1.
Lechuguilla Cave
–
Lechuguilla Cave is, as of June 2013, with 138. The cave is named for Agave lechuguilla, a species of plant found near its entrance, Lechuguilla is in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Access to the cave is limited to approved scientific researchers, survey and exploration teams, Lechuguilla Cave was known until 1986 as a small, insignificant historic site in the parks back country. Small amounts of bat guano were mined from the passages for a year under a mining claim filed in 1914. The historic cave contained a 90-foot entrance pit known as Misery Hole, the cave was visited infrequently after mining activities ceased. However, in the 1950s, cavers heard wind roaring up from the cave floor. Although there was no route, people concluded that cave passages lay below the rubble. Led by Dave Allured, a group of cavers from the Colorado Grotto gained permission from the National Park Service, lechugilla was also the deepest cave in the continental United States 1,604 feet until the exploration of Tears of the Turtle Cave in 2014. Drawn by the pristine condition and rare beauty, cavers come from around the world to explore and map its passages. In May 2012 a team led by Derek Bristol of Colorado climbed over 410 feet into a dome and discovered new, unexplored passages, pits. This new section was named Oz and many of its features were named after items from The Wizard of Oz, the discovery included a large room measuring 600 feet long, up to 150 feet wide and up to 150 feet high. A pit, named Kansas Twister, at over 510 feet from floor to ceiling, is the deepest pit yet discovered in the park. The team spent eight days mapping Oz, adding the largest distance to the survey since 1989, Lechuguilla Cave offers more than extreme size. For the first time, a Guadalupe Mountains cave extends deep enough that scientists may study five separate geologic formations from the inside, the profusion of gypsum and sulfur lends support to speleogenesis by sulfuric acid dissolution. The sulfuric acid is believed to be derived from hydrogen sulfide that migrated from nearby oil deposits, therefore, this cavern formed from the bottom up, in contrast to the normal top-down carbonic acid dissolution mechanism of cave formation. Lechuguilla Cave lies beneath a park wilderness area, the caves passages may extend out of the park into adjacent Bureau of Land Management land. A major threat to the cave is proposed gas and oil drilling on BLM land, any leakage of gas or fluids into the caves passages could kill cave life or cause explosions. Rare, chemolithoautotrophic bacteria are believed to occur in the cave and these bacteria feed on the sulfur, iron, and manganese minerals and may assist in enlarging the cave and determining the shapes of unusual speleothems
2.
New Mexico
–
New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6,1912 and it is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is fifth by area, the 36th-most populous, inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before European exploration, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598 Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of independent Mexico before becoming a U. S. territory and eventually a U. S. state as a result of the Mexican–American War. Among U. S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, the major Native American nations in the state are Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. The demography and culture of the state are shaped by these strong Hispanic and Native American influences and its scarlet and gold colors are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe. New Mexico, or Nuevo México in Spanish, is incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico. The name simply stuck, even though the area had no connection to Mexico or the Mexica Indian tribes, Mexico, formerly a part of New Spain, adopted its name centuries later in 1821, after winning independence from Spanish rule. New Mexico was a part of the independent Mexican Empire and Federal Republic of Mexico for 27 years,1821 through 1848, New Mexico and Mexico developed as neighboring Spanish-speaking communities under Spanish rule, with relatively independent histories. The states total area is 121,412 square miles, the eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, the western border with Arizona runs along the 109°03 W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel, the 37° N latitude parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a state, has very little water. Its surface water area is about 250 square miles, the New Mexican landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexicos arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New Mexicos rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, the Rio Grande is tied for the fourth-longest river in the United States. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant money to the state, other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Gila Wilderness in the southwest of the state
3.
Earth
–
Earth, otherwise known as the World, or the Globe, is the third planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life. It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets, according to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago. Earths gravity interacts with objects in space, especially the Sun. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its axis over 365 times, thus, Earths axis of rotation is tilted, producing seasonal variations on the planets surface. The gravitational interaction between the Earth and Moon causes ocean tides, stabilizes the Earths orientation on its axis, Earths lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of Earths surface is covered with water, mostly by its oceans, the remaining 29% is land consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes, rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. The majority of Earths polar regions are covered in ice, including the Antarctic ice sheet, Earths interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the Earths magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics. Within the first billion years of Earths history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the Earths atmosphere and surface, some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years ago. Since then, the combination of Earths distance from the Sun, physical properties, in the history of the Earth, biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion, occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events. Over 99% of all species that lived on Earth are extinct. Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely, over 7.4 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and minerals for their survival. Humans have developed diverse societies and cultures, politically, the world has about 200 sovereign states, the modern English word Earth developed from a wide variety of Middle English forms, which derived from an Old English noun most often spelled eorðe. It has cognates in every Germanic language, and their proto-Germanic root has been reconstructed as *erþō, originally, earth was written in lowercase, and from early Middle English, its definite sense as the globe was expressed as the earth. By early Modern English, many nouns were capitalized, and the became the Earth. More recently, the name is simply given as Earth. House styles now vary, Oxford spelling recognizes the lowercase form as the most common, another convention capitalizes Earth when appearing as a name but writes it in lowercase when preceded by the. It almost always appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as what on earth are you doing, the oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4. 5672±0.0006 billion years ago. By 4. 54±0.04 Gya the primordial Earth had formed, the formation and evolution of Solar System bodies occurred along with the Sun
4.
