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Origin of limestone caverns
... Carbonate dissolution creates secondary porosity and mobilizes dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from bedrock (Equation (1)). In the carbonic acid speleogenesis (CAS) model of cave development, usually characterized as epigenetic, CO 2 -enriched waters from percolating recharge react with carbonate bedrock (Equation (2)) [4,5,[13][14][15][16], reactant CO 2 is sourced from the atmosphere or plant respiration, and DIC is an equal mixture of bedrock and reactant carbon (Equation (3)). ...
... as an end member for sulfur emerging from the petroleum seeps. These values were used for δ 34 S 1 and δ 34 S 2 , respectively, for Equations(8) to(14) to solve the concentrations of each ...
Carbonic acid and sulfuric acid speleogenesis describe a dichotomy between epigenetic and hypogenetic caves and carbon and sulfur cycling in karst, but do not acknowledge the global spectrum of cave formation. This paper, part one of a two-part investigation, tests and revises speleogenetic models from a classic karst landscape using dissolved ion concentrations δ13CDIC, and δ34S in water samples collected at four sites across the Bluespring and Lost River karst basins in the Mitchell Plateau, Indiana, USA. Analyses revealed elevated sulfur in both karst basins but differently sourced; H2S (δ34S = −14.2‰) evolved from petroleum seeps in Bluespring Caverns accounted for up to 61% of sulfur in the cave stream, while evaporite beds (δ34S = [+14.50‰, +17.91‰]) of the St. Louis Limestone contributed up to 100% of sulfur at Orangeville Rise, a terminal spring of the Lost River karst basin. These results have implications for carbon–sulfur cycle linkages, particularly the potential acceleration of carbon flux from sulfuric acid dissolution in otherwise epigenetic settings. We suggest a new paradigm for speleogenesis in the North American midcontinent—speleogenesis in the Mitchell Plateau and similar settings is not epigenetic or hypogenetic, but instead polygenetic with competing chemical processes varying across space and time.
... As primeiras teorias freáticas foram tipificadas pelas ideias de Swinnerton (1932) Swinnerton (1932); Gardner (1935);Laptev (1939); Rhoades e Sinacori (1941); Bretz (1942); Burdon e Safadi (1963); Schmidt (1982); Palmer (1991); Palmer et al. (1999); Gabrovšek (2000); Lowe (2004); Palmer e Audra (2004); Shaw (2004); Wolfgang e Gabrovšek (2004); Klimchouk (2007); Palmer (2007); DeWaele, Forti e Piccini (2008); Klimchouk (2015); Audra e Palmer (2015). ...
... As primeiras teorias freáticas foram tipificadas pelas ideias de Swinnerton (1932) Swinnerton (1932); Gardner (1935);Laptev (1939); Rhoades e Sinacori (1941); Bretz (1942); Burdon e Safadi (1963); Schmidt (1982); Palmer (1991); Palmer et al. (1999); Gabrovšek (2000); Lowe (2004); Palmer e Audra (2004); Shaw (2004); Wolfgang e Gabrovšek (2004); Klimchouk (2007); Palmer (2007); DeWaele, Forti e Piccini (2008); Klimchouk (2015); Audra e Palmer (2015). ...
De extrema beleza e complexidade, as áreas cársticas são ambientes extremamente frágeis, com um conjunto de elementos físicos e bióticos, socioeconômicos e histórico-culturais, subterrâneos ou superficiais, representados pelas cavidades naturais
subterrâneas que compõem o patrimônio espeleológico nacional. É inegável a importância do carste como aquífero. Segundo a Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura (UNESCO), essas áreas representam os mais significativos e seguros mananciais de água potável para a população com estimativas de uso por aproximadamente 25% da população mundial. Também se destacam pela riqueza de seu solo, valor econômico e turístico. Portanto, o uso e a ocupação dessas áreas requerem especial atenção, visto que tais atividade podem causar impactos significativos neste ambiente especial. Buscando contribuir com o aprimoramento e a divulgação do conhecimento acerca desse patrimônio, Componente 1 do Programa
Nacional de Conservação do Patrimônio Espeleológico (PNCPE), esta publicação traz, em seu escopo, aspectos da geomorfologia cárstica de extrema importância para o entendimento desses ambientes sistêmicos naturalmente sensíveis e complexos. Conceitos da Carstologia são aqui apresentados e ricamente ilustrados para um fácil entendimento pelo leitor, tornando este livro uma importante contribuição na qualificação técnica das instituições responsáveis pela análise de estudos espeleológicos nos processos de licenciamento ambiental. Ademais, corrobora com os esforços que vêm sendo realizados pelo Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, por
meio do Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Cavernas (ICMBio/CECAV), para o fortalecendo da gestão dos ambientes cársticos e, consequentemente, o do patrimônio espeleológico nacional, Componente 6 do PNCPE.
... In conclusion we find that all cave theories such as those of Swinnerton (1932), Rhoades and Sinacori (1941), and the Four-statemodel of Ford are reconciled. They are not contradictory but they result from the same physics and chemistry under different boundary conditions. ...
... Once the water table has reached a stationary position dissolution stays active close to it and large conduits can grow. This corresponds to the ideal water table cave in the model of Swinnerton (1932) and Rhoades and Sinacori (1941) which requires high and even fissuring of the rock. ...
The evolution of secondary permeability in soluble rocks is determined by two fundamental factors. The first is the field of hydraulic gradients within the primary voids and partings of the rock which establishes flow of aggressive water from points of input to points of output. The second factor is the kinetics of the dissolution reactions. These determine to which extent the earliest initial flow paths are enlarged by dissolution. If saturation, with respect to calcite, is attained very quickly, dissolution can be active only at very short distances from the input, and only insignificant changes of the first flow channels result. On the other hand, at slow approach to equilibrium the earliest flow channels are modified by dissolution along their entire length. This changes the distribution of the pressure field and accordingly changes the flow fields. It is the purpose of this chapter to describe the evolution of karst according to these mutually interrelated factors.
... Davis (1930) and Bretz (1942) proposed that caves form deep beneath the water table, when groundwater flowpaths are likely to remain stable for long time periods. Swinnerton (1932) contended that caves are more likely to form where groundwater flow is most vigorous, i.e., at and just below the water table (Fig. 2). This origin can account for the low-gradient profiles of many phreatic passages. ...
... Using finite-difference modeling, Dreybrodt (1990Dreybrodt ( , 1996 and Palmer (1991) independently determined the breakthrough time (t b ) needed for a fissure to reach its maximum growth rate. They both showed that t b decreases with Swinnerton (1932). Right: The four-state model of Ford and Ewers (1978 the cube of the initial fissure width, and with roughly the 4/3 power of the hydraulic gradient and the -4/3 power of the flow distance. ...
Speleogenesis is the development of well-organized cave systems by fluids moving through fissures of a soluble rock. Epigenic caves induced by biogenic CO2 soil production are dominant, whereas hypogenic caves resulting from uprising deep flow not directly connected to adjacent recharge areas appear to be more frequent than previously considered. The conceptual models of epigenic cave development moved from early models, through the “four-states model” involving fracture influence to explain deep loops, to the digital models demonstrating the adjustment of the main flow to the water table. The relationships with base level are complex and cave levels must be determined from the elevation of the vadose-phreatic transitions. Since flooding in the epiphreatic zone may be important, the top of the loops in the epiphreatic zone can be found significantly high above the base level. The term Paragenesis is used to describe the upward development of conduits as their lower parts fill with sediments. This process often records a general baselevel rise. Sediment influx is responsible for the regulation of long profiles by paragenesis and contributes to the evolution of profiles from looping to water table caves. Dating methods allow identification of the timing of cave level evolution. The term Ghost-rock karstification is used to describe a 2-phase process of speleogenesis, with a first phase of partial solution of rock along fractures in low gradient conditions leaving a porous matrix, the ghost-rock, then a second phase of mechanical removing of the ghost-rock mainly by turbulent flow in high gradient conditions opening the passages and forming maze caves. The first weathering phase can be related either to epigenic infiltration or to hypogenic upflow, especially in marginal areas of sedimentary basins. The vertical pattern of epigenic caves is mainly controlled by timing, geological structure, types of flow and base-level changes. We define several cave types as (1) juvenile, where they are perched above underlying aquicludes; (2) looping, where recharge varies greatly with time, to produce epiphreatic loops; (3) water-table caves where flow is regulated by a semi-pervious cover; and (4) caves in the equilibrium stage where flow is transmitted without significant flooding. Successive base-level drops caused by valley entrenchment make cave levels, whereas baselevel rise is defined in the frame of the Per ascensum Model of Speleogenesis (PAMS), where deep passages are flooded and drain through vauclusian springs. The PAMS can be active after any type of baselevel rise (transgression, fluvial aggradation, tectonic subsidence) and explains most of the deep phreatic cave systems except for hypogenic.
The term Hypogenic speleogenesis is used to describe cave development by deep upflow independent of adjacent recharge areas. Due to its deep origin, water frequently has a high CO2-H2S concentration and a thermal anomaly, but not systematically. Numerous dissolution processes can be involved in hypogenic speleogenesis, which often include deep-seated acidic sources of CO2 and H2S, “hydrothermal” cooling, mixing corrosion, Sulfuric Acid Speleogenesis (SAS), etc. SAS particularly involves the condensation-corrosion processes, resulting in the fast expansion of caves above the water table, i.e. in an atmospheric environment. The hydrogeological setting of hypogenic speleogenesis is based on the Regional Gravity Flow concept, which shows at the basin scales the sites of convergences and upflows where dissolution focuses. Each part of a basin (marginal, internal, deep zone) has specific conditions. The coastal basin is a sub-type. In deformed strata, flow is more complex according to the geological structure. However, upflow and hypogenic speleogenesis concentrate in structural highs (buried anticlines) and zones of major disruption (faults, overthrusts). In disrupted basins, the geothermal gradient “pumps” the meteoric water at depth, making loops of different depths and characteristics. Volcanism and magmatism also produce deep hypogenic loops with “hyperkarst” characteristics due to a combination of deep-seated CO2, H2S, thermalism, and microbial activity. In phreatic conditions, the resulting cave patterns
can include geodes, 2–3D caves, and giant ascending shafts. Along the water table, SAS with thermal air convection induces powerful condensation-corrosion and the development of upwardly dendritic caves, isolated chambers, water table sulfuricacid caves. In the vadose zone, “smoking” shafts evolve under the influence of geothermal gradients producing air convectionand condensation-corrosion.
