors, France), Yves Perrette, Stéphane Jaillet
Spatial Distribution Of Soda Straws Growth Rates Of The Coufin Cave (Vercors, France), Yves Perrette, Stéphane Jaillet
International Journal of Speleology
The Choranche Cave system (Vercors, France) is an excellent locality for measuring the growth rates of large numbers soda straws. This is especially the case for the Coufin Cave, as enlargement of the cave entrance in 1875 led to a change in stalactite color from brown to white, thus providing a reliable chronomarker. The date of this brown-to-white calcite transition has been confirmed by lamina counting. We measured and georeferenced the growth-lengths of 306 soda straws in a 1m2 area of the roof of the Coufin Cave entrance chamber. Because of the very slow and sometimes inexistent water feeding …
Karst Geology And Cave Fauna Of Austria: A Concise Review, Erhard Christian, Christoph Spötl
Karst Geology And Cave Fauna Of Austria: A Concise Review, Erhard Christian, Christoph Spötl
International Journal of Speleology
The state of cave research in Austria is outlined from the geological and zoological perspective. Geologic sections include the setting of karst regions, tectonic and palaeoclimatic control on karst, modern cave environments, and karst hydrology. A chapter on the development of Austrian biospeleology in the 20th century is followed by a survey of terrestrial underground habitats, biogeographic remarks, and an annotated selection of subterranean invertebrates.
Productivity-Diversity Relationships From Chemolithoautotrophically Based Sulfidic Karst Systems, Megan L. Porter, Annette Summers Engel, Thomas C. Kane, Brian K. Kinkle
Productivity-Diversity Relationships From Chemolithoautotrophically Based Sulfidic Karst Systems, Megan L. Porter, Annette Summers Engel, Thomas C. Kane, Brian K. Kinkle
International Journal of Speleology
Although ecosystems thriving in the absence of photosynthetic processes are no longer considered unique phenomena, we have yet to understand how these ecosystems are energetically sustained via chemosynthesis. Ecosystem energetics were measured in microbial mats from active sulfidic caves (Movile Cave, Romania; Frasassi Caves, Italy; Lower Kane Cave, Wyoming, USA; and Cesspool Cave, Virginia, USA) using radiotracer techniques. We also estimated bacterial diversity using 16S rRNA sequences to relate the productivity measurements to the composition of the microbial communities. All of the microbial communities investigated were dominated by chemolithoautotrophic productivity, with the highest rates from Movile Cave at 281 g …
Annual And Transient Signatures Of Gas Exchange And Transport In The Castañar De Ibor Cave (Spain), Angel Fernandez-Cortes, Sergio Sanchez-Moral, Soledad Cuezva, Juan Carlos Cañaveras, Rafael Abella
Annual And Transient Signatures Of Gas Exchange And Transport In The Castañar De Ibor Cave (Spain), Angel Fernandez-Cortes, Sergio Sanchez-Moral, Soledad Cuezva, Juan Carlos Cañaveras, Rafael Abella
International Journal of Speleology
The large microclimatic stability is a basic characteristic of the subterranean karst systems and causes a high sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions. High-accuracy monitoring of Castañar de Ibor cave (Spain) determined the temporal evolution of the aerodynamic processes and ventilation rate by tracking CO2 and 222Rn levels over a twelve-month period. This cave is characterized by a very stable microclimate, with high and relatively constant radon content (the mean value is 32200 Bq/m3, roughly, and the standard deviation is 7600 Bq/m3) and a moderate and quite stable CO2 concentration (the mean value is …
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, …