Speleology Commons^™

Full Issue 49(2)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Proceedings For Conservation Of Fragile Karst Resources, Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, The George Wright Society, Mammoth Cave National Park

Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources Proceedings

A Workshop on Sustainability and Community in support of UNESCO science programs August 18-20, 2020

Speleothems In Quartz-Sandstone Caves Of Ponta Grossa Municipality, Campos Gerais Region, Paraná State, Southern Brazil, Henrique S. Pontes, Luiz A. Fernandes, Mário S. De Melo, Gilson B. Guimarães, Laís L. Massuqueto

International Journal of Speleology

The present communication characterizes and discusses the genesis of cave speleothems developed in Furnas Formation (Silurian-Devonian) and Vila Velha sub-unit (Campo Mourão Formation, Upper Carboniferous) quartz-sandstones, in southern Brazil. The research, which involved stratigraphic and petrographic studies, was conducted to identify the faciological context of occurrence of these features, and to determine, through different analytical methods, their mineralogical composition and porosity, and also the action of microbial markers on the genesis of these secondary mineral deposits. The speleothems were classified into six types based on form, composition and genesis: (1) arborescent (coral), (2) mushroom-shaped, (3) stalactitic, (4) stalagmitic, (5) columnar …

Characterization Of Surface Karst Using Lidar And Field Traverses, Fort Hood Military Installation, Coryell County, Texas, Heather Jaclyn Dailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Fort Hood Military Installation is a karst landscape that has been significantly altered for training exercises that include heavy vehicle maneuvers and simulated combat. Traditional karst surveys are often time-consuming and require extensive field analyses to adequately characterize large areas. Bias is given to areas that are most easily accessible and false negatives are common. Previous studies conducted in the eastern and western portion of the base have understated the abundance and spatial distribution of karst, particularly in the western portion.

This study used field traverses and 0.5-meter Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to characterize surface karst depressions, …

Full Issue 49(1)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Cave Airflow Mechanism Of A Crevice-Type Cave: A Case Study From Czechia, Martin Kašing, Jan Lenart

International Journal of Speleology

At present, crevice-type caves are investigated mainly by means of geomorphic and geophysical methods. Microclimatic research of this type of caves is underrepresented and is often limited to temperature and humidity measurement only. Yet, microclimatic research of such caves can significantly help in the management and conservation of caves, speleological exploration or analysis of speleothems. Being the first ever research of ventilation within a crevice-type cave, a complex analysis of cave ventilation was performed within the Velká Ondrášova Cave, a crevice-type cave in the Outer Western Carpathians, Czechia. Long-term temperature recording, airflow tracing within the cave, and a total of …

Mammoth Onyx Cave - Relating To (Sc 3504), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3504. Letter, 15 August 1922, of Charles A. Richardson, Assistant Geologist, Kentucky Geological Survey, to Dr. Harry B. Thomas, Horse Cave, Kentucky, regarding his recent study of the formations in Mammoth Onyx Cave, then owned by Thomas. He remarks on the “abundance of Mexican Onyx, or Onyx Marble” and the beauty of the stalactites and stalagmites. Includes a pamphlet by Leon Foster with his impressions of the cave, which was opened to the public in 1922.

Uncertainties Associated With The Use Of Erosional Cave Scallop Lengths To Calculate Stream Discharges, Gregory S. Springer, Andrew Hall

International Journal of Speleology

Scallops are extremely valuable indicators of past water flows in caves because they often record events that cannot be safely witnessed nor measured. Qualitatively, the inverse relationship between their lengths and formative water velocities is useful for determining how flow changes along a cave passage, but they are most valuable because they can be used to directly estimate actual water velocities and discharges. We explore the effects of sample size, measurement choices, and other methods commonly applied to the use of cave scallops in estimating cave stream velocities and discharges. We measured 100 scallops on a cave wall and find …

Active Growth Of Non-Hydrothermal Subaqueous And Subaerial Barite (Baso4) Speleothems In Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, Usa), Max Wisshak, Hazel A. Barton, Katey E. Bender, Harvey R. Duchene

International Journal of Speleology

Barite (BaSO₄) speleothems have been reported from caves around the globe and interpreted to have chiefly formed in phreatic, hypogene, hydrothermal settings. Here we report two contrasting types of barite speleothems (bluish tabular crystals in a shallow pool and actively dripping greenish stalactites), which today form at lower temperatures in the non-hydrothermal and vadose environment of Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico, USA. Scanning electron microscopy analysis, along with energy- and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, WDS), as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), characterize the habit and chemical composition as barite. Fractionation of the minor element calcium is related to growth …

