The Aggitis karst system, Eastern Macedonia, Greece: Hydrologic functioning and development of the karst structure, , Novel Jean Paul, Dimadi Agoro, Zervopoulou Anna, Bakalowicz Michel,

SummaryThe Aggitis karst system developed in the marbles of the Rhodope massif. The conditions of the development of its karst drainage network are determined from the geological and geomorphologic settings by means of a microstructural analysis, following Eraso's method. This analysis shows that the karst conduit network intensely developed in the western part of the mountain Falakro where the majority of the open fractures oriented in the same direction as the hydraulic gradient, while the two directions are perpendicular in its eastern part drained by the spring of Drama.The behaviour of the system was analysed by means of hydrodynamic and water geochemical techniques. Despite the extension of the cave system and of the favourable development conditions of conduits, the functioning appears complex, with a significant storage, and a slow infiltration as well as an easy drainage. On the contrary the Drama karst system, characterised by a low variability in its hydrological and geochemical characteristics does not show any karst functioning.In the Aggitis karst system the initial groundwater flow conditions in combination with the aperture planes of which the directions are in agreement with the hydraulic gradient, favoured the rapid development of a drainage network system. The recharge from a large surface catchment area on non-karstic rocks, through swallow holes in a wide polje contributed to increase the groundwater flow through the karst part of the system, facilitating the development of the conduits

Controversy over the great flood hypotheses in the Black Sea in light of geological, paleontological, and archaeological evidence, , Yankohombach Valentina, Gilbert Allan S. , Dolukhanov Pavel,

Legends describing a Great Flood are found in the narratives of several world religions, and the biblical account of Noah's Flood is the surviving heir to several versions of the ancient Mesopotamian Flood Myth. Recently, the story of the biblical deluge was connected to the Black Sea, together with the suggestion that the story's pre-Mesopotamian origins might be found in the Pontic basin [Ryan, W.B.F., Pitman, III, W.C., 1998. Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event That Changed History. Simon and Schuster, New York]. Based on the significance of this flood epic in the Judeo-Christian tradition, popular interest surged following publication of the idea.Currently, two Great Flood scenarios have been proposed for the Black Sea: (1) an Early Holocene event caused by catastrophic Mediterranean inflow at 7.2 ky BP (initial hypothesis of [Ryan et al., 1997. An abrupt drowning of the Black Sea shelf. Marine Geology 138, 119-126]) or 8.4 ky BP (modified hypothesis of [Ryan et al., 2003. Catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 31, 525-554.); and (2) a Late Pleistocene event brought on by Caspian influx between 16 and 13 ky BP [Chepalyga, A.L., 2003. Late glacial Great Flood in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. GSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2-5 November 2003, Seattle, USA, p. 460]. Both hypotheses claim that the massive inundations of the Black Sea basin and ensuing large-scale environmental changes had a profound impact on prehistoric human societies of the surrounding areas, and both propose that the event formed the basis for the biblical Great Flood legend.This paper attempts to determine whether the preponderance of existing evidence sustains support for these Great Floods in the evolution of the Black Sea. Based upon established geological and paleontological data, it finds that the Late Pleistocene inundation was intense and substantial whereas the Early Holocene sea-level rise was not. Between 16 and 13 ky BP, the Late Neoeuxinian lake (the Late Pleistocene water body in the Pontic basin pre-dating the Black Sea) increased rapidly from ~-14 to -50 m (below the present level of the Black Sea), then rose gradually to ~-20 m by about 11 ky BP. At 11-10 ky BP (the Younger Dryas), it dropped to ~-50 m. When the Black Sea re-connected with the Sea of Marmara at about 9.5 ky BP, inflowing Mediterranean water increased the Black Sea level very gradually up to ~-20 m, and in so doing, it raised the salinity of the basin and brought in the first wave of Mediterranean immigrants. These data indicate no major drawdown of the Black Sea after the Younger Dryas, and they do not provide evidence for any catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea in the Early Holocene.In addition, available archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence from the Pontic region reveal no recognizable changes in population dynamics between 14 and 6 ky BP that could be linked to an inundation of large magnitude [Dolukhanov, P., Shilik, K., 2006. Environment, sea-level changes, and human migrations in the northern Pontic area during late Pleistocene and Holocene times. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 297-318; Stanko, V.N., 2006. Fluctuations in the level of the Black Sea and Mesolithic settlement of the northern Pontic area. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 371-385]. More specifically, Mesolithic and early Neolithic archaeological data in southeastern Europe and Ukraine give no indications of shifts in human subsistence or other behavior at the time of the proposed catastrophic flood in the Early Holocene [Anthony, D., 2006. Pontic-Caspian Mesolithic and Early Neolithic societies at the time of the Black Sea Flood: A small audience and small effects. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 345-370; Dergachev and Dolukhanov, 2006. The Neolithization of the North Pontic area and the Balkans in the context of the Black Sea Floods. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 489-514]