Likely future directions for research will probably involve analytical and modeling methods, especially using isotopes, dating, chemical simulations, and field investigations focused on the relationships between processes and resulting morphologies.
Nova področja speleogenetskih raziskav: Povezava med hidrogeološkimi razmerami, prevladujočimi procesi in tipi jam
Speleogeneza je razvoj dobro (samo)organiziranih jamskih sistemov, ko podzemna voda vzdolž toka raztaplja stene razpok. Najbolj poznane so epigene jame v karbonatih, kjer je poglavitni vir kemične agresivnosti pedogeni CO2. Bolj pogoste, kot se je v preteklosti domnevalo, so hipogene jame, ki nastanejo z dviganjem globokega toka in niso neposredno povezane z lokalnim napajalnim območjem. Prvotni konceptualni modeli razvoja epigenih jam so se preko modela štirih stanj, ki speleogenezo pojasnjuje s frekvenco prevodnih razpok, razvili do računalniških modelov, ki pojasnijo prilagoditev glavnega toka freatični površini. Povezava jamskih sistemov s položajem erozijske baze ni enostavna, saj moramo pri interpretaciji upoštevati višino prehoda iz freatične v vadozno cono. Zaradi visokih poplav v epifreatični coni so lahko temena jamskih zavojev visoko nad erozijsko bazo. Termin parageneza se uporablja za opis razvoja kanalov od spodaj navzgor, ko se spodnji deli zapolnijo s sedimenti. Ta proces pogosto beleži splošen dvig erozijske baze. Vdor sedimentov je tudi razlog za uravnavanje dolgih profilov s paragenezo in prispeva k prehodu jam z zavoji v navpični ravnini v jame uravnane z vodnim nivojem. Različne datacijske metode omogočajo določanje časovnega razvoja jamskih nivojev. Speleogeneza lahko poteka tudi v dveh fazah; v prvi fazi voda ob nizkem gradientu raztopi topen del kamninske matrice (angleško Ghost rock weathering), v drugi fazi pa ob visokem gradientu turbulentni tok mehansko odnese preostali del matrice, pri čemer praviloma nastane labirintni tip jam. Prva faza je lahko povezana z epigeno infiltracijo ali s hipogenim dotokom predvsem na mejnih območjih sedimentnih bazenov. Vertikalna geometrija epigenih jam je pogojena s časovnim okvirom, geološko strukturo, vrsto toka in spremembo erozijske baze. Razvoj mladih (juvenilnih) geometrijskih vzorcev nad nivojem neprepustnih plasti, je povezan s hitrimi tektonskimi dvigi in vrezovanji erozijske baze. V pogojih omejenega odtoka ob spremenljivem napajanju zaradi poplavljanja epifreatične cone nastajajo zavoji v navpični ravnini (angl. loops). Jame vodnega nivoja nastajajo na področjih, kjer je kras pokrit z delno prepustnimi plastmi oz. kjer je speleogeneza uravnotežena z največjimi poplavami. Spreminjanje erozijske baze ob vrezovanju dolin se odraža v jamskih nivojih, medtem ko dviganje erozijske baze diktira razvoj jam od spodaj navzgor (Speleogeneza Per ecensum, PAMS) in nastanek izvirov vokluškega tipa. PAMS se lahko aktivira ob različnih vrstah dviga erozijske baze (zaradi transgresije, rečnega naplavljanja, tektonskega ugrezanja) in pojasnjuje nastanek večine globokih freatičnih jamskih sistemov, razen hipogenih. Izraz hipogena speleogeneza se uporablja za opis razvoja jam zaradi dviganja globokega regionalnega toka. Zaradi izvora iz globin ima voda pogosto visoko koncentracijo CO2–H2S in temperaturno anomalijo. Pri hipogeni speleogenezi lahko sodelujejo številni procesi raztapljanja, ki so povezani z globokimi viri CO2 in H2S, "hidrotermalnim" ohlajanjem, korozijo mešanice, speleogenezo žveplene kisline (Sulphuric Acid Speleogenesis, SAS), itd. Zlasti SAS vključuje kondenzacijsko-korozijske procese, zaradi česar prihaja do hitrega nastanka jam nad vodno gladino v atmosferskem okolju. Hidrogeološke razmere pri hipogeni speleogenezi so povezane z regionalnim gravitacijskim tokom, kjer je korozija najmočnejša na območju stekanja in dvigovanja vodnih tokov. Vsak del porečja (obrobni, notranji, globoka cona) ima posebne pogoje. Eden od podtipov je tudi obalno območje. V deformiranih slojih je tok bolj zapleten in strukturno pogojen, pri čemer sta vodni tok in hipogena speleogeneza praviloma vezana na strukturne vrhove (prekrite antiklinale) in na območja večjih strukturnih prekinitev (prelomi, narivi). V prekinjenih bazenih geotermalni gradient "črpa" meteorske vode v globine, kar povzroča zanke na različnih globinah in z različnimi značilnostmi. Vulkanizem in magmatizem tudi povzročata globoke hipogene zanke s "hiperkraškimi" značilnostmi, ki nastajajo zaradi kombinacije globokih virov CO2, H2S, termalnih procesov in mikrobiološke aktivnosti. Geometrijski vzorci jam v freatičnih pogojih lahko vključujejo geode, 2–3D jame in navzgor razvijajoča se brezna izjemnih razsežnosti. Nad vodno gladino se zaradi termalne konvekcije in kondenzacijske korozije ob prisotnosti žveplove kisline razvijajo različni geometrijski vzorci jam; dvigajoče se razvejane jame, izolirane dvorane in jame vodnega nivoja nastale z delovanjem žveplene kisline. V vadozni coni nastajajo tudi »parna« brezna, ko se na območjih termalnih vodonosnikov topel vlažen zrak dviga, ohlaja in kondenzira vzdolž razpok in jih na ta način širi v brezna. V prihodnosti bodo raziskave speleogeneze verjetno temeljile na analitičnih in modelskih pristopih, izotopskih, datacijskih in geokemičnih metodah ter terenskih raziskavah, ki se bodo osredotočala na odnose med procesi in posledično morfologijo.
... As with them, however, he assumed that there would be a broadly stable water table at depth in the rock before any major cave development occurred. Swinnerton (1932) countered Davis with an opportunistic model: At certain places in fractured rocks, water fl owing at or below the water table may have a choice of several alternative routes (fractures) to follow that, in a two-dimensional realization, must carry it to different depths. In a competition to drain the water by solutional enlargement of the routes, the likeliest victor will be the path along the water table, because this is the shortest-thus, a cave is generated broadly along the water table from the head downstream (Fig. 7C). ...
... The 1930s saw some signifi cant advances in understanding of carbonate rock solution. As noted, Swinnerton (1932Swinnerton ( , 1942 and Adams and Swinnerton (1937) stressed the probable importance of soil CO 2 in enhancing aggressivity. This factor was emphasized in the most infl uential tropical study of the period, H. Lehmann (1936) in the karst of Gunung Sewu, Indonesia (see following). ...
Modern scientifi c study of karst phenomena came into being during the 90 years before the Geological Society of America was founded in 1888. It began with broad acceptance of the uniformitarian principle (1800s), basic understanding of processes of carbonate and sulfate rock dissolution and precipitation (1820s), and the equations of Hagen, Poiseuille, and Darcy for groundwater fl ow in porous, fractured, and soluble media (1840–1856). The Dalmation descriptive name " karst " (meaning " stony ground "), adopted by regional surveyors and travelers, came into general use in the 1850s also. The fi rst U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report on hydrogeology by Chamberlin in 1885 was one of many early texts that stressed the importance of conduit fl ow in limestone areas. The 50 years following 1888 were dominated by studies in the " classical " karst region of western Slovenia, including defi nition of the principal types of surface land-forms and proposals for their development within cycles of erosion, two sharply contrasted models for storage and fl ow in limestone aquifers, and promotion of a theory that accessible caves formed chiefl y in the vadose zone. Following publication of a USGS report on the major springs in the nation in 1927, American scientists entered the debates in force, proposing that caves should develop primarily below the water table, along it, or create it; they also emphasized the importance of soil CO 2 in boosting rates of solution in carbonate rocks. Russian investigators established the principles of mixing corrosion. The pace of development throughout karst studies accelerated after the Second World War. In the later 1940s and 1950s, the formative studies of solution kinetics began, while improvements in methods of measuring solute concentrations set the stage for global rate models to be developed in succeeding decades. Spatial quantitative analysis came to dominate study of surface landforms, particularly sinkhole distribution patterns. The confusion that had arisen regarding the development of meteoric water (epigene) caves was resolved with a general model emphasizing the controlling roles of lithology and geologic structure: Increasingly, it was recognized that these two variables also explained many of the differences observed between karst aquifers and landform assemblages in different geographical areas. Opening of China to western scholars after 1980 gave access to the astonishing karst lands in the south of that country.
... In conclusion we find that all cave theories such as those of Swinnerton (1932), Rhoades and Sinacori (1941), and the Four-statemodel of Ford are reconciled. They are not contradictory but they result from the same physics and chemistry under different boundary conditions. ...
... Once the water table has reached a stationary position dissolution stays active close to it and large conduits can grow. This corresponds to the ideal water table cave in the model of Swinnerton (1932) and Rhoades and Sinacori (1941) which requires high and even fissuring of the rock. ...
