Speleothems

Cave archaeology's increasing sophistication in dealing with cave environments is best exemplified in the documentation of a previously overlooked pattern of purposeful breakage of cave formations (speleothems) by the ancient Maya (Brady et al. 1997). Subsequent reports have verified the ubiquity of speleothem breakage (Prufer 2002; Rissolo 2001) and some limited attempts have been made to develop more detailed studies of the context, extent, and significance of this practice (Moyes 2001). This chapter describes initial attempts to assess the extent of breakage in a single cave, Balam Na Cave 1. The study assembled data on the amount of stalactite breakage from this single cave to provide some type of benchmark for estimating the quantity of material that left caves and was incorporated into surface deposits. In addition, the process of inventorying the stalactites aroused the curiosity of our

SINCE JULES VERNE WROTE HIS influential novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” the aim to discover the deepest place below the surface has sparked the imaginations of generations of explorers, adventurers and scientists. Those in search of the deepest known cave on the planet are always lead to Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. Deep in the mountains of the Arabika Massif, these record-breaking caves can be found—the four deepest caves in the world, including Krubera Cave (also known as Voronya Cave, just to keep it interesting), second-deepest in the world, to nearby Veryovkina Cave.

The Arabika Massif in the Western Caucasus constitutes one of the largest karst massifs on Earth, but despite its enormous potential to scientists, the area, including Krubera Cave, has been woefully under-explored. One of the reasons is the remoteness of the area, which is only accessible for up to four months a year, but the main obstacles for scientists have been the numerous political conflicts in Abkhazia, which continue until today.

Krubera Cave was declared the world’s deepest cave in 2001 when Ukrainian speleogolists reached a depth of 1,710 meters, thereby exceeding the previous known reigning champion in the Austrian Alps. At a depth of 1,500 meters, a subterranean waterfall of near-freezing water has flooded a branch of the cave system, while the main branch continues to a depth of 2,140 meters, where a terminal siphon marks the end of the cave. In 2018, Veryovkina Cave took over the title, at 2,212 meters deep—more than 1.3 miles.

The Ukrainian speleogolists needed a staggering 14 days to reach the siphon at the end of the cave. A number of endemic fauna has been found at all levels of depth within the cave, including spiders, scorpions, beetles, as well as stygofauna like shrimps and amphipods.


Krubera Cave, also known as Voronya Cave, is the second-deepest-known cave on Earth after the Veryovkina Cave.
It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range of the Western Caucasus, in the Gagra district of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia.

The difference in elevation of the cave's entrance and its deepest explored point is 2,197 ± 20 metres (7,208 ± 66 ft).
It became the deepest-known cave in the world in 2001 when the expedition of the Ukrainian Speleological Association reached a depth of 1,710 m (5,610 ft) which exceeded the depth of the previous deepest-known cave, Lamprechtsofen, in the Austrian Alps, by 80 metres (260 ft). In 2004, for the first time in the history of speleology, the Ukrainian Speleological Association expedition reached a depth greater than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), and explored the cave to −2,080 m (−6,824 ft).
Ukrainian diver Gennadiy Samokhin extended the cave by diving in the terminal sump to 46 metres' depth in 2007 and then to 52 m in 2012, setting successive world records of 2,191 m and 2,197 m, respectively.
Krubera is one of the two known caves on Earth deeper than 2,000 metres.

The original name "Krubera" had been assigned to the cave by Soviet speleologists who explored the entrance pit in 1960. This name was given after the noted Russian geographer Alexander Kruber. The name "Krubera Cave" thus has a priority. "Voronya Cave" means "Crows' Cave" in Russian. This name was used as a slang name by Kyiv speleologists during the 1980s due to a number of crows nesting in the entrance pit, and then remained in the literature and media as a second name for the cave.

The Arabika Massif, the home of Krubera (Voronya) Cave, is one of the largest high-mountain limestone karst massifs in the Western Caucasus. It is composed of Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic limestones that dip continuously southwest to the Black Sea and plunge below the modern sea level.

