Cave & Karst Science (ISSN 1356-191X)

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Contents of Cave & Karst Science 39(1)

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Cave and Karst Science (iv + 48pp) (PDF 6.9MB)        Individual articles may be available below

GUNN, John and David LOWE (eds.). (2011). Cave and Karst Science 39(1). Buxton: British Cave Research Association. ISSN 1356-191X. iv + 48pp, A4, with photos, maps and diagrams.
This issue has a cover date of 2012 (April) and was published in April 2012.

The Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Layman's Summaries

Some of the articles in this issue are explained in a layman's summary. Look for the 'Summary' icons below, or download the article from here: HTML 6KB  

Front cover photo (page i) (PDF 319KB)     

by John DALE.
Cave pearls in a lead mine level in one of the Durham dales of the northern Pennines, UK. Cave pearls are calcite (or aragonite) balls formed in shallow pools beneath water drips. Calcite in the water coats tiny grains, commonly of quartz sand, with layers of calcium carbonate. The balls can grow to be several centimetres in diameter. It is presumed that they are agitated by drip water, so preventing them adhering to each other or to adjacent surfaces. These pearls have formed in a mined passage below the 20m-thick Great Limestone of the Alston Block (unfortunately cavernless at this location), through which percolating water has become saturated with calcite. Although this mine was probably at the height of its productive life in the second half of the 19th century, it continued in operation until the mid-1900s. The formation of these splendid cave pearls since the mine's closure illustrates the relatively rapid rate at which some speleothems can grow. (Photograph by John Dale c. 2009). See Paper by Tony Harrison in this Issue.

 

Notes for Contributors (page ii) (PDF 248KB)     

 

Contents (p1) (PDF 277KB)     

 

Editorial Advisory Board (p2) (PDF 154KB)     

 

Editorial (p3) (PDF 169KB)     

by John GUNN and David LOWE.

 

BCRA Book promotion: Speleothem Science (p4) (PDF 239KB)     

20% discount off RRP for BCRA members. ISBN 978-1-4051-9620-8.

 

Origin of the limestone pedestals at Norber Brow, North Yorkshire, UK: a re-assessment and discussion (pp5-11) (PDF 872KB)     

by Peter WILSON, Tom C LORD and Peter J VINCENT.
Contrasting rates of limestone dissolution to account for the development of limestone pedestals beneath erratic boulders at Norber, North Yorkshire, have been proposed. Most of these estimates were made prior to reliable dates being available for erratic emplacement and prior to detailed knowledge of the pattern of regional 'post-glacial' climate change. The erratics were deposited c. 18 ka BP, and for a substantial part of the ensuing c. 4 ka a climate of Arctic severity prevailed until the abrupt warming at 14.7 ka BP, marking the onset of the Lateglacial Interstadial. We propose that nivation (snow-related) processes operated for much of that time, and again during the Younger Dryas Stadial (12.9 - 11.7 ka BP), and made a contribution to the lowering of the limestone surface by both mechanical and chemical action. Similar processes are likely to have operated for short periods on several occasions during the Holocene when, according to proxy records, climate deteriorated. We question previous views that dissolution occurred in an entirely temperate sub-regolith environment and/or was achieved solely by rainfall.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 6KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 04 October 2011; Accepted: 14 January 2012.
Keywords: Limestone pedestals, Norber erratics, limestone dissolution, cosmogenic isotope surface exposure dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating, nivation processes, Lateglacial, Holocene.

Bibliograph: WILSON, Peter; Tom C LORD and Peter J VINCENT. (2011). Origin of the limestone pedestals at Norber Brow, North Yorkshire, UK: a re-assessment and discussion. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), pp5-11.

 

A critical description of Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA, in 1931 (pp12-15) (PDF 1.2MB)     

by Stephen A CRAVEN.
An account is given of the 1931 visit of the young South African academic geographer Vernon Forbes to the American show cave Carlsbad Caverns. In a subsequent newspaper article he compared the busy Carlsbad Caverns to the much less frequented Cango Cave in South Africa, which he had never seen.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 6KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 05 February 2012; Accepted: 01 March 2012.
Keywords: Vernon Forbes, Carlsbad Caverns, Cango Cave.

Bibliograph: CRAVEN, Stephen A. (2011). A critical description of Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA, in 1931. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), pp12-15.

 

The bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) of the caves and karst of Thailand (pp16-22) (PDF 1.0MB)     

by Martin ELLIS and Olivier S G PAUWELS.
This paper gives a summary of the eleven species of Cyrtodactylus bent-toed geckos (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) that have been reported from the caves and karst massifs of Thailand. Range extensions for Cyrtodactylus auribalteatus, C. erythrops and C. papilionoides are given. The majority of these geckos have a very restricted geographical distribution and many new species remain to be found and described. Cave explorers can play an important role in helping to populate the inventory of cave geckos.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 6KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 20 June 2011; Accepted: 18 January 2012.

