Speleology
Encyclopedia
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s and other karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis
Speleogenesis
Speleogenesis is the origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution...
) and change over time (speleomorphology). The term speleology is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of exploring
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
caves, but this is more properly known as caving
Caving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
, spelunking or potholing. Speleology and caving are often connected, as the physical skills required for in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
study are the same.
Speleology is a cross-disciplinary field that combines the knowledge of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
to develop portraits of caves as complex, evolving systems.
History
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the scientific value of caves was considered only in its contribution to other branches of science, and cave studies were considered part of the larger disciplines of geographyGeography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
or archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. Very little cave-specific study was undertaken prior to the work of Édouard-Alfred Martel
Édouard-Alfred Martel
, the 'father of modern speleology', was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation...
(1859 - 1938), the 'father of modern speleology', who through his extensive and well-publicised cave explorations introduced in France the concept of speleology as a distinct area of study. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted to cave science in the world.
The growth of speleology is directly linked with that of the sport of caving
Caving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
, both because of the stimulation of public interest and awareness, and the fact that most speleological field-work has been conducted by sport cavers.
Cave cartography
The creation of an accurate, detailed map is one of the most common technical activities undertaken within a cave. Cave maps, called surveys, can be used to compare caves to each other by length, depth and volume, may reveal clues on speleogenesisSpeleogenesis
Speleogenesis is the origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution...
, provide a spatial reference for further scientific study, and assist visitors with route-finding.
Cave biology
Caves provide a home for many unique biota. Cave ecologies are very diverse, and not sharply distinct from surface habitats. Generally however, the deeper the cave becomes, the more rarefied the ecology.Cave environments fall into three general categories:
- Endogean
- the parts of caves that are in communication with surface soils through cracks and rock seams, groundwater seepage, and root protrusion.
- Parahypogean
- the threshold regions near cave mouths that extend to the last penetration of sunlight.
- Hypogean
- or "true" cave environments. These can be in regular contact with the surface via wind and underground rivers, or the migration of animals, or can be almost entirely isolated. Deep hypogean environments can host autonomous ecologies whose primary source of energy is not sunlight, but chemical energy liberated from limestone and other minerals by chemoautotrophicChemotrophChemotrophs are organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments. These molecules can be organic or inorganic . The chemotroph designation is in contrast to phototrophs, which utilize solar energy...
bacteria.
Cave organisms fall into three basic classes:
| Latin | English | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Troglobite Troglobite Troglobites are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglobite species include spiders, insects, fish and others. They live permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglobite adaptations and characteristics include a heightened... s |
cave dwellers | are obligatory cavernicoles, specialized for cave life. Some can leave caves for short periods, and may complete parts of their life cycles above ground, but cannot live their entire lives outside of a cave environment. Examples include chemotrophic bacteria, some species of flatworms, collembola, and Blindfish Northern Cavefish Amblyopsis spelaea, The northern cavefish, northern blindfish, or blind cavefish of the mammoth cave is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana... . |
| Troglophiles | cave lovers | can live part or all of their lives in caves, but can also complete a life cycle in appropriate environments on the surface. Examples include cave crickets, millipede Millipede Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one... s, pseudoscorpion Pseudoscorpion A pseudoscorpion, , is an arachnid belonging to the order Pseudoscorpionida, also known as Pseudoscorpiones or Chelonethida.... s and spiders. |
| Trogloxene Trogloxene Trogloxenes are species which live close to caves or at the very entrance of the cave. Cliff swallows, cave swallows, cave swiftlets, reticulated pythons, rats, bats, bears, raccoons and humans are considered to be trogloxenes... s |
cave guests | Frequents caves, and may require caves for a portion of its life cycle, but must return to the surface (or a parahypogean zone) for at least some portion of its life. Hibernating reptiles and mammals are the most widely recognized examples. |
There are also so-called accidental trogloxenes which are surface organisms that enter caves for no survival reason. Some may even be troglophobes (“cave haters”), which cannot survive in caves for any extended period. Examples include deer which fell through a sinkhole, frogs swept into a cave by a flash flood, etc.
The two factors that limit cave ecologies are generally energy and nutrients. To some degree moisture is always available in actively-forming Karst caves. Cut off from the sunlight and steady deposition of plant detritus, caves are poor habitats in comparison with wet areas on the surface. The majority of energy in cave environments comes from the surplus of the ecosystems outside. One major source of energy and nutrients in caves is dung from trogloxenes, the majority of which is deposited by bats. Other sources are mentioned above.
Cave ecosystems are very fragile. Because of their rarity and position in the ecosystem they are threatened by a large number of human activities. Dam construction, limestone quarrying, water pollution and logging are just some of the disasters that can devastate or destroy underground biological communities.
Other areas of cave science
Speleologists also work with archaeologists in studying underground ruins, tunnels, sewers and aqueducts, such as the various inlets and outlets of the Cloaca MaximaCloaca Maxima
The Cloaca Maxima is one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Constructed in Ancient Rome in order to drain local marshes and remove the waste of one of the world's most populous cities, it carried an effluent to the River Tiber, which ran beside the city....
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
External links
- The Virtual Cave, an online guide to speleothems
- Biospeleology; The Biology of Caves, Karst, and Groundwater, by Texas Natural Science Center, the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
and the Missouri Department of ConservationMissouri Department of ConservationThe Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitution... - Speleogenesis Network, a communication platform for physical speleology and karst science research
- cave-biology.org Cave biology, biospeleology in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- Cave Biota; an evolving "webumentary", sponsored by Hoosier National ForestHoosier National ForestThe Hoosier National Forest, in the hills of south central Indiana, is a property managed by the United States Forest Service. Composed of four separate sections, it has a total area of . It is headquartered in Bedford, with a regional office in Tell City...
and Indiana Karst Conservancy - IJS - Home Page (International Journal of Speleology) (in English, Italian, French, German, and Spanish)
- Caving News, Daily news and articles on caves, caving, speleology, karst and other information for cavers.