Coastal Caves and Sinkholes
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2013
Keywords
coastal caves, coastal karst basins (CKB), hydrography, sea-level change, sea-level index points (SLIPs), sea-level indicators, sinkholes, stratification
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118452547.ch6
Abstract
This chapter presents a simple model for environmental succession in coastal karst basins (CKB) under sea-level forcing, and uses this model as a framework for reviewing sea-level indicators preserved in caves and sinkholes. The model explains how common karst sea-level indicators develop, and why some of these indicators are sea-level index points (SLIPs) with a clearly defined indicative meaning, whereas others can only provide maximum or minimum constraints on sea level. The model dovetails geological, environmental, biological, and ecosystem research, and it also provides a simple framework for analyzing the sea-level proxies that are preserved in coastal karst basins. In order to use karst sea-level proxies, researchers must also understand the hydrography and stratification of coastal aquifers. In conclusion, sea-level change drives environmental change in CKBs worldwide, which in turn forces CKBs to transition through predictable environmental states.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Coastal Caves and Sinkholes, in I. Shennan, A. J. Long & B. P. Horton (Eds.), Handbook of Sea-Level Research, John Wiley & Sons, p. 83-103
Scholar Commons Citation
van Hengstum, Peter; Richards, David A.; Onac, Bogdan P.; and Dorale, Jeffrey A., "Coastal Caves and Sinkholes" (2013). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 668.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/668
