Kempe, S., and Al-Malabeh, A., Al-Shreideh, A., and Henschel, H-V. 2006. Al-Daher Cave (Bergish), Jordan, the first extensive Jordanian limestone cave: a convective Carlsbad-type cave?. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 107–114.
In spite of the vast limestone area present in Jordan, no karstic caves to speak of were known there until 1995 when Al-Daher Cave was discovered. The cave is situated east of Bergish Reserve for Ecotourism in the mountains of Bergish at about 830 m above sea level. The cave formed in the Wadi As Sir Limestone Formation of Upper Cretaceous age. It is a maze developed along NW-SE and NE-SW striking joints which owe their existence to the Dead Sea Transform Fault situated a few kilometers to the west of the cave. Rooms, with a total area of 1750 m2, were formed within a square of 70 × 70 m. The cave is constrained to certain limestone strata, laminated and non-laminated, divided by four chert layers that form distinctive markers throughout the cave. Chert nodules occur also within the limestone layers. The cave formed phreatically exclusively by dissolution within a small body of rising and convecting water. It is suggested that the very localized solution capacity derived from the oxidation of either H2S, or possibly even CH4, by oxygen present near the former water table. Thus, Al-Daher Cave may have formed by a process similar to that which formed the Guadalupe Mountain caves, New Mexico, among them Carlsbad Cavern. The altitude of the cave suggests that it may be as old as upper Miocene. The cave contains several relict generations of speleothems but also active forms. The local government is hoping to develop the cave into a show cave; it would be the first in Jordan.
Lundberg, J., and McFarlane, D.A. 2006. A minimum age for canyon incision and for the extinct Molossid bat, Tadarida constantinei, from Carlsbad Cavers National Park, New Mexico. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 115–117.
Slaughter Canyon Cave (or New Cave), Carlsbad Caverns National Park, southeastern New Mexico, opens in the wall of Slaughter Canyon, 174 m above the present level of the canyon floor. It contains bone-bearing, water-laid sediments capped by a double layer of calcite. TIMS U-Th dates on the two layers are 66.0 0.3 ka and 209 9 ka. Deposition of these two laterallyextensive calcite layers suggests wet periods in this currently-arid region during MIS 4 and 7. The date on the lower layer suggests that the clastic deposit was emplaced no later than MIS 8. This yields a maximum estimate for downcutting rate of the canyon of ~0.87 mm yr-1during the Late Pleistocene. The clastic deposit contains bones of the molossid bat Tadarida constantinei Lawrence 1960: the date of 209 9 ka is thus a minimum age for this extinct bat.
Ashjari, J., and Raeisi, E. 2006. Influences of anticlinal structure on regional flow, Zagros, Iran. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 118–129.
Carbonate karstic formations outcrop in about 23% of the Zagros Region. Seventy-two karstic anticlines were selected to study regional flow. Based on geometry of the anticline and outflow position, a conceptual model is presented for delineation of flow direction, at least within Zagros. The anticlines were divided into two main groups based on presence or absence of hydraulic connectivity between the limbs. The geological and tectonic settings are the main controlling factors within these two groups. Sixty-four out of the seventy-two anticlines showed no hydraulic connectivity between their limbs. Each group was further classified into four subgroups based on the location of the discharge zones, namely one or both plunge apex noses, limb, traversing river, or a combination of plunge apexes, limbs and river. The discharge zones may be located in the adjacent or in the successive anticlines. The discharge zones are mainly controlled by local base level. In most of the cases having no hydraulic connection between the limbs, the direction of flow is initially along the bedding plane dip and finally parallel to the strike at the foot of the anticline. In most of the cases having connections between two limbs, the regional directions of flow, in the connected part, are opposite from the direction of bedding plane dip and eventually parallel to strike. The results show that the primary controlling factors of regional flow are the anticlinal structure of aquifers and geometry of the bedrock.
Sasowsky, I.D., and Bishop, M.R. 2006. Empirical study of conduit radial cross-section determination and representation methods on cavernous limestone porosity characterization. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 130–136.