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 …

Mattes J., 2019. Wissenskulturen Des Subterranen. Vermittler Im Spannungsfeld Zwischen Wissenschaft Und Öffentlichkeit. Ein Biographisches Lexikon. [The Culture Of Subterranean Knowledge. Mediators In The Field Of Tension Between Science And Public. A Biographical Lexicon], Monika Schöner

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

The Lampenflora In Show Caves And Its Treatment: An Emerging Ecological Problem, Carlos Baquedano Estévez, Luis Moreno Merino, Almudena De La Losa Román, Juan J. Durán Valsero

International Journal of Speleology

The artificial lighting of caves adapted for touristic visits, leads to the appearance and propagation of a complex community of phototrophic organisms known as “lampenflora”. Formed mainly by algae and cyanobacteria, they produce the degradation of the colonized substrates and decrease the show value of the caves. This phenomenon became famous worldwide in the 1960s due to the damage caused to the paintings in the Lascaux Cave (France). Since then it has become an issue of serious concern to both managers of show caves and to the international scientific community. Over time, the problem has been approached following two complementary …

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 …

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 …

Petrography And Provenance Of Floor Sediments From The Loutra Almopias Cave (Pella, Macedonia, Greece), Ioannis Georgiadis, Katerina Chatzopoulou, Nikolaos Kantiranis, Ioakeim Ioakeimidis, Ananias Tsirambides

International Journal of Speleology

Thirty seven floor sediment samples of Upper Pleistocene age from the Loutra Almopias Cave were collected from different beds and stratigraphic columns on the basis of their induration grade, grain distribution, and paleontological findings. Channel facies make up the bulk of the clastic sediments found in the cave passages. Slackwater facies compose the final layer of all the stratigraphic sections of the examined cave. The floor sediments are mineralogically immature, since they contain many ferromagnesian minerals, feldspars (especially plagioclase) and quartz. The extensive presence of silicate minerals means that the phyllites, gneisses, schists, ophiolitic rocks and the clastic Mariam Formation …

Genesis Of Iron And Manganese Sediments In Zoloushka Cave (Ukraine/Moldova) As Revealed By Δ13C Organic Carbon, Piotr Kotula, Viacheslav Andreychouk, Jacek Pawlyta, Leszek Marynowski, Izabela Jendrzejewska

International Journal of Speleology

Zoloushka Cave is one of the largest maze gypsum caves in the world. Mining of the gypsum bedrock and lowering of the water level due to the pumping of groundwater led to exposure of the cave passages to vadose conditions and changed the hydrochemistry of the karst water. As a result, large quantities of Fe and Mn hydroxides were deposited in the passages. It was found that at least two groups of various organisms were involved in depositing ferrous and manganese sediments. In order to establish the mechanism of deposition, we conducted chemical analyses of the sediments and isotopic analyses …

Full Issue 48(2)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Multi-Phased Hypogene Speleogenesis In A Marginal Horst Structure Of The Malé Karpaty Mountains, Slovakia, Pavel Bella, Pavel Bosák, Petr Mikysek, Juraj Littva, Helena Hercman, Jacek Pawlak

International Journal of Speleology

The Plavecká jaskyňa Cave on the western fault edge of the Malé Karpaty Mountains (western Slovakia) is a result of multi-phased hypogene speleogenesis. It formed in fractured Triassic carbonates by waters ascending along the Vienna Basin Transform Fault between Malé Karpaty Mountains and Záhorská nížina Lowland (the north-eastern part of the Vienna Basin) and/or the N–S-trending faults that intersect it in the cave vicinity. Morphologically, the cave is featured by (1) phreatic chimneys, cupolas, ceiling pockets, enlarged fissures with spongework cavities, upward wall channels and upward oriented large scallops, (2) epiphreatic flat corrosion bedrock floors, feeding fissures and wall water-table …

Breakdown Mechanisms In Iron Caves. An Example From Brazil, Marcelo R. Barbosa, Allan D.F. Da Silva, Rafael G. De Paula, Georgete M. Dutra, Airton Barata, Iuri V. Brandi, Chrystophe R.P. Da Silva, Robert A. Osborne