Weathering
–
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earths atmosphere, waters, and biological organisms. Two important classifications of weathering processes exist – physical and chemical weathering, mechanical or physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through direct contact with atmospheric conditions, such as heat, water, ice and pressure. While physical weathering is accentuated in very cold or very dry environments, chemical reactions are most intense where the climate is wet, however, both types of weathering occur together, and each tends to accelerate the other. For example, physical abrasion decreases the size of particles and therefore increases their surface area, the various agents act in concert to convert primary minerals to secondary minerals and release plant nutrient elements in soluble forms. The materials left over after the rock breaks down combined with organic material creates soil, in addition, many of Earths landforms and landscapes are the result of weathering processes combined with erosion and re-deposition. Physical weathering, also recognized as mechanical weathering, is the class of processes that causes the disintegration of rocks without chemical change, the primary process in physical weathering is abrasion. However, chemical and physical weathering often go hand in hand, physical weathering can occur due to temperature, pressure, frost etc. For example, cracks exploited by physical weathering will increase the area exposed to chemical action. Abrasion by water, ice, and wind loaded with sediment can have tremendous cutting power, as is amply demonstrated by the gorges, ravines. In glacial areas, huge moving ice masses embedded with soil and rock fragments grind down rocks in their path, plant roots sometimes enter cracks in rocks and pry them apart, resulting in some disintegration, Burrowing animals may help disintegrate rock through their physical action. However, such influences are usually of importance in producing parent material when compared to the drastic physical effects of water, ice, wind. Physical weathering is called mechanical weathering or disaggregation. Thermal stress weathering results from the expansion and contraction of rock, for example, heating of rocks by sunlight or fires can cause expansion of their constituent minerals. As some minerals expand more than others, temperature changes set up differential stresses that cause the rock to crack apart. Because the outer surface of a rock is often warmer or colder than the more protected inner portions and this process may be sharply accelerated if ice forms in the surface cracks. When water freezes, it expands with a force of about 1465 Mg/m^2, disintegrating huge rock masses, thermal stress weathering comprises two main types, thermal shock and thermal fatigue. Thermal stress weathering is an important mechanism in deserts, where there is a diurnal temperature range, hot in the day. The repeated heating and cooling exerts stress on the layers of rocks
5.
Sea cave
–
A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion, sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relict sea caves on former coastlines. Some of the largest wave-cut caves in the world are found on the coast of Norway and these would still be classified as littoral caves. Some of the sea caves are European. Fingals Cave, on the Scottish island of Staffa, is a cave some 70 m long. The Blue Grotto of Capri, although smaller, is famous for the apparent luminescent quality of its water, the Romans built a stairway in its rear and a now-collapsed tunnel to the surface. The Greek islands are noted for the variety and beauty of their sea caves. Numerous sea caves have been surveyed in England, Scotland, and in France, until 2013, the largest known sea caves were found along the west coast of the United States, the Hawaiian islands, and the Shetland Islands. In 2013 the discovery and survey of the worlds largest sea cave was announced, located on New Zealands Otago coast on the South Island, Matainaka Cave has proven to be the worlds most extensive at 1.5 km in length. Also in 2013, Crossley reported a newly surveyed complex reaching just over a kilometer in survey at Bethells Beach on New Zealands North Island, however, there are some notable exceptions as discussed below. In order to form a sea cave, the host rock must first contain a weak zone. In metamorphic or igneous rock, this is either a fault as in the caves of the Channel Islands of California, or a dike as in the large sea caves of Kauai. In sedimentary rocks, this may be a bedding-plane parting or a contact between layers of different hardness. The latter may also occur in rocks, such as in the caves on Santa Cruz Island, California. The driving force in littoral cave development is wave action, erosion is ongoing anywhere that waves batter rocky coasts, but where sea cliffs contain zones of weakness, rock is removed at a greater rate along these zones. Adding to the power of the waves is the abrasive force of suspended sand. Most sea-cave walls are irregular and chunky, reflecting an erosional process where the rock is fractured piece by piece. However, some caves have portions where the walls are rounded and smoothed, typically floored with cobbles, and result from the swirling motion of these cobbles in the surf zone
6.
Rock shelter
–
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In arid areas, wind erosion can be an important factor in rockhouse formation, erosion from moving water is seldom a significant factor. Many rock shelters are found under waterfalls, Rock shelter formation types Rock shelters are often important archaeologically. Because rock shelters form natural shelters from the weather, prehistoric humans often used them as living-places, and left behind debris, tools, in mountainous areas the shelters can also be important for mountaineers. In western Connecticut and eastern New York, many shelters are known by the colloquialism leatherman caves. Sandstone can be used as shingles for roof tops when possible, the Cumberland stitchwort is an endangered species of plant which is found only in rock shelters in Kentucky and Tennessee. Gatecliff Rockshelter Kinlock Shelter Mesa Verde Overhang Roc-aux-Sorciers Shelter Rock Walnut Canyon
7.