... In conclusion we find that all cave theories such as those of Swinnerton (1932), Rhoades and Sinacori (1941), and the Four-statemodel of Ford are reconciled. They are not contradictory but they result from the same physics and chemistry under different boundary conditions. ...
... Once the water table has reached a stationary position dissolution stays active close to it and large conduits can grow. This corresponds to the ideal water table cave in the model of Swinnerton (1932) and Rhoades and Sinacori (1941) which requires high and even fissuring of the rock. ...
Models of karstification based on the physics of fluid flow in fractures of soluble rock, and the physical chemistry of dissolution of limestone by CO2 containing water have been presented during the last two decades. This paper gives a review of the basic principles of such models, their most important results, and future perspectives. The basic element of evolving karst systems is a single isolated fracture, where a constant hydraulic head drives calcite aggressive water from the input to the output. Non linear dissolution kinetics with order n = 4 induce a positive feedback by which dissolutional widening at the exit enhances flow rates thus increasing widening and so on until flow rates increase dramatically in a breakthrough event. After this the hydraulic head breaks down and widening of the fracture proceeds fast but even along its entire length under conditions of constant recharge. The significance of modelling such a single fracture results from the fact that an equation for the breakthrough time specifies the parameters determining the processes of early karstification. In a next step the boundary conditions for isolated fractures are varied by including different lithologies of the rock, expressed by different dissolution kinetics. This can enhance or retard karstification. Subterranean sources of CO2 can also be simulated by changing the equilibrium concentration of the solution at the point where CO2 is injected. This leads to accelerated karstification. At the confluence of solutions from two isolated tubes into a third one, mixing corrosion can release free carbon dioxide. Its effect to solutional widening in such a system of three conduits is discussed. Although these simple models give interesting insights into karst processes more realistic models are required. Combining single fractures into two-dimensional networks models of karst in its dimensions of length and breadth under constant head conditions are presented. In first steps the Ford-Ewers' high-dip and low-dip models are simulated. Their results agree to what one expects from field observations. Including varying lithologies produces a variety of new features. Finally we show that mixing corrosion has a strong impact on cave evolution. By this effect micro climatic conditions in the catchment area of the cave exert significant influence. A common feature in the evolution of such two-dimensional models is the competition of various possible pathways to achieve breakthrough first. Varying conditions in lithologies, carbon dioxide injection or changing hydrological boundary conditions change the chances for the competing conduits. Karst systems developing at steep cliffs in the dimensions of length and depth are characterized by unconfined aquifers with constant recharge to the water table. Modelling of such systems shows that dissolution of limestone occurs close to the water table. The widening of the fractures there causes lowering of the water table until it becomes stable when base level is reached, and a water table cave grows headwards into the aquifer. When prominent deep fractures with large aperture widths are present deep phreatic loops originate below the water table. A river or a lake on a karst plateau imposes constant head conditions at this location in addition to the constant recharge from meteoric precipitation. In this case a breakthrough cave system evolves along the water table kept stable by the constant head input. But simultaneously deep phreatic loops arise below it. In conclusion we find that all cave theories such as those of Swinnerton (1932), Rhoades and Sinacori (1941), and the Four-state-model of Ford are reconciled. They are not contradictory but they result from the same physics and chemistry under different boundary conditions.
... Many attempts to classify caves have been proposed, such that of Dwerryhouse (1907); Davis (1932); Bretz (1942);Swinnerton (1932); Rhoad and Sinacori (1942); Bogli (1980) and Ewers and Quinian (1981). An overview of classifications that are based on the formation due to type of water flow, (i.e. ...
The genesis and development of karst caves in the Daryanah area have been detected through the study of cave chambers, passages and different types of cave deposits. It has been proved that caves were initiated and developed in the phreatic and vadose zone respectively. The studied caves are classified as small carbonate caves, formed along bedding planes of endogenic origin and developed according to simple model of limited recharging points.
... The marine mixing phreatic zone appears also to be a place of pronounced solution (Panos, 197 6;Rudnicki, 1980in Bosak, 1989. Swinnerton (1932) assumed that cave formation occurs exactly at the water table because it is here that the flow velocities are supposed to be highest. Bretz (1942) observed both, vadose and phreatic features in many natural cave systems. ...
Caves are commonly found in limestone hills throughout Sungai Perak Basin as a result of the action of various factors such as structure, drainage and previous climate, which control the rising and lowering of previous sea levels and determines the level of the groundwater table. Their characteristics such as the levels of the caves, shape, cave deposits as well as the origin are significantly related to the surrounding rocks and climate during the Quaternary. These caves were interpreted to have been formed by the action of freshwater. The active caving in Gua Tempurung is made possible by the constant allogenic water source from the neighbouring granitic hill. Some chambers are still being enlarged by percolating meteoric water through cracks and joints and form vertical and horizontal scallops. Abstrak Gua merupakan fitur yang biasa ditemui di kawasan perbukitan batu kapur sepanjang Lembangan Sungai Perak hasil tindakan pelbagai faktor seperti struktur, saliran dan iklim awal yang bertindak mengawal kenaikan dan penurunan aras Iaut yang menentukan tahap permukaan air bawah tanah. Sifat seperti kedudukan gua, bentuk, endapan gua termasuk asalannya merupakan unsur penting berkaitan dengan sekitaran batuan dan iklim semasa Kuaterner. Gua-gua ini ditafsirkan terbentuk kesan tindakan air tawar. Aktiviti penguaan yang aktif di Gua Tempurung disebabkan oleh sumber air alogenik dari perbukitan granit yang berdekatan. Sesetengah kebuk masih membesar melalui 'percolating' oleh air meteor melalui rekahan dan kekar dan membentuk 'scallops' menegak dan melintang.
... This occurs within certain hydrogeological contexts: vadose, epiphreatic, and phreatic karstification (e.g. Gründ, 1914;Davis, 1930;Swinnerton, 1932;Rhoades and Sinacori, 1941;Bretz, 1942;Bögli, 1964;Caro, 1965;Renault, 1967;Roques, 1967;Thraikill, 1968;Jennings, 1971;Herak and Stringfield, 1972;Nicod, 1972;Bakalowicz, 1975;Grillot and Guerin, 1975;Ford and Cullingford, 1976;Jakucs, 1977;Bögli, 1980;Morse, 1983;Bonacci, 1987;Dreybrodt, 1987;Lohmann, 1988;Ford and Williams, 1989;White, 1989;Palmer, 1991;Salomon, 2006;Gilli, 2011). ...
ABSTRACT
Underground karst morphologies are often used by scientists to speculate on the conditions of formation of karst cavities,
for example: flow in vadose or phreatic zone, flow on sedimentary filling and fluvial flow. However, recent development of
the ghostrock karstification models provides new insights on the origin of these morphologies. For ghostrock karstification,
the chemical dissolution of calcite is coming along with the drainage of the soluble species while the undissolved particles
remain unremoved. On the other side, karstification by total removal, undissolved particles are simultaneously eroded
from the system leading to the creation of a macroscopic void. This paper presents numerous field observations of karst
morphologies, which were previously considered as resulting of karstification by total removal, in ghostrock karstification
context. From them, it has been demonstrated that most karst morphologies may result from both processes, which
requires great caution in the interpretation of these microforms.
Keywords: Karst, morphologies, network pattern, cavity shape, parietal microforms, ghostrock.
RÉSUMÉ
Les morphologies karstiques souterraines sont souvent utilisées par les scientifiques pour spéculer sur les conditions de
formation des cavités karstiques, par exemple : écoulement en zone vadose ou phréatique, écoulement sur remplissage
sédimentaire et écoulement fluviatile. Cependant, le développement récent des modèles de karstification de type
« fantômes de roche » fournit de nouvelles informations sur l’origine de ces formes et microformes. Pour la karstification
par fantômisation, la dissolution chimique sélective de la roche s’accompagne de la sortie des espèces solubles hors du
système tandis que les particules non dissoutes restent sur place (altérite résiduelle). D’autre part, dans la karstification
par enlèvement total, les particules non dissoutes sont simultanément érodées du système conduisant à la création
d’un vide macroscopique. Cet article présente de nombreuses observations de terrain sur des morphologies karstiques
qui étaient auparavant considérées comme résultant d’une karstification par enlèvement total, dans un contexte de
karstification par fantômisation. A partir d’elles, il a été démontré que la plupart des morphologies karstiques peuvent
résulter des deux processus, ce qui nécessite une grande prudence dans l’interprétation de ces microformes.
Mots-clés : Karst, morphologies, modèle de réseau, forme de cavité, microformes pariétales, fantômes de roche
... Some early publications suggested that caves develop deep below the water table where groundwater flow paths are likely to be stable for a long duration (e.g., Davis, 1930;Bretz, 1942), whereas other publications suggested that caves are most likely to develop at and/or just below the water table (especially the zone of water-table fluctuation), where the groundwater flow is most vigorous (e.g., Swinnerton, 1932). Subsequent publications concluded that caves may develop both above the water table (in the vadose zone), below the water table (in the phreatic zone), and in the zone of transition (epiphreatic or epigenic zone) where water-table fluctuations occur (Ford and Ewers, 1978;Palmer, 1991Palmer, , 2005aPalmer, , 2005b. ...
The Trout Rock caves (Hamilton Cave, Trout Cave, New Trout Cave) are located in a hill named Cave Knob that overlooks the South Branch of the Potomac River in Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA. The geologic structure of this hill is a northeast-trending anticline, and the caves are located at different elevations, primarily along the contact between the Devonian New Creek Limestone (Helderberg Group) and the overlying Devonian Corriganville Limestone (Helderberg Group).
