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Physiography of the Caves

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Cave Ecology

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 235))

Abstract

Solutional (karst) and lava caves are the most extensive and frequent. Karst caves occur in carbonates, sulphates and halite; large lava tubes form in basalt. “Pseudokarst” caves include lava tubes, piping caves and caves in silicate rocks. Additional inhabitable voids occur in colluvial and alluvial deposits. The physiography of these cave habitats varies over a wide range of architectures and aggregate lengths. The size distribution of most cave voids is “fractal”, so that for a cave room passable to humans, there are several orders of magnitude for more voids of smaller sizes, capable of hosting biota. The internal environment of caves is characterized by lack of daylight, stable temperature and chemical regimes. Cave ventilation provides seasonal regimes of temperature and humidity that may support perennial ice deposits, at least in arctic and cold temperate regions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Stein-Erik Lauritzen

Authors
  1. Stein-Erik Lauritzen
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Correspondence to Stein-Erik Lauritzen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emil Racovitza Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Cluj Napoca, Romania

    Oana Teodora Moldovan

  2. Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia

    Ľubomír Kováč

  3. Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, Jolimont, Western Australia, Australia

    Stuart Halse

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Lauritzen, SE. (2018). Physiography of the Caves. In: Moldovan, O., Kováč, Ľ., Halse, S. (eds) Cave Ecology. Ecological Studies, vol 235. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98852-8_2

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