Remarks on the significance of experiences in karst geodynamics., 1964, Renault Philippe

Distinction is made between the experiment which "demonstrates" having an argumentative value; and the experiment which "questions" nature by isolating one factor and by determining the mode of its action. The concept of experiment in geology and in geodynamics and the distinctions between geodynamics and geophysics are discussed. Karstic geodynamics considers the action of fluids; mainly liquids; on a soluble rock. It is a science bordering the different branches of geochemistry, hydrology, the mechanics of rocks, and geophysics. Researches in karstic geodynamics are based upon measurements obtained through field surveys, or upon the utilization of a subterranean laboratory. However, in the laboratory this hardly surpasses the stage of experimental demonstration. A series of simple experiments are enumerated to exemplify the above statement, like the one where the attack of a diluted acid on a soluble rock is utilized, in order to enable us to classify the major problems encountered in karstic corrosion. The last chapter discusses the bicarbonate equilibriums of Ca-CO2. Experiment furnishes the empiric criterion on which scientific theory is founded. Each discipline has its own methodology dependent on the object under study having experimental criteria of different nature. This is particularly true in case of such distant phenomena which no longer have a common ground with human dimensions like space for astronomy or time for geology. In such cases the possibilities of "instrumental" experimentations are very limited. After a brief recollection of the principles of experimental procedure and the history of the experiments attempted by geodynamicians (tectonics, geomorphology, etc.) we will analyze several methods of investigation and by relying exactly on the example of karstic corrosion we shall determine those which have a value for the science of karstology.

Murray Cave, Cooleman Plain, New South Wales, 1966, Jennings, J. N.

Murray Cave is an almost horizontal former outflow cave, which is now on the brink of inactivity. A heavily decorated upper branch functioned during the first outflow phase and the present inactive entrance succeeded it as the outlet point. Both are at the level of a low aggradational terrace of the North Branch of Cave Creek outside the cave; this probably belongs to a Pleistocene cold period. An undecorated lower branch provided the third phase outlet, which still functions occasionally when water rises up a water trap at the inner end of the main passage and flows along that passage into it. The entrance chamber has angular gravel fill due to frost shattering, which post-dates the development of the lower branch passage and belongs to a late Pleistocene cold period. Evidence of free surface stream action predominates in the cave but shallow phreatic conditions must have contributed to its development.

River Cave, Cooleman Plain, Kosciusko National Park, And Its Hydrological Relationships, 1969, Jennings, J. N.

River Cave is a Zwischenhohle (between-cave) in which the active river passage is reached through a former tributary stream passage from a dry valley. Now vadose in character, it is of gentle gradient, with some normally and some temporarily water-filled reaches of shallow phreatic nature. There is only a single level of development. Water tracing has confirmed previous inferences that it is mainly fed from the South Branch watersink, that its normal flow goes to the Blue Waterholes, the main rising of the Plain, and that there is flood overflow to Murray Cave, which is shown to have been formerly the normal outflow cave of the system. In the changeover from one outflow point (Vorfluter) to another, a shorter, steeper cave and longer surface course has been replaced by a longer cave of shorter gradient. Ev's Cave, a flood inflow cave of the South Branch, may also feed River Cave and Keith's Faint Cave is inferred to be part of the link between South Branch Sink and River Cave. It has the aspect of an early stage of vadose development from phreatic conditions. Previous interpretation of Glop Pot as a true phreatic relic is maintained in the light of new facts. Evidence is lacking with which to date the caves at all reliably. Glop Pot possibly belongs to a phase of surface planation of Tertiary age whereas the other caves are likely to be consequent on Pleistocene dissection. The tributary passage of River Cave and its associated dry valley may have lost their stream in the Holocene when Murray Cave became intermittent in action also. The Murray Cave event is due to subterranean piracy associated with rejuvenation whereas the loss of the tributary stream is probably in part due to increasing warmth and less effective precipitation.

A new genus of Bulgarian cave spider (Protoleptoneta bulgarica n.g., n.sp., Leptonetidae)., 1972, Deltshev Christo

A new genus Protoleptoneta (P. bulgarica n. g., n. sp.) is described, which was collected in caves of the Western Balkan mountains; Bulgaria. The new genus unites features of the genera Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta but there are many differences, which divide it from these genera. It differs from Leptoneta as follows: the tarsus of male palp does not possess the characteristic apophysa of Leptoneta; the tarsus is less depressed and does not branch out; the teeth of chelicerae are equable and equidistant. It differs from Paraleptoneta as follows: the femora of male palp is spineless; near the top of tarsus, on ectal side, there is a thicker spot, provided with a strong spine longer than others; the tarsus is more depressed. Paraleptoneta italica is placed in the new genus Protoleptoneta. The origin and relationships between the genera Protoleptoneta, Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta are discussed; a hypothesis is that the genera Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta had been developing as independent phyletic groups and the origin of the two had been Protoleptoneta.