Bibliograph: ELLIS, Martin and Olivier S G PAUWELS. (2011). The bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) of the caves and karst of Thailand. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), pp16-22.

 

Further phreatic cave systems under the Swaledale-Wensleydale surface watershed in the Yorkshire Dales, UK (pp23-33) (PDF 2.2MB)     

by Tony HARRISON.
Four widely separated groups of phreatic network caves below the moors separating Swaledale and Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales have previously been reported, including a group of five closely-related systems accessed through the levels of Devis Hole Mine. Further exploration has now uncovered four more phreatic systems, including another network maze in Devis Hole, the Horn's Workings Cave Series. While similar in geomorphological structure to the earlier discoveries, this Series is distinct in having, in addition to horizontal passages, a number of shafts reaching towards the base of the Main Limestone beds in which all of the six cave series reside. This may be due to the presence of a syncline affecting the strata in this area of the mine, which would have provided a natural drainage route and might also have allowed joints to open, thus enabling vertical shafts to develop. The Horn's Workings Cave Series has been worked intensively by 19th century lead miners, and comparison of a recent survey of Horn's Workings with one made by the miners in 1857 indicates the high degree of accuracy achieved by the earlier surveyors. Two of the other recently discovered systems, Smithy Level Caves and Summer Lodge East Level Cave, are also accessed through old lead mines. Both display classic phreatic features modified by later vadose activity. The final new discovery is Shivery Gill Pot, a small extension of the previously examined group of Sod Hole Gill Caves. The nature of the range of phreatic systems now known to exist beneath the Swaledale-Wensleydale surface watershed implies that numerous other network caves might exist in the upper part of the Main Limestone in this region. These beds extend over a distance of more than 20km from west to east, but they are at outcrop only locally, so if such network caves are present they will probably only be discovered and accessed from the old lead mine workings that are a major feature of this part of the Dales landscape.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 6KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Submitted: 11 December 2011; Accepted: 07 February 2012.

Bibliograph: HARRISON, Tony. (2011). Further phreatic cave systems under the Swaledale-Wensleydale surface watershed in the Yorkshire Dales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), pp23-33.

 

Flora of a small lava cave near Laki, Iceland (pp34-36) (PDF 608KB)     

by Allan PENTECOST.
Twenty nine phototrophic taxa are reported from a small volcanic cave. These included five cyanobacteria, two of which are heterocystous nitrogen-fixers, and nine diatoms, several of which have previously been reported from caves. Of the five lichen taxa, two are foliose nitrogen-fixers, suggesting that combined nitrogen was in short supply. The aerophytic flora show similarities with communities from limestone caves suggesting that low light and high humidity are of overriding importance for some taxa.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 6KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 20 May 2011; Accepted: 17 February 2012.
Keywords: cryptogams, algae, cyanobacteria, lichens, bryophytes.

Bibliograph: PENTECOST, Allan. (2011). Flora of a small lava cave near Laki, Iceland. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), pp34-36.

 

Forum Correspondence: Strength and stability of calcite stalactites (p37) (PDF 556KB)     

by Tony WALTHAM.
Classification: Report.

Bibliograph: WALTHAM, Tony. (2011). Forum Correspondence: Strength and stability of calcite stalactites. Cave and Karst Science 39(1), p37.

 

Abstracts of the 23rd BCRA Cave Science Symposium, 10th March 2012 (pp38-43) (PDF 591KB)     

Classification: Forum.

 

Tribute to Professor Zurab Tatashidze (24 September 1928 - 12 June 2011) (p44) (PDF 565KB)     

Classification: Forum.

 

World Karst Science (p45) (PDF 999KB)     

1) Subterranean Biology, Volume 9.
2) Journal of Cave and Karst Studies of the National Speleological Society. Volume 73(2), August 2011.
3) Acta Carsologica, Volume 40(1), 2011.
4) Acta Carsologica, Volume 40(2), 2011.
5) Acta Carsologica, Volume 40(3), 2011.
6) International Journal of Speleology, Volume 40 (2) - Year 2011.
7) International Journal of Speleology, Volume 41 (1) - Year 2012.
Classification: Forum.

 

Research Fund and Grants (page iii) (PDF 596KB)     

 

Back cover photos (page iv) (PDF 372KB)     

by John DALE.
Images illustrating aspects of natural caves intersected by lead mines in northern England. (Photographs by John Dale). See contents page for description).