To the northwest, north, northeast, and east, Arabika is bordered by the deeply incised canyons of Sandripsh, Kutushara, Gega and Bzyb rivers. The Bzyb River separates Arabika from the adjacent Bzybsky Massif, another outstanding karst area with many deep caves, including the Snezhnaja-Mezhonogo-Iljuzia System (−1,753 m or −5,751 ft) and Pantjukhina Cave (−1,508 m or −4,948 ft). To the southwest, Arabika borders the Black Sea.

The Arabika Massif has a prominent high central sector with elevations above the tree line at ~1,800–1,900 m (5,900–6,200 ft). This is an area of classical glaciokarstic landscape, with numerous glacial trough valleys and cirques, with ridges and peaks between them. The bottoms of trough valleys and karst fields lie at elevations of 2,000–2,350 m (6,560–7,710 ft), and ridges and peaks rise to 2,500–2,700 m (8,200–8,900 ft). The highest peak is the Peak of Speleologists (2,705 m (8,875 ft)) but the dominant summit is a typical pyramidal horn of the Arabika Mount (2,695 m (8,842 ft)). Some middle- to low-altitude ridges covered with forest lie between the central sector and the Black Sea. A plateau-like middle-altitude outlier of the massif in its south sector is Mamzdyshkha, with part of the plateau slightly emerging above the tree line.

Among several hundred caves known in the Arabika Massif, fifteen have been explored deeper than 400 m and five deeper than 1,000 m.

Krubera Cave is located at 2,256 m above sea level in the Ortobalagan Valley, a perfectly shaped, relatively shallow, glacial trough of the sub-Caucasian stretch, which holds the advanced position in the Arabika's central sector relative to the seashore. Since 1980, Ukrainian cavers have been undertaking systematic efforts in exploring deep caves in the Ortobalagan Valley, resulting in exploration of the Krubera Cave to its current depth and of the Arabikskaja System to depth of −1,110 m (−3,640 ft).
The latter consists of Kuybushevskaya Cave (also spelled as Kujbyshevskaja; −1,110 m) and Genrikhova Bezdna Cave (−965 m to the junction with Kujbyshevskaja). Another deep cave in the valley, located in its very upper part and explored by Moldavian and Ukrainian cavers is Berchilskaya Cave, 500 m (1,600 ft) deep. All large caves of the Ortobalagan Valley likely belong to a single hydrological system, connected to large springs at the Black Sea shore. The direct physical connection of Krubera Cave with the Arabikaskaja System is a sound possibility, although not yet physically realized.

The "Onice del Carso" of the "Fornace di Aurisina" Quarry (Trieste, Italy). Geological and palinological study.

A residual outcrop of an ancient flowstone was sampled for pollen and sedimentological analyses in an abandoned quarry of "onice", in the Trieste Karst near Aurisina. The aim of the analyses was to infer the age of the flowstone through its palaeoecological context.
Apparently, this deposits belongs to a somewhat short sedimentary cycle of an interglacial phase characterised by an almost constant temperate-wet climate. During this period, the area was covered by a deciduous forest that can be chronologically ascribed to the beginning of the lower Pleistocene, about 1.6 My BP, and that can be compared to the upper part of the Leffe sequence.

Speleothems have become a cornerstone of the approach to better understanding Earth's climatic tel- econnections due to their precise absolute chronologies, their continuous or semicontinuous deposition and their global terrestrial distribution. We review the last decade of speleothem-related research, building off a similar review by McDermott (2004), in three themes e i) investigation of global tele- connections using speleothem-based climate reconstructions, ii) refinement of climate interpretations from speleothem proxies through cave monitoring, and iii) novel, technical methods of speleothem- based climate reconstructions. Speleothem records have enabled critical insight into the response of global hydroclimate to large climate changes. This includes the relevant forcings and sequence of climatic responses involved in glacial terminations and recognition of a global monsoon response to climate changes on orbital and millennial time scales. We review advancements in understanding of the pro-
cesses that control speleothem d13C values and introduce the idea of a direct atmospheric pCO2 influence. We discuss progress in understanding kinetic isotope fractionation, which, with further advances, may help quantify paleoclimate changes despite non-equilibrium formation of speleothems. This feeds into the potential of proxy system modeling to consider climatic, hydrological and biogeochemical processes with the objective of quantitatively interpreting speleothem proxies. Finally, we provide an overview of emerging speleothem proxies and novel approaches using existing proxies. Most recently, technical advancements made in the measurement of fluid inclusions are now yielding reliable determinations of paleotemperatures.

