DOCSLIB.ORG

Using 34-S As a Tracer of Dissolved Sulfur Species from Springs to Cave Sulfate

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Using 34-S As a Tracer of Dissolved Sulfur Species from Springs to Cave Sulfate Using 34-S as a Tracer of Dissolved Sulfur Species from Springs to Cave Sulfate Deposits in the Cerna Valley, Romania by Jonathan Sumrall A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s of Science Department of Geology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Bogdan Onac, Ph.D. Jonathan Wynn, Ph.D. Henry L. Vacher, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 23, 2009 Keywords: stable isotope, karst, geochemistry, mineralogy, sulfuric acid speleogenesis © Copyright 2009, Jonathan Sumrall Dedication To my best friend, Christina, for the love and support to get me through my best and worst days; my parents, Kenny and Kathy, for instilling a work ethic of banging my head against a wall until I find a solution; my grandmother, Betty, for continual support regardless of why, when, or how; and all of my other friends who are constant reminders of happiness to me. Acknowledgements Special thanks go out to my major advisor, Dr. Bogdan Onac, and my committee members, Dr. Jonathan Wynn and Dr. Len Vacher for their guidance and support throughout this project. Thank you to Dr. Wynn for the guidance and patience in dealing with the many problems that arose during this project. The Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park generously allowed access to the field area and also granted approval to remove specimens for analysis. Dr. I. Povara from the "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology, Vera Darmiceanu ("Babes-Bolyai" University in Cluj), Lucian Nicoliţă, and Dragosa Viorel (Prusik Timisoara Speleo Club) provided an indispensable assistance during our field campaigns. The Romanian National University Research Council (grant ID_544 to Onac) contributed funds for this research. Many people have helped me along my path to reach USF; mostly I would like to thank Dr. John Mylroie and his wife Joan Mylroie for continual guidance and support from my undergraduate days at MSU to the present. Note To Reader Note to Reader: The original manuscript of this document contains color that is necessary for understanding the data. The original thesis is on file with the USF library in Tampa, Florida, USA Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA ................................................................ 3 2.1 Geographic Setting............................................................................................ 3 2.2 Geologic Setting................................................................................................ 5 2.3 Hydrogeology ................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Caves and Karst .............................................................................................. 11 Chapter 3: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................... 14 3.1 Stable Sulfur Isotopes ..................................................................................... 14 3.2 Natural Range of Sulfur Isotopes .................................................................... 15 3.3 Redox Reactions ............................................................................................. 16 3.4 Bacterial Sulfate Reduction and Thermochemical Sulfate Reduction ............ 18 3.5 Sulfuric Acid Speleogenesis: History ............................................................. 18 3.6 Gypsum in Caves ............................................................................................ 20 3.7 Previous Sulfur Isotope Studies: Caves .......................................................... 22 Chapter 4: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 25 4.1 Sample and Data Collection............................................................................ 25 4.2 Mass Spectrometry.......................................................................................... 27 iv 4.3 Total Sulfur Isotope Calculations ................................................................... 29 4.4 Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Samples ............................................................. 29 Chapter 5: RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 30 5.1 Spring Data: General Field Data ..................................................................... 30 5.2 Spring Data: Stable Sulfur Isotope Measurements ......................................... 32 5.3 Springs: Total Sulfur Isotopic Composition of Spring Water ........................ 33 5.4 DIC of Spring Waters ..................................................................................... 35 5.5 Cave Sulfate Isotope Data ............................................................................... 35 Chapter 6: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 38 6.1 Sulfur Source and Fractionation .................................................................. 38 6.2 Sulfur Source .................................................................................................. 39 6.3 Development of a Theoretical Model of Rayleigh Distillation ...................... 42 6.4 Cerna Springs: Dissolved Sulfur Species ....................................................... 45 6.5 TDS and its relationship to total dissolved sulfur ........................................... 51 6.6 Caves: Sulfur Isotopes .................................................................................... 