A new genus of Bulgarian cave spider (Protoleptoneta bulgarica n.g., n.sp., Leptonetidae)., 1972, Deltshev Christo

A new genus Protoleptoneta (P. bulgarica n. g., n. sp.) is described, which was collected in caves of the Western Balkan mountains; Bulgaria. The new genus unites features of the genera Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta but there are many differences, which divide it from these genera. It differs from Leptoneta as follows: the tarsus of male palp does not possess the characteristic apophysa of Leptoneta; the tarsus is less depressed and does not branch out; the teeth of chelicerae are equable and equidistant. It differs from Paraleptoneta as follows: the femora of male palp is spineless; near the top of tarsus, on ectal side, there is a thicker spot, provided with a strong spine longer than others; the tarsus is more depressed. Paraleptoneta italica is placed in the new genus Protoleptoneta. The origin and relationships between the genera Protoleptoneta, Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta are discussed; a hypothesis is that the genera Leptoneta and Paraleptoneta had been developing as independent phyletic groups and the origin of the two had been Protoleptoneta.

Observations at the Blue Waterholes, March 1965 - April 1969, and Limestone Solution on Cooleman Plain, N.S.W., 1972, Jennings, J. N.

After brief descriptions of the geomorphology of the Cooleman Plain karst and in particular of the Blue Waterholes, the methods adopted to analyse the functioning of these major risings are detailed. The discharge regime of Cave Creek below them is oceanic pluvial in type perturbed by drought and snow. There is much annual variation both in seasonal incidence and total amount, with catchment efficiency correspondingly variable. Suspended sediment concentration is even more erratic and monthly determinations are inadequate for calculating corrasional denudation rates. Mean concentrations of suspended solids are about 1/18th of solute load. Total dissolved salts have a strong inverse relationship with discharge, and mean values are high compared with those for other catchments in eastern Australia but none of these determinations are from limestone catchments. Sodium, potassium, and chlorine contents are low compared with the same catchments but silica is relatively high. The ratio of alkaline earths to alkalis indicate that Cave Creek carries carbonate waters and there is an inverse regression of the ratio on discharge. There is inverse correlation of total hardness on discharge likewise due to concentration of surface waters by evaporation in dry periods, together with reduced underground solution rate at times of large, rapid flow. The spring waters remain aggressive. Close regressions of hardness on specific conductivity now permit the latter to be determined in the place of the former. Much evidence converges to indicate that all the springs at the Blue Waterholes are fed from the same conduit. The intermittent flow which comes down the North Branch on the surface to the Blue Waterholes differs significantly in many characters from the spring waters. Rates of Ca + M carbonate equivalent removal vary directly with discharge since hardness varies much less than does water volume. These gross rates have to be adjusted for (a) atmospheric salts entering the karst directly, (b) peripheral solute inputs from the non-karst two-thirds of the catchment and (c) subjacent karst solution before they can be taken as a measure of exposed karst denudation. The methods for achieving this are set out. The total corrections amount to about one third of the total hardness, though the correction for subjacent karst on its own lies within the experimental error of the investigation. The residual rate of limestone removal from the exposed karst also shows a winter/spring high rate and a summer/autumn low rate but the seasonal incidence and annual total varied very much from year to year. In comparison with results from karsts in broadly similar climate, the seasonal rhythm conforms and so does the high proportion (78%) of the solution taking place at or close to the surface. This reduces the importance of the impounded condition of this small karst but supports the use of karst denudation rate as a measure of surface lowering. Cave passage solution may however be more important in impounded karst than its absolute contribution might suggest, by promoting rapid development of underground circulation. The mean value of limestone removal is low for the climatic type and this is probably due to high evapotranspirational loss as well as to the process of eliminating atmospheric, peripheral non-karst and subjacent karst contributions. The difficulties of applying modern solution removal rate to the historical geomorphology of this karst are made evident; at the same time even crude extrapolations are shown to isolate problems valuably.

Branchiobdellids (Annelida: Clitellata) from some Eastern North American caves, with descriptions of new species of the Genus Cambarincola., 1973, Holt Perry C.