Bulgaria encompasses most of the Balkan migratory corridor (part of the so-called Danubian corridor) which facilitated the dispersal of mammals and Homo populations into and out of Europe. In spite of the scarcity of human fossil remains, the rich evidence of more than 20 Palaeolithic sites in Bulgaria suggests long-term human presence and various activities.
Northwestern Bulgaria is known for the massive karstic formations in the area around the present-day town of Belogradchik. Three important Palaeolithic settlements have been excavated there, namely the caves of Kozarnika, Magura and Mishin Kamik. This paper presents the results of five short but intensive excavation campaigns in Mishin Kamik Cave.
No human fossil remains or lithic artefacts have been recovered. However, the excavations produced several bone artefacts and a number of intriguing features, including an apparently intentional arrangement of bear skulls, which suggest the cave was visited by humans at the end of the Middle Pleistocene.

"Causal explanations for the 4.2 ka BP event are based on the amalgamation of seasonal and annual records of climate variability that was manifest across global regions dominated by different climatic regimes. However, instrumental and paleoclimate data indicate that seasonal climate variability is not always sequential in some regions. The present study investigates the spatial manifestation of the 4.2 ka BP event during the boreal winter season in Eurasia, where climate variability is a function of the spatiotemporal dynamics of the westerly winds. We present a multi-proxy reconstruction of winter climate conditions in Europe, west Asia, and northern Africa between 4.3 and 3.8 ka. Our results show that, while winter temperatures were cold throughout the region, precipitation amounts had a heterogeneous distribution , with regionally significant low values in W Asia, SE Europe, and N Europe and local high values in the N Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathian Mountains, and E and NE Europe. Further, strong northerly winds were dominating in the Middle East and E and NE Europe. Analyzing the relationships between these climatic conditions, we hypothesize that in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere, the 4.2 ka BP event was caused by the strengthening and expansion of the Siberian High, which effectively blocked the moisture-carrying west-erlies from reaching W Asia and enhanced outbreaks of cold and dry winds in that region. The behavior of the winter and summer monsoons suggests that when parts of Asia and Eu-rope were experiencing winter droughts, SE Asia was experiencing similar summer droughts, resulting from failed and/or reduced monsoons. Thus, while in the extratropical regions of Eurasia the 4.2 ka BP event was a century-scale winter phenomenon, in the monsoon-dominated regions it may have been a feature of summer climate conditions."

Inhalt:
      1. Die geographische Lage des Exkursionsgebiets im Remscheid-Altenaer Sattel
2. Standort Dolomitsteinbruch im Massenkalk bei Hagen Hohenlimburg
2.1 Die Entstehung des Massenkalks und Dolomits
2.2 Die Kalkbuchenwälder
3. Der Standort Dechenhöhle
3.1 Die Dechenhöhle
3.2 Die Entstehung von Tropfsteinhöhlen und Tropfsteinen
4. Der Standort Sonderhorst-Burgberg in den Letmather Kalkbergen und seine Kalkflora
5. Der Standort Felsenmeer in Hemer
5.1 Das Felsenmeer
5.2 Verkarstungserscheinungen
6. Quellenangaben und Literaturhinweise

