Advances in Karst Research: Theory, Fieldwork and Applications
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS
Karst landscapes and karst aquifers are composed of a variety of soluble rocks, such as salt, gypsum, anhydrite, limestone, dolomite and quartzite. They are fascinating areas of exploration, study and research. As karst rocks are abundant on the Earth’s surface, the fast evolution of karst landscapes and the rapid flow of water through karst aquifers present many challenges from a number of different perspectives. This collection of 25 papers deals with different aspects of these challenges, including karst geology, geomorphology and speleogenesis, karst hydrogeology, karst modelling, and karst hazards and management. Together these papers provide a state-of-the-art review of the current challenges and solutions we face in describing karst from a scientific perspective, while at the same time providing useful data and information for managing karst territories to land planners, developers, and managers of show caves, natural parks and reserves in karst terrains.
A genetic classification of caves and its application in eastern Austria
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Published:January 01, 2018
Abstract
Based on existing classifications of caves that often involve descriptive terms, a classification is presented that is based purely on genetic processes. An attribute key is developed that allows the classification of caves by means of cave maps, photographs and reports. This method is applied to a dataset of 6007 caves in a study area in eastern Austria. The area comprises diverse geological units of the Eastern Alps and the southern Bohemian Massif. A total of 94% of the caves could be classified with the surprising result that mechanical weathering and erosion caves are almost as common as solution caves even though the vast majority of caves are developed in carbonate rocks. Field checks confirmed the result and showed that the error is acceptable. The classified caves can also be used as indicator of natural phenomena like gravitational mass movements or vulnerable karst areas by decision-makers non-specialized in cave genesis.
- Alps
- applications
- Austria
- Bohemian Massif
- Burgenland Austria
- caves
- Central Europe
- classification
- concepts
- data bases
- data processing
- Eastern Alps
- erosion
- erosion features
- Europe
- genesis
- geomorphology
- karst
- landform evolution
- landforms
- Lower Austria
- mass movements
- mechanical weathering
- solution features
- speleology
- statistical distribution
- Styria Austria
- Upper Austria
- Vienna Austria
- weathering