Branchiobdellids are found as epizoites on crustaceans of the orders Isopoda and Decapoda (cambarine crayfishes) in caves of eastern North America. Species that may be considered as troglobites, since they are not known from epigean waters, appear to be confirmed to truly troglobitic isopods and possibly a few troglobitic crayfishes from Florida and the Tennessee-Kentucky Highland Rim cave belt. The majority of the records of branchiobdellids from caves are of representatives of common epigean forms epizootic un crayfishes. Cross-referenced lists of branchiobdellids, their hosts and cave localities are presented. Some of the new species described are apparently troglobitic or troglophilic, but they present no consistent phylogenetic or geographical pattern and separate origins for them from primitive stocks of the genus Cambarincola are postulated.

Branchiobdellids (Annelida: Clitellata) from some Eastern North American caves, with descriptions of new species of the Genus Cambarincola., 1973, Holt Perry C.

Branchiobdellids are found as epizoites on crustaceans of the orders Isopoda and Decapoda (cambarine crayfishes) in caves of eastern North America. Species that may be considered as troglobites, since they are not known from epigean waters, appear to be confirmed to truly troglobitic isopods and possibly a few troglobitic crayfishes from Florida and the Tennessee-Kentucky Highland Rim cave belt. The majority of the records of branchiobdellids from caves are of representatives of common epigean forms epizootic un crayfishes. Cross-referenced lists of branchiobdellids, their hosts and cave localities are presented. Some of the new species described are apparently troglobitic or troglophilic, but they present no consistent phylogenetic or geographical pattern and separate origins for them from primitive stocks of the genus Cambarincola are postulated.

An introduction to Japanese groundwater animals with reference to their ecology and hygienic significance., 1976, Matsumoto Koichi

1) Nearly two hundred species of troglobites are known from the groundwaters of Japan. Most of these troglobiontic species, sixteen of seventy-seven genera, and what is more, four of fortyseven families are endemic to Japan. Uchidastygacaridae, Nipponacaridae, and Kantacaridae are endemic acaridan families of Japan. The coleopterous family, Phreatodytidae, is alto endemic to Japan. 2) Though studies on Protozoa, Turbellaria, Annelida, Aschelminthes, and Ostracoda, etc. remain sparse, the interstitial fauna is actively investigated recently and many specimens of Bathynellacea, Ingolfiella, Bogidiella, Microcerberus, Pseudovermis (Opisthobranchia), and Nerillidae, etc. have been collected from freshwater and marine environments. 3) None of the troglobites is known to be directly detrimental to human health and most of them have been collected from well-waters which are regarded as chemically clean in many cases, but they have also been obtained occasionally from bacteriologically contaminated well-waters. 4) Ecological and taxonomic knowledge, of even the limited amount which we possess at present, has enabled us to utilize various animals which occur in well-waters as biological indicators of well-water pollution and to have some insight as to the origin of the pollution.

The fine structure of Hamann's organ in Leptodirus hohenwarti, a highly specialised cave bathysciinae (Coleoptera, Catopidae)., 1978, Accordi Fiorenza, Sbordoni Valerio

Hamann's organ in Leptodirus hohenwarti a highly specialized cave Bathysciinae, has been studied under the TEM, SEM and light microscope. This receptor organ located in the 7th, 9th and 10th antennal articles and previously referred to as the "vesicule olfactive" and as the "antennal organ" or "antennal vesicle", reaches its highest degree of structural complexity in leptodirus. This paper attempts to establish some degree of synonymy among the terms used by earlier authors in describing the various antennal parts and sensilla. Five types of sensilla to be found in the organ are described, namely cribrose-stick sensilla, cribrose-utricular sensilla, star-shaped sensilla, claviform sensilla and branching setae. Comparisons within Bathysciinae species and among the latter and other subfamilies of Catopidae reveal differences in the number of vesicles and in the number and structures of sensilla, these differences appear to depend on i) the degree of phylogenetic relationships among taxa and 2) the degree of specialization to cave environment. The considerable complexity of Hamann's organ, unrivalled by other insects organs, apart from light receptors, suggests that it has a plurality of functions. Its hygroreceptor role, supported by recent experimental work, is discussed here.

Hydrochemistry, hydrology and morphology of the Caves Branch karst, Belize. Mcmaster Univ. PhD thesis, 1982, Miller O. A.

Hydrology and hydrochemistry of the Caves Branch karst, Belize, 1983, Miller T. ,

A large conduit spring issuing from Cretaceous limestones in Belize, Central America, displays a positive relation of discharge to solute concentration. Beneath a maturely-dissected cockpit karst, the hydrologic system combines allogenic surface water from an invasion polje with authigenic karst water. Dynamic mixing produces three climatically-induced discharge phases: baseflow, normal, and high-stage flow. Each has an associated hydrochemical regime, predominantly diffuse-flow karst water. An areal solute concentration of ~80 mg l-1 Ca2 is estimated, with a “denudation rate” of 100 mm per 1000 yr

Further Studies at the Blue Waterholes, Cooleman Plain, N.S.W., 1969-77, Part I, Climate and Hydrology, 1983, Jennings, J. N.