The entrance to New Trout Cave (Stop 1) is located on the east flank of Cave Knob anticline at an elevation of 585 m (1919 ft) above sea level, or 39 m (128 ft) above the modern river. Much of the cave consists of passages that extend to the northeast along strike, and many of these passages have developed along joints that trend ~N40E or ~N40W. Sediments in New Trout Cave include mud and sand (some of which was mined for nitrate during the American Civil War), as well as large boulders in the front part of the cave. Gypsum crusts are present in a maze section of the cave ~213–305 m (799–1001 ft) from the cave entrance. Excavations in New Trout Cave have produced vertebrate fossils of Rancholabrean age, ca. 300–10 thousand years ago (ka).
The entrance to Trout Cave (Stop 2) is located on the east flank of Cave Knob anticline ~100 m (328 ft) northwest of the New Trout Cave entrance at an elevation of 622 m (2040 ft) above sea level, or 76 m (249 ft) above the modern river. Much of the cave consists of passages that extend to the northeast along strike, although a small area of network maze passages is present in the western portion of Trout Cave that is closest to Hamilton Cave. Many of the passages of Trout Cave have developed along joints that trend N50E, N40E, or N40W. Sediments in Trout Cave include mud (also mined for nitrate during the American Civil War), as well as large boulders in the front part of the cave. Excavations in the upper levels of Trout Cave have produced vertebrate fossils of Rancholabrean age (ca. 300–10 ka), whereas excavations in the lower levels of the cave have produced vertebrate fossils of Irvingtonian age, ca. 1.81 million years ago (Ma)–300 ka.
The entrance to Hamilton Cave (Stop 3) is located along the axis of Cave Knob anticline ~165 m (541 ft) northwest of the Trout Cave entrance at an elevation of 640 m (2099 ft) above sea level, or 94 m (308 ft) above the modern river. The front (upper) part of Hamilton Cave has a classic network maze pattern that is an angular grid of relatively horizontal passages, most of which follow vertical or near-vertical joints that trend N50E or N40W. This part of the cave lies along the axis of Cave Knob anticline. In contrast, the passages in the back (lower) part of Hamilton Cave lie along the west flank of Cave Knob anticline at ~58–85 m (190–279 ft) above the modern river. These passages do not display a classic maze pattern, and instead they may be divided into the following two categories: (1) longer northeast-trending passages that are relatively horizontal and follow the strike of the beds; and (2) shorter northwest-trending passages that descend steeply to the west and follow the dip of the beds. Sediments in Hamilton Cave include mud (which was apparently not mined for nitrate during the American Civil War), as well as large boulders from the Slab Room to the Rosslyn Escalator. Gypsum crusts are present along passage walls of the New Creek Limestone from the Slab Room to the Airblower. Excavations in the front part of Hamilton Cave (maze section) have produced vertebrate fossils of Irvingtonian age (ca. 1.81 Ma–300 ka).
The network maze portions of Hamilton Cave are interpreted as having developed at or near the top of the water table, where water did not have a free surface in contact with air and where the following conditions were present: (1) location on or near the anticline axis (the location of the greatest amount of flexure); (2) abundant vertical or near vertical joints, which are favored by location in the area of greatest flexure and by a lithologic unit (limestone with chert lenses) that is more likely to experience brittle rather than ductile deformation; (3) widening of joints to enhance ease of water infiltration, favored by location in area of greatest amount of flexure; and (4) dissolution along nearly all major joints to produce cave passages of approximately the same size (which would most likely occur via water without a free surface in contact with air).
The cave passages that are located along anticline axes and along strike at the New Creek–Corriganville contact are interpreted as having formed initially during times of base-level stillstand at or near the top of the water table, where water did not have a free surface in contact with air and where the water flowed along the hydraulic gradient at gentle slopes. Under such conditions, dissolution occurred in all directions to produce cave passages with relatively linear wall morphologies. In the lower portions of some of the along-strike passages, the cave walls have a more sinuous (meandering) morphology, which is interpreted as having formed during subsequent initial base-level fall as cave development continued under vadose conditions where the water had a free surface in contact with air, and where water flow was governed primarily by gravitational processes. Steeply inclined cave passages that are located along dip at the New Creek–Corriganville contact are interpreted as having formed during subsequent true vadose conditions (after base-level fall). This chronology of base-level stasis (with cave development in the phreatic zone a short distance below the top of the water table) followed by base-level fall (with cave development in the vadose or epiphreatic zone) has repeated multiple times at Cave Knob during the past ~4–3 million years (m.y.), resulting in multiple cave passages at different elevations, with different passage morphologies, and at different passage locations with respect to strike and dip.
... Commonly, dissolution is most intensive in the upper part of the phreatic zone, which is more active and oxic in general (Wright and Smart, 1994). Cave passages generally form at or beneath the water table in the upper phreatic zone, and carbonic acid is the dissolving agent (e.g., Swinnerton, 1932;Thrailkill, 1968;Loucks, 1999). Collapses of cave-passage walls and ceilings are inherent during the burial of carbonate rocks, and the collapse of rock masses is related to vertical stresses caused primarily by an increase in overburden related to the overlying strata (White and White, 1969;White, 1988;Loucks, 1999). ...
Ordovician carbonates in the central and southern Halahatang area of the Tarim Basin host highly productive hydrocarbon reservoirs. Previous studies suggest that the Yingshan and Yijianfang Formations (the primary producing intervals) have been extensively karstified. However, the current author has not observed significant karst features in the formations based on the detailed study of 380 m long cores from 16 wells. In the current study, true breccias are only identified in two wells in the Lianglitage Formation, including crackle and mosaic breccias as well as chaotic, clast-supported breccias. The breccias are interpreted as karst-related breccias that formed in near-surface environments during pre-Silurian subaerial exposure, and timing of karstification probably coincided with eustatic sea-level fall caused by the middle Katian glaciation. Widespread “karst features” of the Yijianfang and Yingshan Formations identified as breccias or sediment-filled cavities in many previous studies are actually only a mottled fabric (pseudobreccia) caused by selective diagenetic alteration and infiltration of bitumen in the deeper subsurface. The color difference between pseudoclasts and pseudomatrix does not reflect a mixture of clasts and cave sediments, but instead is characterized by distinct, nevertheless commonly subtle, variations in the limestone texture and whether bitumen is present. One the basis of core and thin section observations, SEM (scanning electron microscope) and XRD (X-ray diffraction) analyses, the author presents criteria to distinguish karst breccias and pseudobreccias that can be applied to other similar carbonate deposits. Discrimination between karst breccias and nodular limestones is also presented. Differentiation of karst and pseudokarst features serves not only an academic interest, but also has important applications for the exploration and development of carbonate reservoirs.
... Over time more open pathways and large voids around the water table generate [19]. Karst dissolution processes close to the water table of an unconfined limestone aquifer are expected by the speleogenesis theory proposed by Swinnerton [20] and further refined by Ford and Ewers [21]. Due to the geological history of the Salento Peninsula, the water table of the deep aquifer reached the current depth 6000 years ago, at the end of the so-called Flandrian Transgression. ...
In this note, the Water Budget Method (WBM) is applied to estimate local values of the specific yield of the deep karst aquifer of Salento peninsula. A selection in a period of two years of relevant short precipitation events has been considered and the related localized recharges have been compared to the water table fluctuations measured at two selected wells. The recharge amounts have been corrected by using data of evapotranspiration and soil water storage available from a micrometeorological base. The results are very similar for both the wells and more consistent when the corrections are applied. A discussion involving frequency and apertures of the fractures in the rock mass of the aquifer suggests the effect of the karst dissolution to be dominant in determining these values of the specific yield.
... Significant karstification develops most commonly in thick-bedded limestone (CaCO 3 ). Fracture zones and joints in the limestone are considered to be effective elements controlling the circulation of fluids and the dissolution processes during karstification (Swinnerton 1932;Sweeting 1950;Ford and Ewers 1978;Palmer 1991). Structurally, the Jubaila Formation is dissected by nearly vertical joints trending in mainly E-W and N-S directions (Fig. 6). ...
In the present study, the existence of cavities, voids, and fractures was verified at the site of the El-Elb Dam, which is located to the northwest of Riyadh City across Wadi Hanifa, using 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) techniques. For this purpose, four ERT profiles were measured on the downstream side of the El-Elb Dam using the Syscal Pro Switch-72 resistivity meter. In addition, a GPR survey using a 400-MHz antenna and a SIR-3000 instrument was conducted along five profiles above the stilling basins on the downstream side of the dam and one radar profile was measured outside the stilling basins area across the course of the wadi. The resultant geophysical data were interpreted with the aid of information from a field-based structural and stratigraphic evaluation of the outcropped bedrock on the banks of the wadi course. The analysis of the inverted ERT and filtered radar sections revealed several resistivity and electromagnetic reflection anomalies that are identified laterally and vertically across the measured sections. These anomalies indicate the presence of fractures and karst features affected the limestone bedrock in the dam site. These near-surface karstified and fractured strata represent a critical hazard to the structural safety of the dam.
... Z hydrografického hľadiska finálne štádium vytvárania jaskynných úrovní sa viaže na rozhranie medzi vadóznou a freatickou zónou, t. j. na epifreatickú (plytkú freatickú) zónu, kde podzemné vodné toky s voľnou hladinou modelujú jaskynné chodby koróznou i mechanickou činnosťou. Na vhodné podmienky vytvárania jaskýň pozdĺž alebo tesne pod hladinou podzemnej vody, kde je intenzívnejšie prúdenie vody ako v nižších častiach krasových akviférov a navyše sa tu miešajú vody odlišného chemizmu, poukázali Swinnerton (1932), Rhoades a Sinacori (1941), Thrailkill (1968) a ďalší. ...
