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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Seasonal Temperature Variations Controlling Cave Ventilation Processes In Cueva Larga, Puerto Rico, Rolf Vieten, Amos Winter, Sophie Friederike Warken, Andrea Schrӧder-Ritzrau, Thomas E. Miller, Denis Scholz
Seasonal Temperature Variations Controlling Cave Ventilation Processes In Cueva Larga, Puerto Rico, Rolf Vieten, Amos Winter, Sophie Friederike Warken, Andrea Schrӧder-Ritzrau, Thomas E. Miller, Denis Scholz
International Journal of Speleology
Two years of cave monitoring investigate ventilation processes in Cueva Larga, a tropical cave in Puerto Rico. The cave is 1,440 m long with a large main passage (about 120,000 m3). Cave air pCO2 in the main passage varies seasonally, between 600 ppm in winter and 1,800 ppm in summer. The seasonal variability in cave pCO2 permits the estimation of a cave air exchange time of 36 ± 5 days and a winter ventilation rate of 3,300 ± 1,000 m3/day for the main cave passage. Calculations of virtual temperature and differences between cave and …
Cave Ventilation Is Influenced By Variations In The Co2-Dependent Virtual Temperature, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Penélope Serrano-Ortiz, Francisco Domingo, Andrew S. Kowalski
Cave Ventilation Is Influenced By Variations In The Co2-Dependent Virtual Temperature, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Penélope Serrano-Ortiz, Francisco Domingo, Andrew S. Kowalski
International Journal of Speleology
Dynamics and drivers of ventilation in caves are of growing interest for different fields of science. Accumulated CO2 in caves can be exchanged with the atmosphere, modifying the internal CO2 content, affecting stalagmite growth rates, deteriorating rupestrian paintings or creating new minerals. Current estimates of cave ventilation neglect the role of high CO2 concentrations in determining air density – approximated via the virtual temperature (Tv) –, affecting buoyancy and therefore the release or storage of CO2. Here we try to improve knowledge and understanding of cave ventilation through the use of T …