Previous study of the temporal and spatial distribution of limestone solution at Cooleman Plain rested on monthly discharges and water analyses of the Blue Waterholes over 4 years. For this study automatic recording of discharge (8 years), rainfall (8 years), evaporation (7 years) and temperature (4 years) was attended by variable success in the face of interference, rigorous climate and inaccessibility. The most important aspect of the climatic data was the support obtained for the earlier assumption of similar water balances in the forested igneous frame and the grassland limestone plain. Runoff was again shown to be highly variable from year to year and to have an oceanic pluvial regime, with a summer-autumn minimum owing much to evapo-transpiration. The flow duration curve from daily discharges puts this karst amongst those where neither extremely high nor low flows are important. The stream routing pattern offsets the effect of 71% of the catchment being on non-karst rocks, damping flood events. An inflection of 700 l/s in a flow duration plot based on discharge class means is interpreted as the threshold at which surface flow down North Branch reaches the Blue Waterholes. Storages calculated from a generalised recession hydrograph parallel Mendip data where baseflow (fissure) storage provides most of the storage and quickflow (vadose) storage only a secondary part. Water-filled conduit storage (the phreas) could not be determined but is considered small. The baseflow storage seems large, suggesting that it can develop independently of caves in some measure. A quickflow ratio for floods derived by Gunn's modification of the Hewlett and Hibbert separation line method appears relatively low for a mainly non-karst catchment and is again attributed to the routing pattern. For analysis of variation of the solute load over time, estimates of daily discharge during gaps in the record where made for the author by Dr. A.J. Jakeman and Mr. M.A. Greenaway (see Appendix). A small number of discharge measures of two contrasted allogenic catchments of the igneous frame shows a unit area yield close to that for the whole catchment. Together with the guaging of most of the allogenic inputs, this supports the idea that the water yield is much the same from the forested ranges and the grassland plain. This is important for the estimation of limestone removal rates.

Sport and Scout Caving - The Present Dilemma, 1987, Crabb, Evalt

This paper traces the evolution of organised caving as a post World War 2 phenomenon, and the changes in practice and attitude that have occurred. These practices are contrasted against stated behavioural codes. Parallel to this, the development of caving as a scouting activity is discussed, with reference to the general principles and practices of scouting. The author has been working toward evolving policies and practices within scouting which are consistent with the needs of conservation and the underlying philosophies of scouting. Implementation of these attitudes in one area is fully detailed, with some comment on the success and acceptability of the program. This training program is contrasted against the foreshadowed N.S.W. Branch Policy on Rock-Related Activities. The sequential discussion highlights some weaknesses within clubs and A.S.F., particularly in our methods of communication. There are no firm proposals, but possible directions for future discussions are indicated. It is the intention of this paper to give a historical perspective to some of the present perceived conflicts; in reality, the only conflict is between our oft-expressed aim of conservation of caves (i.e. safeguard the karst heritage of Australia), and our visible activity - use of caves for recreational activity. Both the intensity of expression of our concern, and lessening of self-constraint on recreational activity have greatly magnified with time; we are fast approaching a 'crossroads' scenario where our credibility is at great risk.

First Responder Care for Cave Accident Victims, 1987, Osborne R. A. L. , (read By) Steenson R.

Although cave accidents are fairly rare events in New South Wales there is a need for Police, Ambulance and V.R.A. personnel to be aware of the problems presented by cave rescues and to be able to act should a cave accident occur. The N.S.W. Cave Rescue Group is available to provide advice and training in cave rescue and, in the event of an accident taking place, can be mobilised through the Police Disaster and Rescue Branch. Like most members of the caving community, the Cave Rescue Group is a largely Sydney based organisation and its response time for an authentic call out is likely to be between 3 to 5 (or even more) hours. In the event of a cave accident there will be a delay of at least an hour before initial reporting, (members of the victim's party must leave the cave and summon help, or a party is reported overdue). As caving areas are some distance from major centres the first responders are not likely to reach the accident scene in less than two hours after the accident has taken place. With some N.S.W. cave areas it is reasonable to assume that an accident victim may be 24 hours or more away from first responder care. It is vital that the first responders to a cave accident are aware of the type of acre required by cave accident victims and of the hazards that caves present.