55 Bîrzoni Cave (gypsum) ............................................................................. 55 Great Sălitrari Cave................................................................................... 55 Adam and Aburi Caves ............................................................................. 58 Diana and Despicatura Caves ................................................................... 59 Chapter 7: CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................. 60 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 63 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 67 APPENDIX A: Cave Maps and Sample Locations .......................................................... 68 v List of Figures Figure 1. Physiographical map of Romania showing the study area. ................................. 3 Figure 2. Blue-white, H2S rich spring water from the Neptun springs. .............................. 4 Figure 3. Stability field of aqueous sulfur species. ............................................................. 5 Figure 4. A generalized cross-section of the Cerna Valley. ............................................... 6 Figure 5. The major tectonic features that control water flow. ........................................... 8 Figure 6. Generalized cross-section showing source of thermomineral waters................ 10 Figure 7. Picture showing the limestone in the Cerna Valley. .......................................... 11 Figure 8. Picture showing morphology and gypsum deposits. ......................................... 13 Figure 9. Sulfur isotopic value of various sources. ........................................................... 16 Figure 10. A redox tower showing the half-reactions....................................................... 17 Figure 11. A generalized schematic of the reduction of sulfate. ...................................... 20 Figure 12. Massive gypsum deposits (10-12 cm) in Ion Bîrzoni Cave ............................ 22 Figure 13. Diagram of gypsum precipitation in Frasassi caves. ...................................... 24 Figure 14. Picture of Dr. Bogdan Onac sampling from the Neptun 3 .............................. 26 Figure 15. Picture of Dr. Jonathan Wynn measuring dissolved sulfide. ........................... 27 Figure 16. Spring and well locations. ............................................................................... 31 Figure 17. Location of caves that were sampled............................................................... 36 Figure 18 Generalized geologic cross section of the Cerna Valley. ................................. 40 Figure 19 Plot of total sulfur isotopic signature................................................................ 41 Figure 20. Theoretical model of sulfate reduction ............................................................ 43 vi Figure 21. Plot showing the change in sulfide and sulfate moving upstream ................... 46 Figure 22. Plot showing the isotopic composition of dissolved sulfur species. ............... 48 Figure 23. Plot showing percent composition of methane in spring water. ...................... 50 Figure 24. Plot of δ13C of DIC in spring waters. .............................................................. 51 Figure 25. Plot showing two populations of springs
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Pleistocene Panthera Leo Spelaea
    Quaternaire, 22, (2), 2011, p. 105-127 PLEISTOCENE PANTHERA LEO SPELAEA (GOLDFUSS 1810) REMAINS FROM THE BALVE CAVE (NW GERMANY) – A CAVE BEAR, HYENA DEN AND MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC HUMAN CAVE – AND REVIEW OF THE SAUERLAND KARST LION CAVE SITES n Cajus G. DIEDRICH 1 ABSTRACT Pleistocene remains of Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss 1810) from Balve Cave (Sauerland Karst, NW-Germany), one of the most famous Middle Palaeolithic Neandertalian cave sites in Europe, and also a hyena and cave bear den, belong to the most im- portant felid sites of the Sauerland Karst. The stratigraphy, macrofaunal assemblages and Palaeolithic stone artefacts range from the final Saalian (late Middle Pleistocene, Acheulean) over the Middle Palaeolithic (Micoquian/Mousterian), and to the final Palaeolithic (Magdalénien) of the Weichselian (Upper Pleistocene). Most lion bones from Balve Cave can be identified as early to middle Upper Pleistocene in age. From this cave, a relatively large amount of hyena remains, and many chewed, and punctured herbivorous and carnivorous bones, especially those of woolly rhinoceros, indicate periodic den use of Crocuta crocuta spelaea. In addition to those of the Balve Cave, nearly all lion remains in the Sauerland Karst caves were found in hyena den bone assemblages, except those described here material from the Keppler Cave cave bear den. Late Pleistocene spotted hyenas imported most probably Panthera leo spelaea body parts, or scavenged on lion carcasses in caves, a suggestion which is supported by comparisons with other cave sites in the Sauerland Karst. The complex taphonomic situation of lion remains in hyena den bone assemblages and cave bear dens seem to have resulted from antagonistic hyena-lion conflicts and cave bear hunting by lions in caves, in which all cases lions may sometimes have been killed and finally consumed by hyenas.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Pleistocene Panthera Leo Spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) Skeletons
