Hypogene or per-ascensum, whatever you prefer to call them, caves that form from the bottom up have a great range of patterns in plan, large cavity morphology and an expanding, but specific suite of speleogens that distinguish them from fluvial caves formed by descending surface water. Once thought to be rare and unusual, caves or sections of caves with plans, large cavities and suites of “hypogene” speleogens are turning up in situations traditionally thought to have fluvial or even glacial origin. The role of condensation corrosion in the formation of cavities and speleogens remains controversial, but surprisingly some insights may come for processes in salt mines. Phantom rock formation and removal and similar processes involving removal of dolomitized bedrock, de-dolomitized bedrock, and almost trace-free removal of palaeokarst raise problems of both temporal relationships and of how to distinguish between the outcomes of recent and ancient processes. The presence of “hypogene” speleogens in both gneiss and marble caves in Sri Lankan of unclear origin adds to the complexity. Back in the early 1990s, before hypogene caves were de-rigour, workers such as David Lowe were puzzling about speleo-inception, how caves begin. Perhaps the rare occurrences of solution pockets in joints in obvious fluvial caves, such as Postojna Jama, are indicating that many more caves than we imagine are actually multi-process and multiphase and that “hypogene” processes of various types are significant agents of speleo-inception.

A growing number of studies suggest that cave formation by deep-seated groundwater  (hypogene) is a more common process of subsurface water-rock interaction than previously  thought. Fossil hypogene caves are identified by a characteristic suite of morphological  features on different spatial scales. In addition, mineral deposits (speleothems) may provide  clues about the chemical composition of the paleowater, which range from CO2-rich to  sulfuric acid-bearing waters. This is one of the first studies to examine hypogene cave  formation in dolomite. Kozak Cave is a fossil cave near the Periadriatic Lineament, an area  known for its abundance of CO2-rich springs. The cave displays a number of macro-, mesoand  micromorphological elements found also in other hypogene caves hosted in limestone,  marble or gypsum, including cupolas, cusps, Laughöhle-type chambers and notches. The  existance of cupolas and cusps suggests a thermal gradient capable of sustaining free  convection during a first phase of speleogenesis, while triangular cross sections (Laughöhle  morphology) indicate subsequent density-driven convection close to the paleowater table Notches mark the final emergence of the cave due to continued rock uplift and valley  incision. Very narrow shafts near the end of the cave may be part of the initial feeder system,  but an epigene (vadose) overprint cannot be ruled out. Vadose speleothems indicate that the  phreatic phase ended at least about half a million years ago. Drill cores show no evidence of  carbon or oxygen isotope alteration of the wall rock. This is in contrast to similar studies in  limestone caves, and highlights the need for further wall-rock studies of caves hosted in  limestone and dolomite