Radial cross sections are constructed during cave mapping in order to illustrate karst groundwater conduit (cave passage) morphology. These sections can also be employed in studies of porosity distribution and paleohydrology. Cave surveyors usually estimate left, right, up, and down (LRUD) distances from a survey station to the conduit wall, and these four values are used to construct the radial cross section, and occasionally integrated along the length of the passage to determine cave volume. This study evaluates the potential errors caused by LRUD estimation, as well as the effects of differing geometric approximations of passage shape. Passage dimensions at 18 stations of diverse size and morphology in Scott Hollow Cave, West Virginia were first estimated for LRUD and then precisely surveyed using a laser rangefinder taking 16 radial measurements. Results show that, depending upon the purpose of a survey, a reasonable approximation of passage shape might be made with fewer (four or eight) measurements. In cases where only four lengths are determined, approximation of the passage as an ellipse or rectangle provides a more accurate morphology and area than if portrayed as a quadrilateral. In the former case, average area errors were on the order of ±10%, as opposed to -45% in the latter. Surveyor estimates of LRUD give an average overestimate of 27%. Length errors compound, however, when areas are calculated. This results in an average cross-section area error (as quadrilateral) of 57% when using estimates instead of measurements. This may be problematic for such analyses as calculation of fluid storage volumes or paleodischarges.
Elkins, J. T., and Railsback, L.B. 2006. Evaluation of the effect of oven roasting at 340 °C, bleach, 30% H2O2, and distilled/deionized water on the Δ13C value of speleothem carbonate. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 137–143.
Organic compounds derived from plants are found in many cave formations, which are collectively speleothem CaCO3 have distinct ratios of the stable isotopes of carbon (12C and 13C) that are expressed as ä13C values. Values of ä13C in the organic compounds are lower than ä13C values of speleothem calcium carbonate and could affect the ä13C values of speleothems with high organic conventionally used to destroy organic matter in carbonates prior to geochemical analysis were evaluated in this study. The treatments were oven roasting at 340° C, soaking in bleach, soaking in 30% H2O2, and soaking in distilled deionized water. There is no statistically significant difference between results from untreated and treated samples. These results suggest that the treatments do not affect the ä13C value of speleothems’ calcium carbonate. The treatments might be helpful in removing organic matter in speleothems that have high concentrations of organic matter. However, most speleothems have low organic carbon concentrations that do not affect the ä13C value of the speleothem, even if left untreated. Ultimately these treatments only need to be applied to speleothems with unusually high concentrations of organic matter.
Gao, Y., Tipping, R.G., and Alexander, Jr., E.C. 2006. Applications of GIS and database technologies to manage a karst feature database. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 144–152.
This paper describes the management of a Karst Feature Database (KFD) in Minnesota. Two sets of applications in both GIS and Database Management System (DBMS) have been developed for the KFD of Minnesota. These applications were used to manage and to enhance the usability of the KFD. Structured Query Language (SQL) was used to manipulate transactions of the database and to facilitate the functionality of the user interfaces. The Database Administrator (DBA) authorized users with different access permissions to enhance the security of the database. Database consistency and recovery are accomplished by creating data logs and maintaining backups on a regular basis. The working database provides guidelines and management tools for future studies of karst features in Minnesota. The methodology of designing this DBMS is applicable to develop GIS-based databases to analyze and manage geomorphic and hydrologic datasets at both regional and local scales. The short-term goal of this research is to develop a regional KFD for the Upper Mississippi Valley Karst and the long-term goal is to expand this database to manage and study karst features at national and global scales.
Graening, G.O., Slay, M.E., and Bitting, C. 2006. Cave fauna of the Buffalo National river. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 68 (3), 153–163.
The Buffalo National River (within Baxter, Marion, Newton, and Searcy counties, Arkansas) is completely underlain by karstic topography, and contains approximately 10% of the known caves in Arkansas. Biological inventory and assessment of 67 of the park’s subterranean habitats studies, creating a database of 2,068 total species occurrences, 301 animal taxa, and 143 total sites. Twenty species obligate to caves or ground water were found, including four new to science. site species richness was directly proportional to cave passage length and correlated to habitat factors such as type of water resource and organics present, but not other factors, such as degree significance using the metrics of passage length, total and obligate species richness. Fitton Cave ranked highest and is the most biologically rich cave in this National Park and second-most in all of Arkansas with 58 total and 11 obligate species. Recommendations include continuation of physical and biological inventories, increased protection of high-ranking sites, and increased public education/outreach. |