    Late Pleistocene Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) skeletons from the Czech Republic (central Europe); their pathological cranial features and injuries resulting from intraspecific fights, conflicts with hyenas, and attacks on cave bears CAJUS G. DIEDRICH The world’s first mounted “skeletons” of the Late Pleistocene Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) from the Sloup Cave hyena and cave bear den in the Moravian Karst (Czech Republic, central Europe) are compilations that have used bones from several different individuals. These skeletons are described and compared with the most complete known skeleton in Europe from a single individual, a lioness skeleton from the hyena den site at the Srbsko Chlum-Komín Cave in the Bohemian Karst (Czech Republic). Pathological features such as rib fractures and brain-case damage in these specimens, and also in other skulls from the Zoolithen Cave (Germany) that were used for comparison, are indicative of intraspecific fights, fights with Ice Age spotted hyenas, and possibly also of fights with cave bears. In contrast, other skulls from the Perick and Zoolithen caves in Germany and the Urșilor Cave in Romania exhibit post mortem damage in the form of bites and fractures probably caused either by hyena scavenging or by lion cannibalism. In the Srbsko Chlum-Komín Cave a young and brain-damaged lioness appears to have died (or possibly been killed by hyenas) within the hyena prey-storage den. In the cave bear dominated bone-rich Sloup and Zoolithen caves of central Europe it appears that lions may have actively hunted cave bears, mainly during their hibernation. Bears may have occasionally injured or even killed predating lions, but in contrast to hyenas, the bears were herbivorous and so did not feed on the lion car- casses.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Article Extinctions of Late Ice Age Cave Bears As a Result of Climate/Habitat Change and Large Carnivore Lion/Hyena/Wolf Predation Stress in Europe
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation ISRN Zoology Volume 2013, Article ID 138319, 25 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/138319 Research Article Extinctions of Late Ice Age Cave Bears as a Result of Climate/Habitat Change and Large Carnivore Lion/Hyena/Wolf Predation Stress in Europe Cajus G. Diedrich Paleologic, Private Research Institute, Petra Bezruce 96, CZ-26751 Zdice, Czech Republic Correspondence should be addressed to Cajus G. Diedrich; [email protected] Received 16 September 2012; Accepted 5 October 2012 Academic Editors: L. Kaczmarek and C.-F. Weng Copyright © 2013 Cajus G. Diedrich. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Predation onto cave bears (especially cubs) took place mainly by lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss),asnocturnalhuntersdeep in the dark caves in hibernation areas. Several cave bear vertebral columns in Sophie’s Cave have large carnivore bite damages. Different cave bear bones are chewed or punctured. Those lets reconstruct carcass decomposition and feeding technique caused only/mainlybyIceAgespottedhyenasCrocuta crocuta spelaea, which are the only of all three predators that crushed finally the long bones. Both large top predators left large tooth puncture marks on the inner side of cave bear vertebral columns, presumably a result of feeding first on their intestines/inner organs. Cave bear hibernation areas, also demonstrated in the Sophie’s Cave, were far from the cave entrances, carefully chosen for protection against the large predators. The predation stress must have increased on the last and larger cave bear populations of U.
    [Show full text]
  • I Subsurface Waste Disposal by Means of Wells a Selective Annotated Bibliography
    I Subsurface Waste Disposal By Means of Wells A Selective Annotated Bibliography By DONALD R. RIMA, EDITH B. CHASE, and BEVERLY M. MYERS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 2020 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1971 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS G. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. A. Radlinski, Acting Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. 77-179486 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.50 (paper cover) Stock Number 2401-1229 FOREWORD Subsurface waste disposal or injection is looked upon by many waste managers as an economically attractive alternative to providing the sometimes costly surface treatment that would otherwise be required by modern pollution-control law. The impetus for subsurface injection is the apparent success of the petroleum industry over the past several decades in the use of injection wells to dispose of large quantities of oil-field brines. This experience coupled with the oversimplification and glowing generalities with which the injection capabilities of the subsurface have been described in the technical and commercial literature have led to a growing acceptance of deep wells as a means of "getting rid of" the ever-increasing quantities of wastes. As the volume and diversity of wastes entering the subsurface continues to grow, the risk of serious damage to the environment is certain to increase. Admittedly, injecting liquid wastes deep beneath the land surface is a potential means for alleviating some forms of surface pollution. But in view of the wide range in the character and concentrations of wastes from our industrialized society and the equally diverse geologic and hydrologic con­ ditions to be found in the subsurface, injection cannot be accepted as a universal panacea to resolve all variants of the waste-disposal problem.