The trace element and Sr isotope records in two coeval stalagmites characterized by different growth rates and flow regimes at Savi cave (Grotta Savi, NE Italy) reveal different sources and incorporation mechanisms for Mg and Sr. Mg is sourced primarily from dissolved cave host rock while particulate Mg derived from soil plays a subordinate role. The presence of particulate-borne Mg is inferred from the co-variation of Mg and particle-associated elements (Th, Al and Mn) which are preferentially concentrated in open columnar calcite layers. Variation in Mg concentrations corrected for particle-influenced components, the Mg c parameter, is controlled by water–rock interaction, with higher and lower Mg c during dry and wet phases, respectively. This is thought to reflect incongruent dissolution of Mg-rich phases. Correction of Sr concentrations for contributions from airborne exogenic Sr, based on 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios, yields the bedrock-only contribution (Sr c). Sr c variation in stalagmite calcite is influenced by speleothem growth rate and by variation of the calcite-water Sr partitioning in wet and dry phases, and only to a minor extent by incongruent dissolution of Mg-rich phases. Concentration profiles for Mg c and Sr cg (corrected for growth rate effects) show inverse correlations and are inferred to show hydrological significance which is captured in a hydrological index, HI. We suggest HI provides robust information on water–rock interaction related to hydrological changes and can be utilized in both wet and semi-arid environments, provided the corrections for soil Mg and exogenic Sr can be applied with confidence. Application of the HI index allows correction of Grotta Savi oxygen isotope data, to yield a d 18 O c time series that shows when changes in moisture sources and atmospheric reorganization, or changes in moisture amount, were significant. This is especially evident during the Younger Dryas (YD). The Savi record supports the concept of a two-phase YD, marked by an increase of moisture and stronger impact of Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea Abbreviations: PBC, particulate and colloidally bound trace elements; Sr c , bedrock derived Sr corrected for soil contribution; Sr cg , Sr c corrected for growth rate (g) changes; Mg c , Mg corrected from particle input; SEF Sr , speleothem enrichment factor based on Sr raw data; SEF Sr-c , speleothem enrichment factor based on Sr c data; C lf , compact columnar calcite with flat laminae fabric; Co, open columnar fabric, with (1) resolved lamination and (2) less-resolved lamination; Co-or, organic-rich open columnar fabric

Tijdens het voorbije weekend van de
Wetenschappelijke Speleologie brachten de
auteurs een presentatie over de zogenaamde
banden en aureolen van Liesegang. Dit is
een weinig bekend ondergronds geologisch
fenomeen, dat zich ook in de Aven Flandin
voordoet. Gepubliceerd in Spelerpes n° 2014/1, pp 18-21

In the upper central part of Mount Ulía there are several small valleys with rocks in which Eocene carbonate sandstone strata outcrop. These sandstones are part of a flysch facies abyssal turbidite sequence that alternates thick sandstone strata with thin mudstone intercalations, called Jaizkibel Formation. In these rocks there are shelters, small cavities and numerous mesocaverns, including the cave under study. The caves have been formed by intergranular dissolution, with some cavities containing water springs and underground water circulation. Similarly, many of them have sandy detrital fillings, clastic blocks and various types of speleothems and geoforms. The cavity studied presents a set of cave species, organized in an ecosystem comparable to that found in limestone caves, with the presence of gastropod molluscs, araneids, harvestmen, isopods, diplopods, chilopods, springtails, lepidoptera, diptera, coleoptera and chiroptera. The work describes the cavity and its fauna, and discusses various aspects of its ecology and hydrogeology.

A group of tunnels and shelters with geoforms in sandstone strata is described on the coast of Mount Jaizkibel. The rocks are part of a sequence of abyssal turbidites, of Eocene age (Jaizkibel Formation, Basque Country). Two of the tunnels pierce the edges of a littoral plate, at 52 m asl, and carry a channel that is now collapsed. The third runs at a higher elevation (108 m asl) and is part of an active channel that supplies water to the Pasaia tunnel. The exploration of these tunnels is a continuation of previous works (Lezo, Pasaia, Kalaburtza and Gran Kanto tunnels) which intercept underground aquifers and contributed to the discovery of interesting species of cave fauna, as well as speleothems and curious geoforms. In the escarpments of the sector there are also other examples of shelters with geoforms. In the hypogean biotopes we find several species not previously reported for the karst of the region.

