Articles
Airflow dynamics in Wind Cave and Jewel Cave: How do barometric caves breathe?
Annika K. Gomell and Andreas Pflitsch
- Barometric airflow is studied based on pressure changes and resulting gradients
- Relevant times of surface pressure changes for airflow induction differ significantly between caves
- Airflow gradients are stronger indicators for airflow than previous surface pressure changes
- Airflow response times to surface pressure changes are significantly longer at Jewel Cave compared to Wind Cave
- Results prove impact of cave-internal pressure processes on speleoclimate systems
Flow regime evolution of a major cave system in the Eastern Alps (Hirlatzhöhle, Dachstein)
Lukas Plan, Gottfried Buchegger, Eva Kaminsky, Gabriella Koltai, Tanguy Racine, and Jacek Szczygieł
- Speleogenesis of a 116 km-long and 1560 m-deep Alpine cave system is investigated
- Present day and Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene flow conditions are compared
- Cave levels, palaeo-flow direction and sediments differ from other caves in the region
- An allogenic palaeo-recharge from crystalline units of the Eastern Alps is unlikely
- The main cave level originated in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
Algae and cyanobacteria in the aphotic habitats of Veternica Cave (Medvednica Mt., Croatia) and selected caves of the Dinaric karst (South-Eastern Europe)
Najla Baković, Tanja Pipan, Robert Baković, Roman Ozimec, Josip Rubinić, and Renata Matoničkin Kepčija
- A ten-year study shows that algae and cyanobacteria can be found in the cave aphotic zone
- In cave aphotic zone both live individuals and remnants of algae and cyanobacteria were found
- Algae and cyanobacteria were most frequently associated with hydrologically active caves
- Algae and cyanobacteria were more often found in deeper parts of the caves
- Algae and cyanobacteria should be acknowledged in the discussion of cave food nets
The nitrogen dynamics of Deer Cave, Sarawak, and the role of bat caves as biogeochemical sinks in Tropical Moist Forests.
Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. McFarlane, and Guy Van Rentergem
- We present the first detailed modelling of ammonia plume in a cave context
- We present the first quantitative (conservative) estimate of total population of Chaerephon plicata in Deer Cave, at 774,828 ±48,320
- Export of N as gaseous ammonia is minor; majority is exported in aqueous form
- The final budget is dominated (as much as 94.4%) by microbial denitrification of fixed-N to diatomic N
- The cave functions as a sink for up to 39% of the total forest nitrogen budget
Sub-recent microfauna within allogenic sediments at the bottom of a deep cave, Njemica (Biokovo Mt., Croatia)
Tomislav Kurečić, Valentina Hajek Tadesse, Lara Wacha, Marija Horvat, Nina Trinajstić, and Ivan Mišur
- Allogenic cave sediments are deposited from suspension - slackwater facies
- The provenance of the detritus is related to the Quaternary deposits in the surrounding areas
- Determined ostracod species indicate sub-recent in situ assemblages
- Sub-recent microfauna corelates with the endemic living species within Dinaric Karst
Worldwide distribution of cave-dwelling Chelodesmidae (Diplopoda, Polydesmida)
Rodrigo Salvador Bouzan, Jackson C. Means, Kaloyan Ivanov, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Antonio Domingos Brescovit, and Luiz Felipe Moretti Iniesta
- Little is known regarding Chelodesmidae species and their association with caves
- The species richness in caves represents 3% of the 800 described in the family
- The majority of the species do not display adaptations to a subterranean lifestyle
- The five troglobitic taxa indicated in this study may represent relictual lineages
- Efforts are needed to bridge the gap between the true Chelodesmidae diversity in caves
