Cave & Karst Science (ISSN 1356-191X)

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Contents of Cave & Karst Science 40(1)

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Cave and Karst Science (iv + 52pp) (PDF 11.2MB)        Individual articles may be available below

GUNN, John and David LOWE (eds.). (2013). Cave and Karst Science 40(1). Buxton: British Cave Research Association. ISSN 1356-191X. iv + 52pp, A4, with photos, maps and diagrams.
This issue has a cover date of 2013 (April) and was published in April 2013.

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 10KB  

Front cover photo (page i) (PDF 392KB)     

by Robbie SHONE.
Members of the Mulu Caves Project traverse part of the streamway, known as the Plunge Pool, under normal flow conditions in Lubang Nasib Bagus, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Lubang Nasib Bagus is home to Sarawak Chamber, currently considered the world's largest natural chamber. For more information about the age of the caves in Mulu, see the Report by Gina Moseley et al. in this Issue. (Photo by Robbie Shone).

 

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

 

Contents (p1) (PDF 287KB)     

 

Editorial Advisory Board (p2) (PDF 153KB)     

 

Editorial (p3) (PDF 158KB)     

by John GUNN and David LOWE.

 

New Book: Caves and Karst of the Yorkshire Dales (p4) (PDF 4.0MB)     

 

The hydrogeology and hydrochemistry of the thermal waters at Taffs Well, South Wales, UK (pp5-12) (PDF 1.2MB)   Open Access  

by Gareth FARR and Simon H BOTTRELL.
Taffs Well is the only thermal spring in Wales, with an average temperature of 21.6°C +/- 0.5°C. The River Taff is adjacent to the spring and removal of a weir and work on flood defences has reduced mixing with flood water from the river. This has enabled data to be gathered that more closely represent the thermal water end-member than previously possible. Limited interaction with modern waters is confirmed by tritium, nitrate, CFC and SF6 concentrations below or close to lower detection limits, showing at most 6% mixing with modern waters. 14C dating suggests a conservative age estimate of at least 5000 years.
Values for dissolved noble gases suggest that the waters originate as rainfall at an altitude several hundred metres higher than the spring. The northern Carboniferous Limestone outcrop is proposed, which would then require recharged waters to flow to a depth of 400m and distance of 25km, following the synclinal structure of the South Wales Coalfield, to discharge at the spring. Sr isotope data suggest interaction with the Marros Group (formerly known as the Millstone Grit), the waters flowing within or close to the contact between the Carboniferous Limestone and Marros Group before rising via the Tongwynlais Fault.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 15 February 2013; Accepted: 13 March 2013.

Bibliograph: FARR, Gareth and Simon H BOTTRELL. (2013). The hydrogeology and hydrochemistry of the thermal waters at Taffs Well, South Wales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp5-12.

 

U-Th dating of speleothems to investigate the evolution of limestone caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (pp13-16) (PDF 1003KB)     

by Gina E MOSELEY, David A RICHARDS, Christopher SMITH, Peter L SMART, Dirk L HOFFMANN and Andy R FARRANT.
The Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia has been a focus of scientific research and exploration for several decades. Previous work investigated the relationship between fluvial incision into the limestone massif and the chronological evolution of the 500m-deep network of cave passages. This study involved analyses of newly available speleothem material using state-of-the-art U-Th dating methods and assessment of the potential for extension of the chronological record using U-Pb dating techniques.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 19 February 2013; Accepted: 08 March 2013.

Bibliograph: MOSELEY, Gina E; David A RICHARDS, Christopher SMITH, Peter L SMART, Dirk L HOFFMANN and Andy R FARRANT. (2013). U-Th dating of speleothems to investigate the evolution of limestone caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp13-16.

 

Archaeological test excavations at two caves in Bishopston Valley, Gower, South Wales, UK (pp17-21) (PDF 839KB)     

by Rob DINNIS, Jesse S DAVIES, John M BOULTON, Natasha REYNOLDS, Remmert SCHOUTEN, Geoff M SMITH, Ellon M SOUTER and Andrew T CHAMBERLAIN.
A survey of the caves of Bishopston Valley, Gower, published previously in Cave and Karst Science (2010: Vol.37, No.2), identified cave sites with the potential to contain archaeological material within their sedimentary deposits, and assessed the conservation status of these sites. Two caves - Ogof Ci Coch and Valley Side Cave 1 - showed clear signs of recent anthropogenic and/or biogenic disturbance of their fill. Archaeological test excavation at both sites was undertaken in summer 2011, and the results are reported here. Ogof Ci Coch is demonstrated to be an archaeological cave containing Mesolithic and later prehistoric artefacts. However, archaeological material was only found within spoil deposits from a caving dig, now overlying intact but archaeologically sterile deposits near to the mouth of the cave. Archaeological interpretation of this material is therefore limited in scope. Valley Side Cave 1 was found to contain only disturbed deposits which are clearly the result of recent unauthorised excavation at the site. These findings have implications for the conservation and management of cave sites in Bishopston Valley.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 02 April 2012; Accepted: 01 August 2012.

Bibliograph: DINNIS, Rob; Jesse S DAVIES, John M BOULTON, Natasha REYNOLDS, Remmert SCHOUTEN, Geoff M SMITH, Ellon M SOUTER and Andrew T CHAMBERLAIN. (2013). Archaeological test excavations at two caves in Bishopston Valley, Gower, South Wales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp17-21.