On hypogean Roncocreagris (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae) from Portugal, with descriptions of three new species, , Reboleira Ana Sofia P. S. , Zaragoza Juan A. , Gonçalves F. , Oromí P.

Three new hypogean species of the Iberian genus Roncocreagris Mahnert, 1974 are described from mainland Portugal: R. borgesi sp. nov. and R. gepesi sp. nov. from caves in the Sicó massif, and R. occidentalis sp. nov. from caves in the Montejunto and Cesaredas karst plateau. This brings to nine the number of known hypogean species of the mostly Iberian genus Roncocreagris: five from Portugal and four from Spain. Ecological comments and new localities for some of the previously known species are also included.

The Caves of the Sierra de Aire Massif, Central Portugal, 1959, Cons David

Die untermeerischen Riesenquellen des Massivs von Garraf.1961, 1961, Pous, J(oaquin). M(ontoriol).

[Spanien]

Breccia and Pennsylvanian cave filling in Mississippian Saint Louis Limestone, Putnam County, Indiana, 1961, Smith Ned Myron, Sunderman Jack Allen, Melhorn Wilton Newton,

A limestone breccia and several bodies of shale and sandstone in Mississippian St. Louis limestone were discovered in a quarry opened during the summer of 1959 in the SE1/4NW1/4 sec. 15, T.15N., R.4W., Putnam County. A small mass of sandy limestone conglomerate overlay part of the breccia. Nearly all these bodies have been removed in quarrying. The breccia and the shale-sandstone masses appear to have originated from 2 separate geologic processes which occurred at 2 different times. The origin of the breccia is in doubt because not enough critical evidence is available to prove conclusively and single origin. The authors believe, however, that the breccia probably is the product of a submarine rock slump during St. Louis time which was triggered by the tectonic activity that initiated early movements along the Mt. Carmel fault. Other possible origins, such as solution of evaporites accompanied by collapse of overlying rock or formation of caves in a karst terrain followed by roof collapse, are not supported by the evidence observed. The shale-sandstone bodies are believed to be rocks of Pennsylvanian age which were deposited in caverns developed during the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian erosion interval. The limestone conglomerate is probably of the same age as the shale-sandstone bodies

Die untermeerischen Riesenquellen des Massivs von Garraf1961, 1961, Pous, J. M.

Entdeckungen im östlichen Hochkönigmassiv., 1963, Abel, G.

[Riedelwandhöhle,]

Entdeckungen im östlichen Hochkönigmassiv, 1963, Abel, G.

The Speleology of the Massif de Ger, France, 1964, Knight J. C. (tr. )

Observations on the evolution of caves., 1964, Cavaille Albert

In this note, which results from a paper published in France, the author defines the "karst system" formed by several successive levels, at the heart of a limestone mass: joints of surface feeding, vertical chimneys, galleries which are alternatively dry and full of water according to the season, a network of continually drowned clefts. He then studies modifications in this system resulting from internal causes, corrosion, filling and sedimentation, concretion. Then he shows how this evolution of the karst system may be modified by general conditions: geology, tectonics, geography with the losses, resurgences and the role of surface formations. The deepening of the river level may create a structure of differing levels in the various karst system, but their positioning is always slower than the streams erosion and it comes about later. In any case, the caves in a dried karst system undergo an evolution on their own. Finally, the author gives the definition of the terms used to explain the evolution in the karst system: "embryonic galleries" in the network of clefts, "young galleries" in the zone which is alternately wet and dry, "mature galleries" where the concretion and the erosion are balanced, "old galleries" where the concretion is becoming more and more important, "dead galleries" where the cave is completely filled by the deposits and concretions. This classification will easily replace the inexact terms of "active galleries" and "fossilized galleries" which are too vague and lead to confusion.

