Cave & Karst Science (ISSN 1356-191X)

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Contents of Cave & Karst Science 46(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.). (2019). Cave and Karst Science 46(1). Buxton: British Cave Research Association. ISSN 1356-191X. iv + 48pp, A4, with photos, maps and diagrams.
This issue has a cover date of 2019 (April) and was published in April 2019.

The Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Front cover photo (page i) (PDF 373KB)     

by Pete FRANCIS.
Yellow Top promontary, a limestone cliff along the Gower Peninsula's southern coast, is noted for the caves that occur in its seaward face. (Photo: Pete Francis).
Corrected version of front cover uploaded 04-May-2019.

 

Notes for Contributors (page ii) (PDF 267KB)     

 

Contents (p1) (PDF 415KB)     

 

Editorial (p2) (PDF 230KB)     

by David LOWE and John GUNN.

 

Amphibians and reptiles found in caves in Gabon, western Equatorial Africa (pp3-12) (PDF 2.0MB)     

by Olivier S G PAUWELS, Piero CARLINO, Laurent CHIRIO, David R DAVERSA, Josiane LIPS, Richard OSLISLY and Olivier TESTA.
An update is provided of current knowledge of the herpetofauna and batrachofauna recorded from caves in Gabon, western Equatorial Africa. No systematic field survey of reptiles and amphibians in Gabonese cave environments has yet been made, and data are available for only 19 (complexes of) caves. This compilation of published records and new observations includes seven reptile and at least nine amphibian species. None of them is restricted to cave environments, and most of the species are adaptable ecologically, being known from pristine as well as from highly degraded environments. All of them can be regarded as trogloxenes. Dedicated surveys, using appropriate methods, will certainly increase this species list considerably.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 06 December 2018; Accepted: 30 January 2019.
Keywords: Cave, karst, Gabon, Africa, speleology, biodiversity, herpetofauna, batrachofauna, turtles, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, frogs, trogloxene.

Bibliograph: PAUWELS, Olivier S G; Piero CARLINO, Laurent CHIRIO, David R DAVERSA, Josiane LIPS, Richard OSLISLY and Olivier TESTA. (2019). Amphibians and reptiles found in caves in Gabon, western Equatorial Africa. Cave and Karst Science 46(1), pp3-12.

 

Cryochemical transformation of the ice body, and associated mineral formation, in the Askinskaya Ice Cave (Ural, Russia) (pp13-24) (PDF 2.2MB)     

by Olga Y CHERVYATSOVA, Sergey S POTAPOV, Elena V TROFIMOVA and Irek I MUSABIROV.
Cryogenic mineral formations were studied in the Askinskaya Ice Cave, situated on the Southern Ural within Bashkortostan. Investigation of the morphology and elemental composition of cryogenic mineral formations was carried out using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXA). Diagnosis of the mineral composition of the samples was carried out using X-ray diffractometry. Calcite is the predominant mineral of the cryogenic suite, with an insignificant admixture of presumably hydrated magnesium carbonates. It is concluded that the cryogenic mineral deposits in the Askinskaya cave owe their genesis to at least two basic mechanisms: 1) crystallization within the freezing film of water on the ice surface, which is the most common mechanism both in the Askinskaya cave and in other ice caves and 2) crystallization inside the fluid inclusions within the ice. This second mechanism is rarely discussed for cave conditions but is known from model experiments on freezing aqueous solutions. There are signs of post-cryogenic transformation of deposits, consisting of agglomerations of primary microcrystalline cryogenic carbonates, with the addition of a new generation of calcite with morphology typical of low supersaturations.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 20 December 2018; Accepted: 01 March 2019.
Keywords: microcrystalline cryogenic carbonates; Askinskaya Ice Cave, Russia.

Bibliograph: CHERVYATSOVA, Olga Y; Sergey S POTAPOV, Elena V TROFIMOVA and Irek I MUSABIROV. (2019). Cryochemical transformation of the ice body, and associated mineral formation, in the Askinskaya Ice Cave (Ural, Russia). Cave and Karst Science 46(1), pp13-24.