    [Show full text]
  • 53. Jahrestagung in Herne
    Hugo Obermaier Society for Quaternary Research and Archaeology of the Stone Age Hugo Obermaier - Gesellschaft für Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit e.V. 53. Jahrestagung in Herne 26. – 30. April 2011 in Kooperation mit dem Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie, detail- lierte bibliographische Angaben sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Für den Inhalt der Seiten sind die Autoren selbst verantwortlich. © 2011 Hugo Obermaier – Gesellschaft für Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit e.V. c/o Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Kochstr. 4/18 D-91054 Erlangen Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Jegliche Vervielfältigung einschließlich fotomechanischer und digitalisierter Wieder- gabe nur mit ausdrücklicher Genehmigung der Herausgeber und des Verlages. Redaktion, Satz & Layout: Leif Steguweit (Schriftführer der HOG); Frontcover: Trittsiegel eines Höhlenlöwen aus Bottrop, ca. 35.000 Jahre alt (Zeichnung nach W. von Koenigswald 1995) Stadtwappen von Herne (Quelle: Wikimedia) Druck: PrintCom oHG, Erlangen-Tennenlohe ISBN: 978-3-933474-75-9 Inhalt (Content) Programmübersicht (Brief program) 5 Programm (Meeting program) 6 Kurzfassungen der Vorträge und Poster (Abstracts of Reports and Posters) 13 Exkursionsbeiträge (Excursion´s Guide) 54 An outline of the geology and geomorphology of the Twente region 55 Das sauerländische Höhlenland im südlichen Westfalen (Einführung) 71 Blätterhöhle bei Hagen (J. Orschiedt) 75 Feldhofhöhle bei Balve im Hönnetal (M. Baales) 77 Balver Höhle – größter Höhlenraum des Hönnetals (M. Baales) 79 Die letzten Rentierjäger im Sauerland: Der „Hohle Stein“ bei Kallenhardt (M. 83 Baales) Bericht zur 52. Tagung der Gesellschaft in Leipzig 87 Teilnehmerliste (List of Participants) 95 Weitere Informationen: http://www.uf.uni-erlangen.de/obermaier/obermaier.html Programm der 53.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Cave Hyenas in the Iberian Peninsula: New Insights from Los Aprendices Cave (Moncayo, Zaragoza)
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org Pleistocene cave hyenas in the Iberian Peninsula: New insights from Los Aprendices cave (Moncayo, Zaragoza) Víctor Sauqué, Raquel Rabal-Garcés, Joan Madurell-Malaperia, Mario Gisbert, Samuel Zamora, Trinidad de Torres, José Eugenio Ortiz, and Gloria Cuenca-Bescós ABSTRACT A new Pleistocene paleontological site, Los Aprendices, located in the northwest- ern part of the Iberian Peninsula in the area of the Moncayo (Zaragoza) is presented. The layer with fossil remains has been dated by amino acid racemization to 143.8 ± 38.9 ka (earliest Late Pleistocene or latest Middle Pleistocene). Five mammal species have been identified in the assemblage: Crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) Capra pyre- naica (Schinz, 1838), Lagomorpha indet, Arvicolidae indet and Galemys pyrenaicus (Geoffroy, 1811). The remains of C. spelaea represent a mostly complete skeleton in anatomical semi-connection. The hyena specimen represents the most complete skel- eton ever recovered in Iberia and one of the most complete remains in Europe. It has been compared anatomically and biometrically with both European cave hyenas and extant spotted hyenas. In addition, a taphonomic study has been carried out in order to understand the origin and preservation of these exceptional remains. The results sug- gest rapid burial with few scavenging modifications putatively produced by a medium sized carnivore. A review of the Pleistocene Iberian record of Crocuta spp. has been carried out, enabling us to establish one of the earliest records of C. spelaea in the recently discovered Los Aprendices cave, and also showing that the most extensive geographical distribution of this species occurred during the Late Pleistocene (MIS4- 2).
    [Show full text]
  • Recycling of Badger/Fox Burrows in Late Pleistocene Loess by Hyenas
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Geological Research Volume 2013, Article ID 190795, 31 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/190795 Review Article Recycling of Badger/Fox Burrows in Late Pleistocene Loess by Hyenas at the Den Site Bad Wildungen-Biedensteg (NW, Germany): Woolly Rhinoceros Killers and Scavengers in a Mammoth Steppe Environment of Europe Cajus Diedrich PaleoLogic Private Research Institute, Petra Bezruce 96, 26751 Zdice, Czech Republic Correspondence should be addressed to Cajus Diedrich; [email protected] Received 15 September 2012; Accepted 27 January 2013 Academic Editor: Atle Nesje Copyright © 2013 Cajus Diedrich. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Late Pleistocene (MIS 5c-d) Ice Age spotted hyena open air den and bone accumulation site Bad Wildungen-Biedensteg (Hesse, NW, Germany) represents the first open air loess fox/badger den site in Europe, which must have been recycled by Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) as a birthing den. Badger and fox remains, plus remains of their prey (mainly hare), have been found within the loess. Hyena remains from that site include parts of cub skeletons which represent 10% of the megafauna bones. Also a commuting den area existed, which was well marked by hyena faecal pellets. Most of the hyena prey bones expose crack, bite, and nibbling marks, especially the most common bones, the woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis (NISP = 32%). The large amount of woolly rhinoceros bones indicate hunting/scavenging specializing on this large prey by hyenas.