On the snail Spelaeodiscus Brusina 1886 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata) in Yugoslavia., 1965, Bole Joze

In Yugoslavia there are 5 species of the Genus Spelaeodiscus (Gastropoda, Pulmonata): Sp. hauffeni (F. Schmidt), Sp. triaria (Rossmàssler), Sp. albanicus (A. J. Wagner), Sp. unidentatus Bole and Sp. obodensis sp. n., decribed here. The anatomical researches on Sp. hauffeni (F. Schmidt) and Sp. unidentatus Bole have proved that they belong to the family of the Pupillidae and not to the one of the Valloniidae. This fact confirms the opinion of Hudec, according to whom the genus Spelaeodiscus belongs to the family of the Pupillidae.

Caves of the Coastal Areas of South Australia, 1965, Sexton, R. T.

The majority of South Australian caves occur in the Tertiary and Quaternary limestones of the coastal areas. Their distribution is discussed here on a geological rather than a geographical basis. The most significant caves are briefly described and illustrated to indicate different types and related developments in the coastal limestones. The most notable feature of the limestones is their soft, porous nature. Caves also occur in South Australia in hard, massively bedded Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian limestones and dolomites. These are not discussed in the present paper. To facilitate recording, South Australia has been divided into six zones as shown in Figure 1, and the caves numbered in order of discovery in each area. In general, both the name and the number of the cave have been given, but unnamed caves are specified by number only. The cave maps have been chosen to give as wide a coverage as possible of the various types, or to illustrate points of particular interest. The arrows on the section lines show the direction of viewing, and the sections are numbered to relate them to the plans. Where a cross-section and longitudinal section intersect, the common line has been drawn to relate the sections. The same scale has been used throughout for ease of comparison.

Contribution to the knowledge on Speophilus of the group kiesenwetteri Diek., 1966, Boada Oleguer Escolà I.

The author has studied the group kiesenwetteri of the genus Speophilus (Col. Catopidae), endemic of Catalogna (Spain). The paper comprises a geographical and geological analysis of the by this group colonised massifs, with a study on the geological isolation of the species and a faunistic study of the 5 actually known forms, one of which new.

The Origin and Development of Mullamullang Cave N37, Nullarbor Plain, Western Australia, 1970, Hunt, G. S.

Mullamullang Cave N37 is the longest and most complex cave on the Nullarbor Plain, Southern Australia. Unlike the other caves, it possesses extensive levels of phreatic solution tube passages which permit stronger inferences to be made on the development of the collapse passages constituting the bulk of Mullamullang Cave and other deep Nullarbor caves. These passages have been formed by collapse through overlying belts of solution tube networks along an elongated zone of cavitation in the limestone. Massive breakdown was probably initiated at depth within the zone, at least 50 feet below the present watertable level. Upward stoping of the collapse would have been facilitated by the higher network levels in the zone, such as the Ezam and Easter Extension. Channelling of groundwater flow under the Plain is suggested by the belt-like nature of the networks. An epiphreatic origin is proposed for the network levels though convincing morphological evidence is wanting. Eustatic changes in sea level have been of fundamental importance in the development of the multiple levels. Wetter periods in the past were probably important as little development is taking place under present-day dry conditions. Correlation of wetter periods with Pleistocene glacials would help explain the development of huge collapse passages, but such correlatien cannot be assumed on present evidence. Massive collapse and doline formation were followed by subaerial weathering and vadose activity which modified the cave - especially near the entrance. Correlation of levels in Mullamullang with those in other Nullarbor deep caves is attempted. However, Mullamullang Cave is unique probably due to the lithology of the Abrakurrie Limestone in which it is developed.