From the morphogenetic point of view cave levels belong to the most studied forms of speleorelief, as they reflect the formation of caves or their parts in relation to the stabilized erosion base. Their development is correlated with the development of river and marine terraces, pediments or planation surfaces. The origin of levelled passages is linked to the period of slowdown, respectively interruption of tectonic uplift of the area (synchronously pediments or planation surfaces are formed on the surface) or to the changing dynamics of water flows in response to rhythmic climate changes during the tectonic uplift of the area (synchronously river terraces are formed on the surface). The formation of water table caves (or looping caves) is not principally dependent on fracture density but also on the recharge dynamics, valley incision rate and vertical distribution of permeable rock structures (Gabrovšek et al., 2014). The development of cave levels ceases due erosion base lowering, which can be caused by a tectonic decrease of the lower part of watershed, an uplift of the area with cave level or un increased humidity and associated increased fluvial erosion during interglacial. Several morphological variants of cave levels can be distinguished. One-levelled passages occur in several modifications: (1) wide levelled passages with flat ceilings; (2) levelled paragenetic passages with ceiling channels, small wall channels and aggraded floors; (3) levelled tunnel-like to laterally elliptical passages, in some places with wall channels and aggraded floors; (4) vadose canyon-like passages with distinctive levelled side notches (wall channels, meanders), in some places preserved in hanging positions above recent riverbeds; (5) wide and lower levelled passages with aggraded floors (in some cases in combination with flat ceilings). Multilevelled passages can be observed in these basic forms: (1) wide passages with inverse terraced steps and flat ceilings; (2) passages with terraced steps (cognate with river terraces on the surface); (3) canyon-like passages with significant multiple wall channels, mostly with ceiling channels, in some places also with aggraded riverbeds on their floors. The examples of these morphogenetic variants of cave levels are given from significant levelled caves of the Western Carpathians (Demänová Caves, Dobšinská Ice Cave – Stratenská Cave, Domica Cave). So-called cave storeys, that are structurally or litologically predisposed, differ from cave levels (Štelcl, 1963, 1976; Jakál, 1983; Bosák, 1988; Panoš, 2001 and others). The height position of hanging water table caves, that also consist of almost horizontal passages with wide flat ceilings, corresponds with the threshold output of insoluble rocks above the local erosion base (dammed karst, horizontal or slightly inclined cave floors are not conditioned by lithological interface of overlying soluble and underlying insoluble rocks or structural discontinuity).
... Vývojovú úroveň krasu spojenú s piezometrickým povrchom podzemných vôd a orientovanú k eróznej báze definoval Sawicki (1909). Objasňovaním vhodných podmienok vytvárania jaskýň pozdĺž hladiny podzemnej vody alebo tesne pod ňou (intenzívnejšie prúdenie vody ako v nižších častiach krasových akviférov, miešanie vôd odlišného chemizmu) sa začal zaoberať Swinnerton (1932). ...
An overview of geomorphological researches of caves in Slovakia focusing on their developmental levels is given in the article. Cave levels reflect the formation of caves or their parts in relation to the stabilized erosion base and their development is correlated with the development of flat landforms on the surface (river terraces, pediments or planation surfaces). From this reason cave levels belong to the most significance features of cave morphology. The first mentions and descriptions of cave levels in Slovakia are from 1920s. They related to the Demänovská Ice Cave (Vitásek, 1922, 1923a,b) and the Okno Cave (Volko-Starohorský, 1925) in the Demänovská Valley. Problematics of cave levels have been elaborated in more detail by A. Droppa in 1960s and at the beginning of 1970s, mostly on the example of well-known Demänová Caves. In the Western Carpathians, the large cave levels occur also in the Dobšiná-Stratená cave system and in the cross-border (Slovak-Hungarian) Domica-Baradla cave system. Finally, the following researches of cave levels up to the present are presented. Several problems of the numbering and origin of cave levels are summarized and discussed in the second part of the article: (1) the numbering of cave levels from up to down (according to the time sequence of their development) vs. from down to up (cave levels correlated with river terraces, based on the notion of the united chronostratigraphic system of river terraces in Slovakia), (2) normal (sequentially from up to down) and inverted development of cave levels (from down to up due to the paragenetic cave development), (3) imperfectly originated cave levels (so-called “cave horizons” according to Tulis and Novotný, 1989), (4) changed processes of cave level formation due to climatic changes during Pleistocene glacials and interglacials, (5) morphogenetic consequences arising from the different inclinations of cave levels and adjacent surface river beds (a hydraulic gradient among stream water inputs into the karst aquifer and a lower water table in the levelled cave passages, the formation of drawdown vadose inflow passages behind stream sinks). The more precise reconstruction of cave level geochronology is resulted from the dating of cave sediments preserved in levelled passages. Therefore, the dating of cave sediments has been prioritized in the developmental levels of above mentioned caves.
... The evolution of voids and cavities has been described in the past by two competing hypotheses: Water-table caves evolving along a preferential flow path close to the water table (e.g. Swinnerton, 1932;Rhoades and Sinacori, 1941), or bathyphreatic caves formed deeper below the water table along preferential flow paths (e.g. Davis, 1930;Bretz, 1942). ...
Soluble rocks such as limestone, anhydrite, and gypsum are characterised by their large secondary permeability, which results from the interaction of water circulating through the rock and dissolving the soluble fracture walls. This highly selective dissolution process enlarges the fractures to voids and eventually cavities, which then carry the majority of flow through an aquifer along preferential flow paths.
We employ a numerical model describing the evolution of secondary porosity in a soluble rock to study the evolution of isolated fractures in different rock types. Our main focus is three-fold: The identification of shallow versus deep flow paths and their evolution for different rock types; the effect of precipitation of the dissolved material in the fracture; and finally the complication of fracture enlargement in fractures composed of several different soluble materials.
Our results show that the evolution of fractures composed of limestone and gypsum is comparable, but the evolution time scale is drastically different. For anhydrite, owing to its difference in the kinetical rate law describing the removal of soluble rock, when compared to limestone and anhydrite, the evolution is even faster.
Precipitation of the dissolved rock due to changes in the hydrochemical conditions can clog fractures fairly fast, thus changing the pattern of preferential pathways in the soluble aquifer, especially with depth.
Finally, limestone fracture coated with gypsum, as frequently observed in caves, will result in a substantial increase in fracture enlargement with time, thus giving these fractures a hydraulic advantage over pure limestone fractures in their competition for capturing flow.
... In 1932, hydrologist A.C. Swinnerton wrote, " Like many other geological phenomena the origin of caves has seemed for years an obvious matter; it is only on mature reflection that the appearance of superficial simplicity gives way to the impression of baffling complexity " (Swinnerton, 1932). The term " baffling " used by Swinnerton seems applicable in the case of some unusual geological phenomena known to exist inside the portion of the Mammoth Cave System known as Unknown Cave: the Turner Avenue " dunes, " the " Old Granddad " column, and the subject of this research; the changes in sedimentation within Swinnerton Avenue post 1960, including some very recent observations (Hedden, 2007; Hedden, Bechtel, & Mizer, 2010; Bechtel, et al., 2013On November 14 and 15, an eight-person expedition carried and dragged a LaCoste & Romberg Model D gravity meter, a spinning laser, and associated equipment from the Austin Entrance of the Mammoth Cave System to the Duck-Under in Swinnerton Avenue to continue the search for the " Lost River. ...
In 1932, hydrologist A.C. Swinnerton wrote, “Like many other geological phenomena the origin of caves has seemed for years an obvious matter; it is only on mature reflection that the appearance of superficial simplicity gives way to the impression of baffling complexity” (Swinnerton, 1932).
The term “baffling” used by Swinnerton seems applicable in the case of some unusual geological phenomena known to exist inside the portion of the Mammoth Cave System known as Unknown Cave: the Turner Avenue “dunes,” the “Old Granddad” column, and the subject of this research; the changes in sedimentation within Swinnerton Avenue post 1960, including some very recent observations (Hedden, 2007; Hedden, Bechtel, & Mizer, 2010; Bechtel, et al., 2013) .
This report covers research under MCNP permit MACA-2014-SCI-0014, Study 00088 (Sediment Transport Study). Please see Progress Reports #1 & #2 for details of research under permits MACA-2006-SCI-0008, Study MACA-00050 (June 2007) and MACA-2009-SCI-0007, Study MACA-0088 (December 2010).
... Historically, karst aquifers have received little serious geo- logic study within the United States and Texas, even though 25% of the country is karst and related pseudokarst terrain, 24.7% of Texas is underlain by karstic rocks (19.1% carbonates, 5.6% evaporites), and 10.2% of Texas is underlain by unconsoli- dated pseudokarstic terrain (Weary and Doctor, 2014). Prior to 1957, the major U.S. papers on karst and cave origin could be counted on one hand (Davis, 1930;Swinnerton, 1932;Gardner, 1935;Rhoades and Sinacori, 1941;Bretz, 1942). This paucity of research stemmed primarily from several factors: ...
The scientific study of Texas caves and karst has passed two distinct periods and is on the verge of crossing into a third. The first period dates from 1849 to 1982. At that time, the word "karst" was unknown to most geologists in the state. Caves were occasionally mentioned in geological reports until 1948, but they were rarely studied. In the 1960s, cave explorers-Turned-scientists began investigating Texas caves, but their work was often seen as lightweight science because caves were usually considered geologic curiosities of little importance. However, extensive exploration and documentation of caves, plus some respected cave research outside of the geosciences, led to the second period of research, dating from 1983 to the present. This was a transitional period where karst was increasingly recognized and karst research methods were pioneered, although often by people lacking sufficient understanding of karst to be fully accurate or effective. During this period, the expertise of karst scientists gained respect despite the persistence of some old prejudices, and caves began to reappear with greater frequency in technical reports. Many of these changes were prompted by the listing of several karst invertebrates as endangered species, which required detailed hydrogeological cave and karst research, in addition to biological research, across much of the Edwards Aquifer region. The third period of karst research has nearly arrived. It will be recognized when most geoscientists understand karst, that it requires specialized training and experience like other geological disciplines, and when research of karst areas routinely uses karst-Appropriate tools, theories, and consideration for the many degrees of permeability that occur. The future of cave and karst research in Texas will see important technological advances and a focus on hydrological and biological karst resource management as the combined impacts of population growth and climate change increasingly affect the state.