    [Show full text]
  • E&G Quaternary Science Journal Vol. 64 No 1
    issn 0424-7116 | DOi 10.3285/eg.64.1 Edited by the German Quaternary Association Editor-in-Chief: Margot Böse & EEiszeitalter und GegenwartG Quaternary Science Journal Vol. 64 PEriglaziärE, POlygOnal-vErzwEigtE rinnEnförMigE BilDungEn unD No 1 glazitEktOnisChE strukturEn in saalE-till aM ElBE-urstOMtalranD 2015 BEi wEDEl (sChlEswig-hOlstEin) ChrOnOstratigraPhy Of thE HocHterrassen in thE lOwEr lECh vallEy (nOrthErn alPinE ForElanD) latE PlEistOCEnE sPOttED hyEna DEn sitEs anD sPECializED rhinOCErOs sCavEngErs in thE karstifiED zEChstEin arEas Of thE thuringian MOuntains (CEntral gErMany) GEOZON & EEiszeitalter und GegenwartG Quaternary Science Journal Volume 64 / number 1 / 2015 / DOI: 10.3285/eg.64.1 / iSSn 0424-7116 / www.quaternary-science.net / Founded in 1951 Editor AssociAtE Editors Advisory EditoriAL boArd DEUQUA PiErrE AnToinE, laboratoire de Géographie Flavio AnSElMETTi, Department of Surface Deutsche Quartärvereinigung e.V. Physique, Université Paris i Panthéon- Waters, Eawag (Swiss Federal institute of Stilleweg 2 Sorbonne, France Aquatic Science & Technology), Dübendorf, D-30655 Hannover, Germany Switzerland JÜrGEn EHlErS, Witzeeze, Germany Tel: +49 (0)511-643 36 13 Karl-Ernst BEHrE, lower Saxonian institute E-Mail: info (at) deuqua.de MArkUS FUCHS, Department of Geography, of Historical Coastal research, Wilhelmshaven, www.deuqua.org Justus-liebig-University Giessen, Germany Germany rAlF-DiETriCH KahlkE, Senckenberg Editor-in-chiEf PHiliP GibbarD, Department of Geography, research institute, research Station of University
    [Show full text]
  • DRAFT 8/8/2013 Updates at Chapter 59 -- Three Tales of Two St
    Chapter 59 -- Three Tales of Two St. Pauls Chute's Cave Let us briefly move to St. Paul's Minnesota's neighbor, Minneapolis. When S.H. Chute excavated a 2.5-meter tunnel to provide water to his Phoenix Four Mill in 1864, the project encountered a cave and was abandoned. A bulkhead built during 1875 excavation for a tailrace, however, made the suitable for sub-urban excursions. From the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer and Tribune, August 26 of the following year, Chute's Cave -- A Boat Ride of 2,000 Feet Under Main Street. The mouth of the "Chute's Cave" is just below the springs, and the bottom of this cave is covered with about eighteen inches of water. For the moderate sum of ten cents you can take a seat in a boat with a flaming torch at the bow, and with a trusty pilot sail up under Main street a distance of about 2,000 feet, between pure white sandstone, and under a limestone arch which forms the roof. It is an inexpensive and decidedly interesting trip to take. Stereopticon view showing a flat- bottomed boat and pole. Saint Paul and Minneapolis Pioneer and Tribune, December 1, 1889, But a few years ago not a day passed that did not bring in visitors. A stream of water ran the whole length of the cave, and for the small consideration of a dime, a grim, Charon-like individual would undertake to convey, in a rude sort of a boat, all visitors, who were inclined, for the distance of a quarter or a mile or thereabouts into the gloomy passage.
