Abstract
Underground natural sources of visible light are considered. The main light producer is Cerenkov radiation emitted in air, water and rock by cosmic ray muons, that depends, in a complex way, on shape of mountain and of caves. In general the illumination increases linearly with the cavity dimensions. Other light sources are from secondary processes generated by radioactive decays in rock from minerals luminescence. The natural light fluxes in caves are in general easy to detect but are not used from underground life.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.29.1.5
Recommended Citation
Badino, Giovanni.
2000.
Is it always dark in caves?.
International Journal of Speleology,
29: 89-126.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol29/iss1/5