This paper provides a brief overview of the most common dating techniques applied in palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental studies including four radiometric and isotopic dating methods (radiocarbon, 230Th disequilibrium, luminescence, cosmogenic nuclides) and two incremental methods based on layer counting (ice layer, varves). For each method, concise background information about the fundamental principles and methodological approaches is provided. We concentrate on the time interval of focus for the INTIMATE (Integrating Ice core, MArine and TErrestrial records) community (60e8 ka). This dating guide addresses palaeoclimatologists who aim at interpretation of their often regional and local proxy time series in a wider spatial context and, therefore, have to rely on correlation with proxy records
obtained from different archives from various regions. For this reason, we especially emphasise scientific approaches for harmonising chronologies for sophisticated and robust proxy data integration. In this respect, up-to-date age modelling techniques are presented as well as tools for linking records by age equivalence including tephrochronology, cosmogenic 10Be and palaeomagnetic variations. Finally, to avoid inadequate documentation of chronologies and assure reliable correlation of proxy time series, this paper provides recommendations for minimum standards of uncertainty and age datum reporting.

The Kalaburtza tunnel was drilled to supply water to Pasaia. It is located to the NE of Kalaburtza beach, at an altitude of 48 m, and crosses the tip of Mount Jaizkibel that limits the entrance to the port of Pasaia to the East. The tunnel, now abandoned, passes through a 208 m thickness of rocks from the Jaizkibel Formation (a sequence of abyssal turbidites, composed of sandstone strata of carbonate cement with interbedded shales), Eocene age. This lithology presents karstification processes and underground aquifers, with numerous cavities and remarkable sandstone geoforms. The tunnel intercepts local water leaks, has various speleothems and is inhabited by cave fauna, which includes several troglophilous species. The work describes the cavity and its fauna and is illustrated with digital photography.

Two examples of industrial by-products having a slightly elevated content of radionuclides are considered: coal fly ash and phosphogypsum. The properties of both are reviewed and the advantages of their re-using in construction are shown, as well as the problems caused by elevated content of chemical/radioactive contaminants. The problem of utilizing such byproducts in construction is discussed. Radiological aspects and legislation issues are analyzed. The tendency to develop stricter environmental norms observed in ...

Deglaciation ages for valley glaciers from the last glacial maximum are difficult to obtain with precision. The unequal or non-uniform loss of glacial ice cover (spatial heterogeneity) during glacial retreat results in exposure of considerable land surface area prior to complete deglaciation. New U-series dates from an 11cm long stalagmite in a shallow, high elevation (3242 m) cave in the southern San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado (USA), indicate that substantial, high-elevation glacial ice ablation occurred prior to 13.5 ka. The stalagmite dates compare well with other deglaciation studies in central and southern Colorado that show deglaciation occurred between ca. 13 ka to 15 ka. Low δ 13 C values from 13.5 ka speleothem growth bands, relative to the δ 13 C value of the host carbonate, suggest that alpine plant and soil cover was established at this location, aspect, and elevation prior to 13.5 ka. Calcite luminescence in the 13.5 ka growth bands indicates the presence of humic and fulvic acids released by the roots of living plants and decomposition of vegetative matter. The carbon isotope ratios, calcite luminescence, and U-series dates suggest that the southern San Juan Mountains, at this high elevation site and southern aspect were substantially ice-free prior to 13.5 ka.

