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The Jenolan Caves Survey Project as of 2008 Julia M. James 1, David J. Martin 2, Gregory M. Tunnock , & Alan T. Warild 4 1 School of Chemistry, F11, University of Sydney, NSW 200, Australia 2 52 William James Dr, Mt Kembla, NSW 252, Australia 12 Landsdowne St, Eastwood, NSW 2122, Australia 4 41 Northwood St, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia The Jenolan Caves Survey Project Group is preparing will be compared with that published in 1925. In col- a “State of the Art” survey of the Jenolan Tourist Caves. laboration with the Jenolan Caves Historical and Preser- The only complete survey of the tourist caves was car- vation Society naming and location of features has been ried out in the early 20th century and was published as a carried out; so far 567 named features are identified. This plan and section in 1925. A re-survey was commenced detailed examination of the cave features has enabled the in 1987 and “Walls” (Texas Speleological Society) creation of “Then and Now” files in which older engrav- was chosen for reduction of the survey data because of ings and photographs have been compared with the its simple text file input and Scalable Vector Graphics present state of the features. The Adobe Illustrator files output that imports directly into Adobe Illustrator. Cave have additional layers that may be devoted to any par- entrances were linked by a surface theodolite network ticular task such as speleothem cleaning or infrastructure and tied in to the Australian Map grid. Computer drafting changes such as re-lighting a cave. The plan and surface was performed using Adobe Illustrator as its brush and map have been used to assess the impact of a car park on symbol libraries allow a consistent style and its layers are a cave and in a palaeontological study. It will be argued maintained when exported to Adobe Portable Document that for illustrating what visitors will encounter on a tra- Format (PDF). An aerial surface survey with a resolution ditional or adventure tour, a developed long section and of five metres was used to produce a 3D model with the associated sketch is best. caves below the surface terrain. The current survey plan Cave Invertebrates of the Northern Territory Timothy Moulds PO Box 14, Victoria Park, WA 979. Due to an accident to the author, this paper was not presented at Karstaway Abstract Cixiidae?), Orthoptera (Grylloidea), Blattodea (Noctico- Cave invertebrates from two karst areas in the North- lidae). The majority of all invertebrates collected were ern Territory were sampled during June and July 2006. from the transition zone and classified as troglophiles. The karst areas sampled were Pungalina in the Carpen- Bullita Cave was sampled opportunistically in numer- taria region, and Bullita Cave in Gregory National Park. ous sections of the cave to allow for possible varied This was the first invertebrate sampling conducted at invertebrate distribution within greater than 100 km Pungalina. Invertebrates were sampled in both karst of surveyed passage. Invertebrates were more abun- areas using a combination of hand collecting and baited dant within the deep cave zones situated at the eastern pitfall traps. and northern extent of the main limestone outcrop. Six caves at Pungalina were sampled which revealed Invertebrate sampling was also conducted in adjacent a diverse and abundant fauna, particularly associated karst areas. Invertebrates collected included arachnids with guano deposits within the significant cave systems (araneae, pseudoscorpions, scorpionida) and insects of Totem Pole Cave (PUN-7) and Ballroom Cave (PUN- (coleoptera, hemiptera, orthoptera, and diptera). Special 11). Invertebrate groups collected included arachnids note is made of the collection of a troglobitic scorpion (spiders and pseudoscorpions), Myriapoda (millipedes) (Buthidae: Lychas) from the deep zone of Bullita Cave. crustaceans (isopods, and anaspid syncarids), and insects, This single specimen represents only the third confirmed with the latter being the most diverse. Insects collected troglobitic scorpion recorded from caves in Australia consisted of Coleoptera (Tenebrionidae, Dermestidae, (excluding Christmas Island). Jacobsoniidae?, Scarabidae), Hemiptera (Reduviidae and Karstaway Konference Proceedings 27th ASF Biennial Conference Sale Victoria January 2009 50 Cave-Producing Processes in Soft Porous Limestone Regions of Southern Australia Iain McCulloch Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University Abstract hereafter call corrasion tubes. However, these features Cave development in the Mount Gambier region, and do not show up well on cave maps the way we usually indeed in soft porous limestones throughout Southern draw them, and this (as was the case with Armstrong Australia, is very different to that of caves in the massive Osborne’s eventual recognition of the true nature of jointed limestones of Eastern Australia. paragenetic