... This occurs within certain hydrogeological contexts: vadose, epiphreatic, and phreatic karstification (e.g. Gründ, 1914;Davis, 1930;Swinnerton, 1932;Rhoades and Sinacori, 1941;Bretz, 1942;Bögli, 1964;Caro, 1965;Renault, 1967;Roques, 1967;Thraikill, 1968;Jennings, 1971;Herak and Stringfield, 1972;Nicod, 1972;Bakalowicz, 1975;Grillot and Guerin, 1975;Ford and Cullingford, 1976;Jakucs, 1977;Bögli, 1980;Morse, 1983;Bonacci, 1987;Dreybrodt, 1987;Lohmann, 1988;Ford and Williams, 1989;White, 1989;Palmer, 1991;Salomon, 2006;Gilli, 2011). ...
... Early studies of karst systems recognized fractures as the major control of fluid flows in carbonate rocks (Swinnerton, 1932;Sweeting, 1950). This control was confirmed latter by many studies (e.g., Ford and Ewers, 1978;White, 1988;Palmer, 1975Palmer, , 1991Palmer, , 2007Ryder, 1975;Brook and Ford, 1978). ...
... In Australia and New Zealand, many popular show caves were mapped and examined by governmental geologists and draftsman of their respective geological surveys, and that influenced later developments in cave research (Trickett 1905). In the United States, studies by William M. Davis (1930) on the origin of limestone caves were viewed as geographic or geologic endeavors, and the National Speleological Society was not founded until 1941approximately 60 years after similar developments in Europe (Swinnerton 1932;Damon 1991). ...
This paper examines the development and legitimization of the study of caves as an academic scientific discipline from the end of the 19th century to World War II. It discusses the function of history and related methodological and epistemological practices used to define and legitimize speleology as an academic discipline. It also discusses the political and social context involved in this process of academization. In this context, special attention is paid to the formation of disciplinary identities and transdisciplinary cooperation. The role of individuality and community in science goes hand-in-hand with the construction of combined memory, which gives an identity to each researcher and attributes significance and legitimization to his or her activity.
At the turn of the 20th century, the term ‘speleology’ was introduced for this newly developed interdisciplinary study of caves. Speleology was regarded as a ‘group’ or ‘synthetic science’, linking different branches of the humanities and natural sciences, such as geology, geography, mineralogy, hydrology, meteorology, paleontology, zoology, botany, anthropology, archeology, prehistory, and art history. The claim that speleology was a new academic scientific discipline also involved an enforced differentiation between cave study as a science and exploration for leisure purposes. This led to the foundation of the first chair and university institute of speleology in Vienna in 1929.
... Davis (1930) and Bretz (1942) proposed that caves form deep beneath the water table, when groundwater flow paths are likely to remain stable for long time periods. Swinnerton (1932) contended that caves are more likely to form where groundwater flow is most vigorous, that is, at and just below the water table (Figure 3). This origin can account for the low-gradient profiles of many phreatic passages. ...
The vertical development of karst is related to the geomorphic evolution of the surrounding landscape. Cave profiles and levels reflect the local fluvial base level and its changes through time. These cave features tend to be preserved far longer than correlative surface features, which are more susceptible to weathering and erosion. As a result, cave morphology offers abundant clues that are helpful in reconstructing the regional geomorphic history.In the vadose zone, water is drawn downward by gravity along vertical or inclined openings. In the phreatic zone, water follows the hydraulic gradient along the most efficient paths to available outlets in nearby valleys. Phreatic passages tend to have gentler gradients close to the water table, generally with some vertical sinuosity. Responding to irregular recharge rates, fluctuations in the water table define a transition zone, the epiphreatic zone, in which passages develop by floodwater flow. Free-surface flow in the vadose zone and full pipe flow in the phreatic zone produce distinctive passage morphologies. Identification of former vadose-phreatic transition zones makes it possible to reconstruct the position of former water tables that represent past static fluvial base levels.Early conceptual models considered cave origin mainly in relation to its position relative to the water table. Later, analytical and digital models showed that dramatic enlargement occurs when dissolutional enlargement of initial fissures is sufficient to allow rapid dissolution and turbulent flow to take place throughout the entire conduit length. Cave development is favored by the widest initial openings, and less importantly by the steepest hydraulic gradients and shortest flow distances. Consequently, most phreatic cave development takes place at or near the water table, but the presence of relatively wide fractures can lead to phreatic loops. Cave levels record successive base-level positions as valleys deepen. The oldest levels in Mammoth Cave (USA) and Clearwater Cave (Malaysia) have been dated beyond 3.5. Ma. However, when base level rises, the deepest parts of the karst are flooded and the flow follows phreatic lifts. In the epiphreatic zone, floodwater produces looping tubes above the low-flow water table. In these last two situations, high-level passages with large vertical loops are not necessarily the oldest.The juvenile pattern, composed of steep vadose passages, is common when soluble rock is first exposed. In perched aquifers, vadose erosion can produce very large cross sections. In dammed aquifers, the main drain is established at the water table. Irregular recharge causes backflooding, and passages develop throughout the epiphreatic zone, with looping profiles; however, when recharge is fairly regular, the passages develop along the stable water table. Interconnected cave levels account for some of the largest cave systems in the world. When base level rises, the karst is flooded; water rises through phreatic lifts and discharges at vauclusian springs. A per ascensum speleogenesis can produce higher-elevation passages that are younger than passages at lower elevations. Base-level rises occur after tectonic subsidence, filling of valleys, or sea-level rise, especially around the Mediterranean in response to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Deep-phreatic karst, if not hypogenic, can generally be attributed to flooding by a base-level rise.
... While the 'snapshot' view is prevalent nowadays, geomorphologists have always tended to view some types of change as 'normal' and others as exceptional. Davis (1905;1930) contrasted normal, fluvially dominated downwasting in humid climates with, eg, arid and karst cycles. Fluvial geomorphologists have implicitly treated alluvial channels as the standard, and bedrock streams as an exception (Whipple, 2004). ...
In recent decades views of change, disturbance, response, and recovery in geomorphology have expanded considerably. Conceptual frameworks emphasizing single-path, single-outcome trajectories of change have been supplemented - not replaced - by multi-path, multi-outcome perspectives. Geomorphology has also seen a transition from the idea of normative standards such as characteristic, (steady-state) equilibrium, zonal, and mature forms to the recognition that some systems may have multiple potential characteristic or equilibrium forms - and that some may have no particular normative state at all. These trends are not presented as a replacement of outmoded ideas, but rather as a broadening of approaches. The single-path single-outcome frameworks can generally be viewed as special cases of the broader pluralistic analytical structures. In this context, two perspectives - an adaptation of White's hazards matrix, and the landscape sensitivity concept - are suggested which lend themselves to studies of recent and contemporary changes in earth surface systems. These perspectives can be synthesized into a framework for the assessment of geomorphic changes and responses based on the 'four Rs': response (reaction and relaxation times), resistance (relative to the drivers of change), resilience (recovery ability, based on dynamical stability), and recursion (positive and/or negative feedbacks).
... W.M. Davis (1930) and J.H. Bretz (1942) proposed that caves form deep beneath the water table, when groundwater flow paths are likely to remain stable for long time periods. A. Swinnerton (1932) contended that caves are more likely to form where groundwater flow is most vigorous, i.e. at and just below the water table ( fig. 4). This origin can account for the low-gradient profiles of many phreatic passages. ...
Cave development is related to the geomorphic evolution. Their morphology, preserved far longer than correlative surface features allows reconstructing the regional history of the surrounding landscape. Modeling shows that initial cave development occurs along the water table with loops in the phreatic zone along fractures. Consequently, cave profiles and levels reflect the local base level and its changes. Cave profile is controlled by timing, geological structure, and recharge. In first exposed rocks, juvenile pattern displays steep vadose passages. In perched aquifers, vadose erosion produces large passage along aquiclude. In dammed aquifers, the main drain is established at the water table when recharge is fairly regular. But when irregular recharge causes backflooding, looping profiles develop throughout the epiphreatic zone. Interconnected cave levels correspond to some of the largest cave systems in the world. The oldest abandoned highest levels have been dated beyond 3.5 Ma (Mammoth Cave). However, when base level rises, the deepest parts of the karst are flooded; the flow rises along phreatic lifts, and discharges at vauclusian springs. In the epiphreatic zone, floodwater produces looping tubes above the low-flow water table. In such a case of baselevel rise, per ascensum speleogenesis can produce higher-elevation passages that are younger than passages at lower elevations. Base-level rises occur after tectonic subsidence, filling of valleys, or sea-level rise, as for instance around the Mediterranean in response to the Messinian Crisis. Deep-phreatic karst, if not hypogenic, can generally be attributed to flooding by a base-level rise.
... L'allure générale de la partie explorée de la cavité montre bien qu'elle consiste en un drain subhorizontal recevant des affluents subverticaux en provenance du plateau selon le modèle de la « watertable cave » (SWINNERTON, 1932 ;FORD et EWERS, 1978) commune au karst de plateforme. Dans ce type de cavité, le niveau du drain s'ajuste à celui de la vallée où ses eaux résurgent (EK, 1961 ;MIOTKE et PALMER, 1972). ...