 

Deglaciation of the eastern Cumbria glaciokarst, northwest England, as determined by cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) surface exposure dating, and the pattern and significance of subsequent environmental changes (pp22-27) (PDF 967KB)     

by Peter WILSON, Tom LORD and Ángel ROD&EACUTES.
Four erratic boulders of Shap granite on the limestone terrain of eastern Cumbria have yielded cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) surface exposure ages that indicate the area was deglaciated c.17 ka ago. This timing is in accord with other ages pertaining to the loss of glacial ice cover in the Yorkshire Dales and north Lancashire, to the south, and the Lake District, to the west, and constrains the resumption of landscape (re)colonization and surface and sub-surface karstic processes. Marked shifts in climate are known to have occurred since deglaciation and combined with human impacts on the landscape the glaciokarst has experienced a complex pattern of environmental changes. Understanding these changes and their effects is crucial if the 'post-glacial' evolution of the glaciokarst is to be deciphered.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 18 December 2012; Accepted: 25 February 2013.
Keywords: Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating, deglaciation, climate shifts, Shap granite erratics, eastern Cumbria glaciokarst.

Bibliograph: WILSON, Peter; Tom LORD and Ángel ROD&EACUTES. (2013). Deglaciation of the eastern Cumbria glaciokarst, northwest England, as determined by cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) surface exposure dating, and the pattern and significance of subsequent environmental changes. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp22-27.

 

Cave deposits of North Wales: some comments on their archaeological importance and an inventory of sites of potential interest (pp28-34) (PDF 1.4MB)     

by Rob DINNIS and Cris EBBS.
Several caves in North Wales have yielded archaeological and palaeontological material of undoubted interest. Most notably, two caves in Denbighshire are the only archaeological sites in Western Europe to lie north of the Last Glacial Maximum limits and yet still contain archaeological material pre-dating it, offering a rare glimpse of what has been lost elsewhere. Although many North Welsh caves are documented in the scientific and caving literature the record of sites is dispersed and incomplete. Comments are offered here on the archaeological contents of these caves, and more generally about the current record of caves in the region. A selected inventory of sites that may be of potential interest to archaeologists is presented.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 20 November 2012; Accepted: 06 February 2013.

Bibliograph: DINNIS, Rob and Cris EBBS. (2013). Cave deposits of North Wales: some comments on their archaeological importance and an inventory of sites of potential interest. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp28-34.

 

Vein cavities at Ashover and Crich, Derbyshire, UK (pp35-37) (PDF 797KB)     

by Trevor D FORD.
Lead mining archives note the presence of caverns that pre-date mineralization in the two isolated anticlinal inliers of Carboniferous Limestone east of the main Peak District orefield. They are regarded as features of deep-seated speleogenesis in late Carboniferous times.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 30 November 2012; Accepted: 25 February 2013.

Bibliograph: FORD, Trevor D. (2013). Vein cavities at Ashover and Crich, Derbyshire, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp35-37.

 

The demise of a Norber boulder, in the Yorkshire Dales, UK (pp38-40) (PDF 853KB)     

by Tony WALTHAM and Brian PARRY.
There is evidence that one of the iconic erratic boulders at Norber, on the slopes of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, was toppled from its limestone pedestal by an act of vandalism.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 11 March 2013; Accepted 12 March 2013.

Bibliograph: WALTHAM, Tony and Brian PARRY. (2013). The demise of a Norber boulder, in the Yorkshire Dales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp38-40.

 

Some initial thoughts on sediment dynamics in the active phreatic conduits of the Yorkshire Dales, UK (pp41-45) (PDF 990KB)     

by Phillip J MURPHY and John N CORDINGLEY.
Observations by cave divers of the nature and contexts of clastic sedimentary deposits in Yorkshire Dales caves, especially those within water-filled phreatic conduits, are gradually being collected and interpreted. Insights into the age, history, relationships and dynamics of the clastic materials are emerging alongside more obvious basic data such as sediment grain size, clast lithology and possible clast provenance. Potentially these and other aspects have wider relevance to other karst issues, including studies of palaeo-hydrology and sequences of conduit development; they can also provide pointers to the whereabouts and possible significance of currently unknown cave passages.
Summary: For layman's summary see HTML 10KB  
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 09 January 2013; Accepted: 25 February 2013.

Bibliograph: MURPHY, Phillip J and John N CORDINGLEY. (2013). Some initial thoughts on sediment dynamics in the active phreatic conduits of the Yorkshire Dales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1), pp41-45.

 

Abstracts from the BCRA Cave Science Symposium, 9 March 2013 (pp46-51) (PDF 746KB)     

Classification: Forum.

 

World Karst Science (p52) (PDF 514KB)     

1) International Journal of Speleology. Volume 42(1), January 2013.
2) Journal of Cave and Karst Studies of the National Speleological Society. Volume 74(1), December 2012.
Classification: Forum.

 

Research Fund and Grants (page iii) (PDF 43KB)     

 

Back cover photos (page iv) (PDF 422KB)     

A selection of images relating to cave archaeology in Wales. See contents page for list of photos and credits.