    [Show full text]
  • Report for the 2011 Omega Cave System Expedition – Camp #9
    A New Upstream Camp and Passing 28 Miles in Omega. Report for the 2011 Omega Cave System Expedition – Camp #9. Wise County, Virginia July 14 to July 23, 2011 Report By: Benjamin Schwartz Participants: Camp trip: Brad Cooper, Benjamin Hutchins, Philip Schuchardt, Benjamin Schwartz. Weekend trips: Sara Fleetwood, Jon Lillestolen, Tom Malabad, Scott Olson, Philip Schuchardt admires an area of unusual yellow and orange ‘butterscotch’ flowstone at the base of Butterscotch Dome near the upstream end of the cave. The flowstone appears to be inactive and has the close-up appearance of velvet. 1 Report and all photos by Benjamin Schwartz. Tuesday-Wednesday, July 12-13, 2011 After two long days and 1,250 miles of driving, Ben Hutchins and I arrived at the LCCC camping area after dark on Thursday evening. Compared to TX, the cool and lush green forest was a real treat for our eyes and senses. We quickly set up our tents, ate dinner, and crashed for the night Thursday, July 14, 2011 A partly cloudy morning greeted us as we prepared for a day of surface surveying and a little caving. We headed down the mountain for a small cave known as Big Bertha’s House of Horrors. It is higher than the LCCC entrance, but we did not know by how much, or where it is located with respect to the passages in Greater Heights. The entrance is in a relatively large sinkhole and has a tiny stream flowing into it, as well as very strong airflow in a bedrock fissure near the bottom.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards Understanding the Structure of Kaumana Cave, Hawaii
    TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE OF KAUMANA CAVE, HAWAII Stephan Kempe Inst. Applied Geosciences, Techn. Univ. Darmstadt and Hawaii Speleological Survey Schnittspahnstr. 9 Darmstadt, D-64827, Germany, [email protected] Christhild Ketz-Kempe Am Schloss Stockau 2 Dieburg, D64807, Germany, [email protected] Abstract its lower entrance at Edita Street, with bolt-marks documenting the stations. W.R. Halliday published Kaumana Cave is one of the youngest lava caves on 2003 another map, showing some of the salient cave Hawaii, formed during a few weeks at the end of the features. The cave is listed with a length of 2197 m 1880/81 Mauna Loa eruption that stopped short of according to W.R. Halliday with no vertical data given downtown Hilo. We surveyed a small section of the (Gulden, 2015). This figure represents, however, not cave above and below the Kaumana County Park the entire length of the cave. A further survey entrance in order to document the stratigraphy and conducted by D. Coons and P. Kambysis, has not yet development stages of the cave. Results show that the been published. So far, no longitudinal profile, nor roof is composed of a >10 m thick sequence of lavas cross-sections nor any detailed geological information layers, with a >3 m thick primary roof formed by five were published. to six inflationary lava sheets. The initial pyroduct had a cross-section of about 3 m2. After the placement of Kaumana Cave is part of the pyroduct that was the roof a cave developed upward by collapse of wall responsible for the advance of the 1880/1881 Mauna and roof sections.
    [Show full text]
  • EGU2010-2124, 2010 EGU General Assembly 2010 © Author(S) 2010
    Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 12, EGU2010-2124, 2010 EGU General Assembly 2010 © Author(s) 2010 Disappearance of the last lions and hyenas of Europe in the Late Quaternary – a chain reaction of large mammal prey migration, extinction and human antagonism Cajus G. Diedrich PaleoLogic, Geology/Palaeontology, Halle/Westph., Germany ([email protected]) In the Eemian to Early/Middle Weichselian (Late Pleistocene), when the Scandinavian and Alpine Glaciers were still small, and northern Germany under mammoth steppe to taiga palaoenvironment conditions, Late Quaternary steppe lions were well distributed in northern to central Germany, whereas generally all over Central Europe bones and rarely articulated skeletons were found less at open air but mainly at cave sites (Diedrich 2007a, 2008a-b, 2009a-b, 2010a-c, k, in review a-b; Diedrich and Rathgeber in review). A similar distribution, but more dense, is reported for the Late Quaternary Ice Age spotted hyenas (Diedrich 2005, 2006, 2007b-c, 2008a, c, 2010f-j, in review c-d, Diedrich and Žák 2006). The last lions of northern Europe were thought to have reached into the final Magdalénan (cf. Musil 1980). This can be not concluded with a restudy of the bone material from the Late Magdalenian (V-VI) Teufelsbrücke stone arch site near Saalfeld (Thuringia, Central Germany) and many other Magdalenian stations (open air and caves) in northern to central Germany (Münsterland Bay, Sauerland Karst, Harz Mountain Karst, Thuringian Karst). None of those sites yield remains of final Upper Pleistocene spotted hyenas or steppe lion bones anymore, nor in the few preserved Late Magdalenian mobile art can those be recognized in those regions.
    [Show full text]