RÉSUMÉ
La caverne étudiée mesure plus de 500 m dont 477 m ont été cartographiés. Elle se situe dans l'île d'Anticosti, à l'intérieur du bassin hydrographique de la rivière à la Patate, dans des roches ordoviciennes faiblement inclinées vers le SSO. Les conditions initiales favorables à son développement holocène sont l'existence d'un plateau calcaire partiellement recouvert de tourbières, entaillé par une vallée profonde de 40 m et affecté par un réseau de fractures perméables. Le développement horizontal et vertical de la cavité a été fortement contrôlé par le contexte structural, notamment la perméabilité et l'orientation des fractures, de même que la direction et le pendage des strates. L'enfoncement de la vallée par rapport au niveau initial de l'entrée de la caverne a eu des conséquences hydrologiques et morphogénétiques, notamment le dénoyage d'une partie de la caverne, qui a favorisé la pénétration du gel jusqu'à une centaine de mètres de l'entrée et provoqué une évolution liée davantage à la gélifraction qu'à la dissolution. Cependant, la dissolution reste le processus essentiel responsable de la spéléogénèse ayant permis la formation de la caverne et la création de conditions propices au déclenchement des processus de gélifraction et d'éboulis. Finalement, cette cavité offre un exemple intéressant de caverne holocène développée dans un milieu recouvert par l'inlandsis wisconsinien.
... Epigenic caves in telogenetic rocks often evolve in the epiphreatic zone, which led to a hypothesis that the evolution of caves is preferentially focused along the water table (water table caves) [e.g., Swinnerton, 1932;Rhoades and Sinacori, 1941]. There are, however, numerous examples of caves forming deep below the present water table or formed deep below a paleo-water table, resulting in a competing hypothesis of cave generation deep in the aquifer (bathy-phreatic caves) [e.g., Davis, 1930;Bretz, 1942]. ...
Caves formed in soluble rocks such as limestone, anhydrite, or gypsum are efficient drainage paths for water moving through the aquifer from the surface of the host rock towards a resurgence. The formation of caves is controlled by the physical solution through dissociation of the host rock by water or by the chemical solution through reactions of the host rock with water enriched with carbon dioxide. Caves as large underground voids are simply the end member of secondary porosity and conductivity characterizing the aquifer.Caves and their relation to a present or past base level are found both close to a past or present water table (water-table caves) and extending far below a past or present water table (bathy-phreatic caves). One explanation for this different speleogenetic evolution is the structural control: Fractures and bedding partings are preferentially enlarged around more prominent faults, thus the fracture density in the host rock controls the speleogenetic evolution. This widely accepted explanation [e.g. Ford and Ewers, 1978] can be extended by adding other controls, e.g. a hydraulic control: As temperature generally increases with depth, density and viscosity of water change, and particularly the reduction of viscosity due to the increase in temperature enhances flow. This hypothesis was proposed by Worthington [2001, 2004] as a major controlling factor for the evolution of deep-bathyphreatic caves.We compare the efficiency of structural and hydraulic control on the evolution of a cave passage by numerical means, adding a third control, the chemical control to address the change in solubility of the circulating water with depth. Our results show that the increase in flow through deep bathy-phreatic passages due to the decrease in viscosity is by far outweighted by effects such as the decrease in fracture width with depth due to lithostatic stress and the decrease in solubility with depth. Hence, the existence of deep bathy-phreatic cave passages is more likely to be controlled by the structural effect of prominent faults.
An unusually coherent, well-written volume. Prepared for DNAG by the History of Geology Division of GSA. Spotlights events, ideas, and people, and sheds light on the history of North American geology as a whole. With its many intellectual jewels on the evolution of scientific concepts, this book will provide many happy hours of entertainment and instruction for anyone interested in the history of science, especially that of the earth sciences. Thirty-four papers are organized into four categories: (1) The Evolution of Significant Ideas; (2) Contributions of Individuals; (3) Contributions of Organized Groups; and (4) Application of Significant Ideas. Excellent as a course-book or for additional reading for classes related to the history of geology or general science.
This chapter aims to review advanced research in karst, especially geomorphology and hydrogeology, in the last ten years (2013 and 2023) and the direction for developing its application of the morpho-hydrogeological approach in karst land use planning. Bibliometric analyses were conducted to get a picture of research themes that became the interest of karst researchers in the last decade. Advanced topics in geomorphology and its related subjects among others are the relationship between karst landform and aquifer development, speleothem proxy for paleoclimate reconstruction, carbon cycle, karst rocky desertification, and restoration. On the other hand, the recent research topic in karst hydrogeology is aquifer characterization, groundwater flow dynamic, solute and pollutant transport, nutrient flux and carbon flux through water cycle, vulnerability, and water resource protection. Advanced methods employed for data acquisition and analyses are remote sensing, GIS, geophysics, borehole, tracer test, hydrochemistry, stable isotopes, and modeling. The morph-hydrogeological approach is suggested for future research for karst land use planning. Other topics that need further elaboration are parameters for karst groundwater vulnerability, processes in karst critical zones, pollution transport and processes in tropical karst areas, and karst groundwater ecology.
The example of flow near the water table in bedrock aquifers was used to compare a data-based geological perspective and a theory-based hydraulic perspective for characterizing aquifers. The geological perspective showed that there are systematic vertical variations in permeability due to chemical weathering and compression, and gave more accurate but less precise answers than the hydraulic approach. Consequently, the geological perspective can provide a useful complementary approach to the prevailing hydraulic perspective for characterizing aquifers.
The increased knowledge on caves, a better understanding of the physical and chemical processes at work in the underground, and the evolution of hydrology as a science brought about a better understanding of speleogenesis in the last 60 years. This chapter mainly deals with the formation of caves in carbonate rocks. It focuses on the geological properties of carbonate rocks (limestones and dolostones) that host most of the cave systems in the world. The hydrogeological factors can be influenced by the topographic characteristics of the area, climate, and the long‐term landscape evolution occurring over the period between initial enlargement of fissures and the final configuration of the cave. Condensation of water vapor from moist air masses onto colder cave walls, or at the contact between warm humid and cold air masses in the cave atmosphere are responsible for the formation of water droplets and films, which are initially very low in dissolved load.
Based on a large number of drilling, logging, seismic and production data, the differential structures of karst zone and hydrocarbon distribution in different paleogeomorphic units of the Tahe area, Tarim Basin, are discussed by analyzing the karst drainages and flowing channels. The karst paleogeomorphy of Ordovician in Tahe area is composed of watershed, karst valley and karst basin. The watershed has epikarst zone of 57.8 m thick on average and vadose karst zone of 115.2 m thick on average with dense faults, fractures and medium—small fracture-caves, and 76.5% of wells in this area have cumulative production of more than 5×10⁴ t per well. The karst valleys have epikarst zone, vadose karst zone and runoff karst zone, with an average thickness of 14.6, 26.4 and 132.6 m respectively. In the runoff karst zone, the caves of subsurface river are mostly filled by fine sediment, with a filling rate up to 86.8%, and 84.9% of wells in this area have cumulative production of less than 2×10⁴ t per well. The karst basin has no karst zone, but only fault—karst reservoirs in local fault zones, which are up to 600 m thick and closely developed within 1 km around faults. Different karst landforms have different water flowing pattern, forming different karst zone structures and resulting in differential distribution of oil and gas. The watershed has been on the direction of oil and gas migration, so medium—small sized connected fracture-caves in this area have high filling degree of oil and gas, and most wells in this area have high production. Most caves in subsurface river are filled due to strong sedimentation and transportation of the river, so the subsurface river sediment has low hydrocarbon abundance and more low production oil wells. The faults linking source rock are not only the water channels but also the oil-gas migration pathways, where the karst fractures and caves provide huge reservoir space for oil and gas accumulation.
We employ a numerical model describing the evolution of secondary porosity in a single fracture embedded in soluble rock (limestone, gypsum, and anhydrite) to study the evolution of isolated fractures in different rock types. Our main focus is three-fold: The identification of shallow versus deep flow paths and their evolution for different rock types; the effect of precipitation of the dissolved material in the fracture; and finally the complication of fracture enlargement in fractures composed of several different soluble materials. Our results show that the evolution of fractures composed of limestone and gypsum is comparable, but the evolution time scale is drastically different. For anhydrite, owing to its difference from calcite in the kinetical rate law describing the removal of soluble rock, the evolution is even faster. Precipitation of the dissolved rock due to changes in the hydrochemical conditions can clog fractures fairly fast, thus changing the pattern of preferential pathways in the soluble aquifer, especially with depth. Finally, limestone fractures coated with gypsum, as occasionally observed in caves, will result in a substantial increase in fracture enlargement with time, thus giving these fractures a hydraulic advantage over pure limestone fractures in their competition for capturing flow.
Key words: soluble rock, single fracture, dissolution and precipitation, inception horizon.
Odvisnost kraškega razvoja razpoke od vrste in zaporedja vodotopnih kamnin, skozi katere poteka
Z numeričnim modelom smo raziskovali razvoj sekundarne poroznosti v enodimenzionalni razpoki v apnencu, sadri in anhidridu. Cilji raziskav so bili: 1) ugotoviti razlike med razvojem plitvih in globokih razpok v različnih kamninah; 2) oceniti učinek morebitnega izločanja enega od mineralov v razpoki in 3) dinamika rasti razpoke, ki gre skozi plasti različnih kamnin. Rezultati kažejo na primerljiv razvoj razpok v apnencu in sadri, pri čemer je čas razvoja v obeh kamninah precej različen. V anhidridu je zaradi drugačne kinetike raztapljanja razvoj še hitrejši. Izločanje ob spreminjajočih se geokemičnih pogojih lahko hitro zamaši razpoke in posebej v večjih globinah spremeni poti razvoja mreže kraških prevodnikov. V primeru, ko so razpoke v apnencu prekrite s plastjo sadre, kar v naravi pogosto opažamo, je hitrost širjenja najhitrejša, kar daje vodnim potem vzdolž takih razpok izrazito primerjalno prednost pri zajemanju razpoložljivega toka.
Ključne besede: vodotopne kamnine, enostavna razpoka, raztapljanje in izločanje, incepcijski horizont.
Karst depression morphology was analysed with respect to elements of lithology, structure, and relative location in the erosion system in a part of South Central Kentucky. Depression morphology was assessed by mean depression relief, mean depression area, and mean depression flank slope inclination indices.