loops) has hindered the recognition of their The minimal surface relief in Southern Australia is real nature. generally associated with caves developed at a single Caves and Cave Maps level, often at no great depth below the land surface. The features of the way we map caves that have con- Equally obvious is the common single-chamber nature tributed to this lack of understanding are: of these caves compared to the greater linear extent of • an emphasis on the use of a projected plan view for many Eastern caves. Also, it is often clear where surface the horizontal plane; waters enter a Southern Australian cave, but not where • a single sectional view (cross- or developed long- they eventually leave it, in contrast to Eastern Australia section) in the vertical; where cave effluxes are more common than influxes. • the near universal absence of even a single horizon- It has long been my view that mixing corrosion has tal section of appropriate features; and played a far greater role in the development of most caves than has been generally acknowledged, but I am • the use of multiple sections of passages only to show now convinced that this is especially true of the Mt Gam- varying cross-sections, and never to show the unvarying bier region in the Lower South East of South Australia. nature of a passage. However, the ‘solution-tube’ features of the Mt Gambier As illustrated in Figure 1 below, the corrasion tube (if area, which are crucial to the early history of many if not its remarkable nature) is visible in the long section, not most caves of that region, are not corrosional (solu- but almost disappears in the plan view. tion) but corrasional (abrasion) features. The processes Corrasion Tubes – dominant features involved in the development of the small Mount Gambier The dominant features which argue against a solu- ‘solution pipe’ caves are of a series with those ultimately tional origin are not all displayed to the same remark- responsible for the development of large ‘bottle-neck’ able degree by all examples of corrasion tubes, but are caves like The Shaft; of large collapse dolines such as Mt displayed across such a large number of examples as to Gambier Town Cave (Cave Gardens) and Umpherston require an explanation consistent with a theory of the Sinkhole; and of the deep ‘cenotes’ such as Hells Hole. origin of the corrasion tubes. Key Words: solution pipe, corrasion tube, porous Very many corrasion tubes display the following prop- limestone, mixing corrosion, cenote, South Australia, erties: incredible constancy of cross-section; remarkable Mount Gambier. straightness and near-perfect verticality Overview Though less remarkable than the above properties, The ‘Solution Pipes’ of the Lower South East of South the corrasion tubes also display a range of characteristic Australia are not solutional in origin at all, but are in shapes. The most common shape is circular to sub-cir- fact corrasion features. With apologies to Cliff Ollier cular or oval. Amongst the rest, a figure-8 shape is very (Ollier 1982 p431), we could say that the Solution Pipes common. Whether this represents a true different shape, of South and Western Australia are a karstographic myth; Corrasion Tubes are however real enough. These corrasion tubes do show a passing similarity to phreatic cave passages (as the Eastern Highlands show a passing similarity to a mountain range), and they are undeniably tube-like or pipe-like in shape. These facts combined have led to the name ‘solution pipe’ being applied, and its use has become universal. Now one can argue that a name is just a name, but our use of language affects our thinking just as much as the converse, and there is a tendency to think that some- thing called a ‘solution pipe’ is necessarily a solutional feature. Certain key features give the lie to the notion of a Figure 1: Map of McKays Shaft (5L125). (Horne, 1993) solutional origin or a phreatic setting for what I shall Karstaway Konference Proceedings 27th ASF Biennial Conference Sale Victoria January 2009 51 or the overlapping of two sub-circular tubes is a question Near-perfect verticality we shall return to later. For now we shall consider the I have not had the opportunity to properly measure the three features noted above. properties of a range of corrasion tubes (cross-section, Constancy of cross-section straightness and verticality), but I have dropped ropes Some idea of the consistent size of the corrasion tubes down a fair number of them and many or most appear can be gained from looking at the long sections of the to be vertical to within a few degrees or less. Although caves, but this gives little idea of either the actual cross- many natural features may typically be sub-vertical (e.g. sectional shape or of its incredible constancy. trees, cliffs, joint planes in sedimentary rocks), few if any are typically truly vertical as is the case with corrasion Typically of a ‘diameter’ of 0.3 -1.0 m and a (vertical) tubes.