International Journal of Speleology

An iron cave in the vicinity of a mine in Carajás, Brazil, was selected to be mined within an assisted elimination project, planned to control all mine advancement operations towards the cave along with a strict speleological physical monitoring. It allowed, in a pioneering way, the recording of events in the cave from the first signs of damage until to the total collapse of the cave. The project lasted four years and it was possible to identify and describe four breakdown mechanisms in iron caves: Fragment downfall, Block downfall, Controlling structure reactivation, and Open discontinuity movement. The mechanisms occurred independently …

Cave Temperature And Management Implications In Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park, Usa, Stanka Šebela, Gretchen Baker, Barbara Luke

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Cave air temperature was measured at six locations in Lehman Caves (USA) for one year at hourly intervals. Lehman is a show cave in a national park, treasured for its geological and biological resources. The two monitoring locations that are off of the tour route and, also, relatively distant from the cave’s entrances displayed nearly constant air temperature during the year. The other four sites, along the tour route, show daily temperature variation as well as annual fluctuation. After visitation levels decreased in the autumn, cave temperatures lagged but eventually reached an equilibrium which demonstrates recovery in the quiet winter. …

Morphological And Mineralogical Evidence For Ancient Bat Presence In Cova Des Pas De Vallgornera (Llucmajor, Mallorca, Western Mediterranean), Antoni Merino, Joan J. Fornós, Antoni Mulet, Joaquín Ginés

International Journal of Speleology

Cova des Pas de Vallgornera is a unique karst cave located at the Llucmajor coastal platform that stands out not only because of its length, more than 78 km, but also for its particular morphological suite, richness and variety of speleothems and mineral infillings. Although the mineralogy of speleothems and minerals related to hypogene morphologies has been studied and described, the existence of minerals derived from guano deposits was still poorly investigated. The cave hosted bat colonies until the collapse of its natural entrances, circa 2.4 My ago, since then until its discovery in 1968, the cave remained sealed. These …

Protocol Implementation Plan For Cave Water Quality Monitoring In The Northern Great Plains Network, Narrative Version 1.0, Isabel W. Ashton, Justin S. Mills, Marc Ohms, Daniel Austin, Michael Wiles, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Two park units, Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) and Wind Cave National Park (WICA), protect significant cave resources. These two caves are among the longest caves in the world and have an assortment of underground water resources ranging from drip sites to cave lakes. Subsurface water quantity and quality in the caves is a concern due to groundwater depletion and groundwater contamination from pesticides (aboveground applications), hydrocarbons (vehicle use and related activities), and wastewater effluent (sewage …

Full Issue 48(1)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Cave Dripwater Isotopic Signals Related To The Altitudinal Gradient Of Mount-Lebanon: Implication For Speleothem Studies, Carole Nehme, Sophie Verheyden, Fadi H. Nader, Jocelyne Adjizian-Gerard, Dominique Genty, Kevin De Bont, Benedicte Minster, Ghada Salem, David Verstraten, Philippe Clayes

International Journal of Speleology

An important step in paleoclimate reconstructions based on vadose cave carbonate deposits or speleothems is to evaluate the sensitivity of the cave environment and speleothems to regional climate. Accordingly, we studied four caves, located at different altitudes along the western flank of Mount-Lebanon (Eastern Mediterranean). The objectives of this study are to identify the present-day variability in temperature, pCO₂, and water isotopic composition and to assess the possible influence of the altitudinal gradient on cave drip waters and cave streams. We present here an overview of the spatial variability of rainwater based on local and regional data, and …

Multivariate Analysis Of Hydrochemical Data For Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, And Surrounding Areas, Andrew J. Long, James B. Paces, William G. Eldridge

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contain two of the six longest caves worldwide. These caves contain subterranean lakes that are important points of intersection between the water table of the Madison aquifer and the caves. During 2015 to 2017, several subterranean lakes were discovered in Jewel Cave, which previously was thought to be above the regional water table. The objectives of this study were to better understand the hydrology of the recently discovered subterranean lakes in Jewel Cave and to evaluate their relation or possible connection to similar lakes in Wind Cave. …

Ua66/8/2 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Geography & Geology Centers & Institutes, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Centers and Institutes administered by the Geography & Geology Department. Including:

• Center for Cave & Karst Studies
• Center for Local Government Services
• Hoffman Environmental Research Institute
• Kentucky Climate Center
• Resources Management Institute
• Small Public Water System Technology Center