 

3-D cave mapping in the karst region of Batu Katak, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia (pp25-29) (PDF 998KB)     

by Ángel A ACOSTA-COLÓN, Benny X BONET-SANTIAGO, Joaquin Alonso MONT, Ruddy Anto SINULINGGA and Sedarta SITEPU.
Batu Katak village in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, is located on the Triassic Batumilmil Formation, consisting of dark grey to reddish-grey limestone with palaeokarstic horizons and features. A small group of scientists from the University of Puerto Rico and Harimau Conservation explored the neighbouring karst forest and mapped 5 caves as a conservation action, to help protect the karst forest and its geological importance. As across the rest of Sumatra, this region is impacted by palm-oil farms, illegal deforestation, poaching and mining. The goal of this study was to verify the safety of the cave environment and establish the cartography of the caves that surround the village: Water Cave, Pupuk Mentar Cave, Mbelin Cave, Sibayak Cave, Jodoh Cave. A total of 1.2km of cave passage was surveyed, with 126.6 million data points collected. The cartography was created using the Geoslam ZEB1 LiDAR and the data were processed using Matlab. Environmental parameters recorded included the pH and temperature of the water or soil in the cave, and also the relative humidity. The cave maps and the measurements of environmental parameters are being used to help enhance local ecotourism practices and inform future research into understanding the unique karst habitat biodiversity. This includes trogloxene species such as bats, snakes, cave swallows, and many more, as well as the Sumatran tiger. Based on physical evidence noted during the study, this latter, critically endangered, species has used one of the caves as a habitat.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 22 February 2019; Accepted: 08 March 2019.
Keywords: cave cartography, LiDAR, karst conservation.

Bibliograph: ACOSTA-COLÓN, Ángel A; Benny X BONET-SANTIAGO, Joaquin Alonso MONT, Ruddy Anto SINULINGGA and Sedarta SITEPU. (2019). 3-D cave mapping in the karst region of Batu Katak, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Cave and Karst Science 46(1), pp25-29.

 

An apartheid absurdity: racial segregation at Cango Cave (pp30-36) (PDF 1.2MB)     

by Stephen A CRAVEN.
An account is given of the effects of the Nationalist Government of South Africa's apartheid legislation on the management of Cango Cave. This resulted not only in much bad publicity, both locally and internationally 2, 3, but in structural alterations to the Cave that would have affected its internal environment.
Classification: Feature.
Keywords: Cango Cave, apartheid, cave environment.

Bibliograph: CRAVEN, Stephen A. (2019). An apartheid absurdity: racial segregation at Cango Cave. Cave and Karst Science 46(1), pp30-36.

 

Archaeological collections from Long Hole (Gower, Swansea, UK) and their place in the British Palaeolithic (pp37-46) (PDF 1.5MB)     

by Rob DINNIS, Martin R BATES, Silvia M BELLO, Laura T BUCK, Jesse S DAVIES, Richard C PREECE, Elizabeth A WALKER, John BOULTON, Damien FLAS, Sarah-Jayne HARRIS, Jonquil MOGG and Remmert SCHOUTEN.
At the time of its excavation in 1861, the cave site of Long Hole (Gower peninsula, Swansea, UK) was recognized as important for establishing the antiquity of man in Wales. However, in comparison to its more illustrious neighbour Paviland Cave, it has received very little attention since. Long Hole has been host to three documented excavations: by Colonel Wood in the 1860s, by John Campbell in 1969 and most recently the small-scale work in 2012 described in this paper. Here we outline Long Hole's excavations and the archaeological material from the cave. Although the site's earliest collections suffer from the familiar problems of being significantly selected and lacking contextual information, several conclusions are possible. Previous suggestions of two late Neanderthal occupations are unconvincing. Lithic artefacts from Long Hole are instead reminiscent of Aurignacian material from Paviland Cave, suggesting that they were left by some of Britain's very early modern human occupants, 37–35,000 cal BP. Because Campbell excavated an apparently well-stratified Late Pleistocene sequence his collections have the greatest potential for future work.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 06 February 2019; Accepted: 07 March 2019.

Bibliograph: DINNIS, Rob; Martin R BATES, Silvia M BELLO, Laura T BUCK, Jesse S DAVIES, Richard C PREECE, Elizabeth A WALKER, John BOULTON, Damien FLAS, Sarah-Jayne HARRIS, Jonquil MOGG and Remmert SCHOUTEN. (2019). Archaeological collections from Long Hole (Gower, Swansea, UK) and their place in the British Palaeolithic. Cave and Karst Science 46(1), pp37-46.

 

Results of BCRA's British Cryogenic Cave Calcites Competition (pp47-48) (PDF 791KB)     

by Gina MOSELEY.
Classification: Forum.

 

Research Fund and Grants (page iii) (PDF 242KB)     

 

Back cover photos (page iv) (PDF 471KB)     

by Rob DINNIS, Trevor FAULKNER, Pete FRANCIS and John GUNN.
Photographs showing aspects both of the sea-cut karst scenery, and some of the related archaeological sites on the southwesterly-facing aspect of the Gower peninsula in southern Wales.(See contents page for photo captions).