Sulphate concentrations in speleothems identify major volcanic eruptions, provide useful information on soil and aquifer dynamics and, in similar fashion to the 14C bomb peak, its Anthropocene peak can be used to date recent cave formations. However, the transmission of S from the atmosphere to cave dripwater and its incorporation in speleothems is subjected to biogeochemical cycling and accurate studies of each cave site are needed in order to assess how the S atmospheric signal is modified and eventually encoded in speleothems. This study investigates the role of biogeochemical cycling and aquifer hydrology by utilising published and new dripwater and speleothem data from Grotta di Ernesto (ER) in northern Italy. Here we provide the first long-term record of sulphate concentration in cave dripwater based on over 20 years of measurements. Fast drip site st-ER1 is characterised by a continuous decrease in SO4 concentration from a high of 7.5 ±0.8 mg/l in 1993-1994 to a low of 2.2 ±0.2 mg/l in 2013-2014, and replicates with a delay of ~15 years the decline in the atmospheric SO2 emissions. The S-series of slow flow ER78 site is further delayed by ~4.5 years in relation to the S retention in the aquifer matrix. The dripwater data are used to extend the previously published S record (1810 – 1998 AD) of stalagmite ER78 and reconstruct the anthropogenic S-peak: this displays a delay of ~20 years with respect to the atmospheric S emission peak due to biogeochemical cycling and aquifer storage. However, sulphur recycling above the cave did not operate with the same degree of efficiency through time, which resulted in a variable time delay between S deposition and incorporation into the stalagmite. In the pre- Anthropocene era, and in particular during the cold Little Ice Age, biogeochemical cycling was far less efficient than today, and the fast transmission of the atmospheric signal allowed capture of S released during major volcanic eruptions by stalagmites.

In the semi-desert region of the Bardenas (Navarra) are interesting systems of caves and chasms in clay, formed by processes of piping. Rock-box consists of clay materials, with minor interbedded mudstones, marl and limestone, belonging to the Tudela Formation (of Miocene age). Recent explorations in the plateau of the Nasas (Bardena Negra), have allowed to study systems of potholes with 880 m of galleries and -100 m depth. The largest individual cavity (Sima Nasa Alta 04) reaches 380 m of development and -40 m of depth. The cavities have unique speleothems of gypsum, illite, calcite and opal-CT. In smaller proportions and in different combinations there are also occurrences of anhydrite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, halite and amorphous silicates. These data are of great interest because they prove the existence of dissolution over the process of karstification and speleogenesis, at the same time there are the first reports of speleothems to caves in clay. The paper describes the speleothems found and discusses its genesis.
Link: http://www.aranzadi.eus/fileadmin/webs/Publicaciones/pdfs/TotalSpeleothemsClayCaves%203-11-2015.pdf

In the NE part of Mount Gazume (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) there is an outcrop of black dolomitic limestone with carniolas streaks of Jurassic age (Lías), where a group of five mines was exploited at the beginning of the 20th century, for the extraction of iron ores, which were transported by wagon and an 11.4 km aerial cable to a loading point on the coast of Zarauz. The mines caught our attention for presenting flooded areas inhabited by newts, salamanders and anurans, as well as for serving as a refuge for bats and cave-dwelling invertebrates. The largest of the mines intersects a natural limestone cavity in the subsoil, without prior communication with the surface, which totals 487 m of development of galleries and -27 m of unevenness. The cavity, crossed by a small underground river, has various speleothems and a set of cave species, including eight troglobitic species. The work describes the cavity and its fauna.troglobias. El trabajo describe la cavidad y su fauna.

This paper discusses the advance of the speleothem luminescence
research.  Potential,  resolution  and  limitations  of  high  resolution  luminescence  speleothem  proxy  records  of
Paleotemperature, Solar Insolation, Solar Luminosity, Glaciations, Sea Level advances, Past Precipitation, Plants
Populations, Paleosoils, Past Karst Denudation, Chemical Pollution, Cosmic Rays Flux variations, Cosmogenic
Isotopes production and Supernova Eruptions in the Past, Advances of Hydrothermal Waters, and Techtonic Uplift are
discussed. It is demonstrated that speleothems allow extremely high resolution (higher than in any other paleoclimatic
terrestrial archives) and long duration of records. Some speleothems can be used as natural climatic stations for
obtaining of quantitative proxy records of Quaternary climates with annual resolution.