Mean depression area, relief, and flank slope inclination had large values where the following conditions prevailed: 1. where limestones were characterized by low mean insoluble residue contents; 2. where high hydraulic gradients characterized the karst erosion system (this was measured by the karst relief ratio); 3. where a large percentage of the surface runoff in any area was diverted to the karst underground cavern drainage systems; 4. where a high percentage of the karst depressions were adjusted to lines of structural weakness; 5. where dense limestones were encountered; and 6. in areas which were characterized by a location near the mouth of the karst drainage system. Mean depression relief, area, and flank slope inclination decreased where any combination of these conditions did not prevail.
Regression studies revealed that 92% of the variations of depression relief, 70% of the variations of depression areas, and 73% of the variations of depression flank slopes are accounted for by variations in lithology, structure, karst drainage system geometry, and relative location in the erosion systems.
This chapter describes the different methods employed to detect, measure, monitor and estimate current and paleo base-levels in time and space. These include ground elevation as well as sea and lake levels. These methods include direct measurement, such as geodetic methods and level gauges and indirect methods, using proxies such as sedimentological, morphological and chemical data for past records. The methods of measuring the response of groundwater system to the base-level changes are also described.
There are two-period principal fractures developed in the Lungudong region. It makes carbonate formation to generate cave-fracture reservoir space system which dominated large caves as well as accompanied by network structural fractures and pore spaces. Early fractures mainly control the karsts of buried hill which located in the south-north pinch out of knollenkalk formation. It creates incised valley palaeogeomorphology and was enlarged to cave-based reservoir space by fluid erosion. Late fractures induce to two effects,on the one hand.it builds up new reservoir space and makes the unfilled or half-filled early fissures and corrosion pore spaces connected; on the other hand, it provides channels for the atmospheric fresh water immerge into the lower bed stratum, which result in the karsts system of level-undercurrent belt and deep-unhurried current belt developed. Moreover,volcanic hydrothermal solution entering into carbonate formation by these fractures, which makes prominent erosion effect on the carbonate formation of nearby channels and control the karstification in the deep.
First an overview is given on the present state of modelling of karst aquifers and karst conduits. Emphasis is placed to early karstification in rock massives with low fissure density as suggested for states 1 and 2 in Ford's four-state-model. In this case early karstification proceeds under the condition of a constant hydraulic head. The evolution of a single isolated karst conduit, as well as evolution of karst conduits in two-dimensional networks of fractures are discussed. From these models the parameters determining early karstification can be identified. These are the initial aperture widths of the fractures, their lengths, the hydraulic head, and the viscosity of water, as well as the parameters of the non-linear dissolution kinetics of limestone, and the equilibrium concentration of calcium with respect to calcite. Early karstification under constant head conditions is characterized by a feedback-mechanism which couples flow rates through the conduits to the dissolutional widening of the fracture. After an initially slow increase in flow and in aperture width of the fracture a dramatical increase of flow rates and fracture widening occurs at breakthrough. The breakthrough time, when this event happens can be quantified from the parameters defined above. This time can be considered as a measure of intensity of karstification. Large scale climatic parameters, especially temperature exert influence to breakthrough time. Under otherwise identical geological conditions breakthrough times in tropic and moderate climates are about 5 times shorter than in arctic/alpine climate. Micro-climatic conditions, however, are of similar importance. If the vegetation on a karst plateau exhibits regions with different CO2 partial pressure in the soil, waters from these differing regions may mix at fracture-confluences in the karst massive. Mixing corrosion causes renewed solutional power at these confluences. Therefore breakthrough times can be reduced significantly. We present details of this mechanism and its influence to breakthrough times. Already moderate differences in in differently vegetated areas are sufficient to reduce breakthrough times by a factor of four. Although macro- and micro-climatic variables exert a significant influence to karstification it is not possible to draw conclusions on climatic conditions from the structure of a karst aquifer in retrospective.
The paper deals with the origin of caves in Sokola Hill (Polish Jura). the caves abound in solution cavities in the walls and ceilings, many of them arranged hierarchically, some others arranged in rising sets. blind chimneys and ceiling half-tubes are also present. these features collectively indicate that the caves originated under phreatic conditions by an ascending flow of water, probably of elevated temperature. Phreatic calcite spar, crystallized from water of elevated temperature, lines the cave walls. during the formation of the caves the Jurassic limestone aquifer was confined by impermeable cover. three possible scenarios for the origin of the caves are suggested. the first scenario points to formation of the caves during the Palaeogene prior to the removal of the confining cretaceous marls. the second connects the origin of the caves with regional palaeoflow driven by tectonic loading by carpathian nappes to the south, while the third refers to local topographically driven palaeoflow. both the second and third scenarios assume that the Polish Jura had a cover of Miocene impermeable clastics. All the scenarios account for the origin of the caves in Sokola Hill and explain the common occurrence of ascending caves throughout the Polish Jura. in the subsequent stages of evolution the caves were partly filled with various deposits. conglomerates composed of Jurassic limestone clasts, quartz sands and sandstones are preserved as erosional remnants, locally covered by or interfingered with calcite flowstones. the clastic deposits were laid down by surface streams that invaded the caves earlier than 1.2 Ma. the caves were not invaded by water from Pleistocene glaciers, which is proved by the assemblage of heavy minerals in the cave clastics.
Basic Concepts in Karst Drainage SystemsKarst AquifersPorosity and Permeability of Karstic RocksZonation of the Karst Drainage SystemDefining the Catchment of a CaveHydraulics of Groundwater Flow in KarstThe Role of SalinityEvolution of the Karst Drainage SystemAnalysis of Karst Drainage SystemsStructure and Function of Karst Drainage SystemsKarst Hydrology of the Mammoth Cave Plateau, Kentucky
Obligatory cavernicoles, or troglobites, have traditionally been of special interest to evolutionary biologists for several reasons. The existence of animal life in caves and other subterranean spaces at first attracted attention because of its novelty; intensive biological exploration of caves began little more than a century ago. Although the discovery and description of the cave faunas of the world is far from complete, especially in the Western Hemisphere, so much descriptive information has been compiled that we can safely assert that, at least in unglaciated, temperate parts of the world, the occurrence of numerous species of troglobites in any major limestone region is a common and highly probable phenomenon.
Scattered widely over the Earth is a rather peculiar landscape known as “karst.” Karst landscapes are often pocked and pitted lands of sinkholes, limestone towers and steep-sided hills, underground drainage, and caves. Most karst is formed on carbonate rocks such as limestones or dolomites, sometimes on gypsum, and more rarely on rocks of other lithologies. Limestone karst is the most extensively developed, has the broadest regional extent, and has the most elaborate and highly integrated underground drainage and cavern systems.
A dissolutional cave or cave system is defined as a solution conduit of 5 to 15 mm minimum diameter that extends continuously between groundwater input points and output points. Thousands that are of explorable dimensions are known; the greatest contain more than 100 km of accessible galleries or are more than 1000 m deep. Approximately 80% of these caves were created by meteoric water circulating without unusual geologic confinement; these are common caves. Their plan pattern building is governed by hydraulic gradients in penetrable fissures, complicated by reorientation of gradients when initial conduits connect and by microfeatures of the fissures. Thus, patterns are not precisely predictable. On the long profile, caves may display drawdown or invasion, vadose morphology, and shallow, deep, or mixed phreatic morphology. Many caves are multi-phase features with sequences of levels. Two-dimensional joint-guided mazes of passages develop as anomalous portions of common cave systems or as separate caves, due to artesian confinement or diffuse input or to rapid flooding. Caves formed by CO2-rich thermal waters display distributary dendritic or 2-D or 3-D maze forms. Some large caverns may develop where H2S-rich waters are oxidized. Many irregular honeycomb caves develop where salt and fresh water mix in the coastal zone. Phreatic passage cross-sections tend to be elliptical but are complicated by differing solubility or armoring of the floor. Vadose cross-sections are canyon-like or trapezoid. Both may display solutional scalloping or a paleoflow indicator, or may be modified or destroyed by breakdown. A variety of clastic deposits accumulate in cave interiors. Fluvial facies are dominant. More than 100 secondary minerals are precipitated in caves. Calcitc is predominant and the most significant for paleo- environmental reconstructions.
Hermeneutics is the theory of interpretation. One of its major components is recognizing prejudgments, or forestructures, that we bring to our objects of study. In this paper, we construct a historical narrative of the evolution of thinking about the role of caves in relation to groundwater flow in limestone, and we tabulate forestructures as they appear in the story. This account consists of three overlapping time periods: the before and after of an incident that repelled hydrogeologists and students of karst from each other in the middle of the 20thcentury; a period, up to around the turn of this century, when karst science and mainstream hydrogeology were on different tracks; and a period of convergence, now intertwining, beginning roughly in the last quarter of the 20th century. Two influential players in our story are M.K. Hubbert, whose introduction of the Eulerian perspective of flow was a force for divergence, and R.M. Garrels, whose founding of the field of sedimentary geochemistry was a force for convergence. Other key players include F.T. Mackenzie, J.E. Mylroie, V.T. Stringfield, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bermuda Biological Station, and the Gerace Research Center in the Bahamas, along with the historical accounts of W.B. White. Our narrative ends with the broader acceptance of the concept of multiple-permeability karst aquifers. We flag in our construction a total of 43 forestructures distributed amongst the categories of hermeneutic theory: 14 in the category of preconceptions; 9 in goals; 14 in tools such as skills; and 6 in tools such as institutions. These counts are an example of the concept of social construction of statistics, and we discuss the implications in terms of the huge number of potential (combinations of forestructures that could shape alternative historical narratives of this subject over this time frame.
Endorheic continental basins, also termed as terminal or closed basins, are internal drainage systems. The term is usually related to surface water drainage systems, yet endorheic basins often also serve as groundwater base-levels and discharge zones. The basins are typified by the fact that there is no outflow from the basin to the sea by surface rivers and the rain water over the basin leaves the system naturally only by evaporation or seepage. The bottom or the lower surface area of such basins is often occupied by salt lakes or salt pans.
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