Grotto
–
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or liable to flood at high tide, sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden features. The Grotta Azzurra at Capri and the grotto at the villa of Tiberius in the Bay of Naples are examples of popular natural seashore grottoes, the word grotto comes from Italian grotta, Vulgar Latin grupta, and Latin crypta. It is also related by an accident to the word grotesque. The rooms had sunk underground over time, the Romans who discovered this historical monument found it very strange, a sentiment enhanced by the fact that it was uncovered from an underworld source. This led the Romans to give it the name grottesche, or grotesque, grottoes were very popular in Greek and Roman culture. Spring-fed grottoes were a feature of Apollos oracles at Delphi, Corinth, the Hellenistic city of Rhodes was designed with rock-cut artificial grottoes incorporated into the city, made to look natural. According to tradition, Praenestes sacred spring had a native nymph, Tiberius, the Roman emperor, filled his grotto with sculptures to create a sense of mythology, perhaps channeling Polyphemus cave in the Odyssey. The numinous quality of the grotto is still more ancient, in a grotto near Knossos in Crete, Eileithyia was venerated, even farther back in time, the immanence of the divine in a grotto is seen in the sacred caves of Lascaux. The popularity of artificial grottoes introduced Mannerist style to Italian and French gardens of the mid-16th century, two famous grottoes in the Boboli Gardens of Palazzo Pitti were begun by Vasari and completed by Ammanati and Buontalenti between 1583 and 1593. One of these grottoes originally housed the Prisoners of Michelangelo, before Boboli grotto, a garden was laid out by Niccolò Tribolo at the Medici Villa Castello, near Florence. At Pratolino, in spite of the dryness of the site, there was a Grotto of Cupid, with water tricks for the unsuspecting visitor. The Fonte di Fata Morgana at Grassina, not far from Florence, is a garden building. It is decorated with sculptures in the Giambolognan manner, the outside of garden grottoes are often designed to look like an enormous rock, a rustic porch or a rocky overhang. Damp grottoes were cool places to retreat from the Italian sun, in Kuskovo at the Sheremetev estate there is a Summer Grotto, built in 1775. Grottoes could also serve as baths, an example of this is at the Palazzo del Te, in the Casino della Grotta, courtiers once bathed in the small cascade that splashed over the pebbles and shells encrusted in the floor and walls. Grottoes have also served as chapels, or at Villa Farnese at Caprarola and they were often combined with cascading fountains in Renaissance gardens. The grotto designed by Bernard Palissy for Catherine de Medicis château in Paris, there are also grottoes in the gardens designed by André Le Nôtre for Versailles
8.
Speleothem
–
A speleothem, commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems typically form in limestone or dolostone solutional caves, the term speleothem as first introduced by Moore, is derived from the Greek words spēlaion cave + théma deposit. The definition of speleothem in most publications, specifically excludes secondary mineral deposits in mines, tunnels, the cave environment has influenced the minerals deposition. More than 250 cave mineral deposits exist, the vast majority of speleothems are calcareous, composed of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite, or calcium sulfate in the form of gypsum. Calcareous speleothems form via carbonate dissolution reactions, calthemites which occur on concrete structures, are created by completely different chemistry to speleothems. Speleothems take various forms, depending on whether the water drips, seeps, condenses, flows, many speleothems are named for their resemblance to man-made or natural objects. Speleogens are formations within caves that are created by the removal of bedrock, although sometimes similar in appearance to speleothems in caves formed by dissolution, these are formed by the cooling of residual lava within the lava tube. Speleothems formed from salt, sulfur and other minerals are also known, most cave chemistry revolves around calcium carbonate, the primary mineral in limestone and dolomite. It is a slightly soluble mineral whose solubility increases with the introduction of carbon dioxide and it is paradoxical in that its solubility decreases as the temperature increases, unlike the vast majority of dissolved solids. This decrease is due to interactions with the carbon dioxide, whose solubility is diminished by elevated temperatures, as the dioxide is released. Most other solution caves that are not composed of limestone or dolostone are composed of gypsum, samples can be taken from speleothems to be used like ice cores as a proxy record of past climate changes. A particular strength of speleothems in this regard is their ability to be accurately dated over much of the late Quaternary period using the uranium-thorium dating technique. These can provide clues to past precipitation, temperature, and vegetation changes over the last ~500,000 years, moreover, the radiation centers must be stable on geologic time, i. e. to have a very large lifetime, to make dating possible. Many other artifacts, such as, e. g. surface defects induced by the grinding of the sample can also preclude a correct dating, only a few percents of the samples tested are in fact suitable for dating. This makes the often disappointing for the experimentalists. ESR dating can be tricky and must be applied with discernment and it can never be used alone, One date only is No date, or in other words, multiple lines of evidence and multiple lines of reasoning are necessary in absolute dating. However, good samples might be if all the selection criteria are met. The occurrence of calthemites is often associated with degradation, but could also be linked to leaching of lime
9.
Speleology
–
Speleology and caving are often connected, as the physical skills required for in situ study are the same. In Romania, the term speology is used, this is derived from a Greek word for cave, speos, rather than the Latin, spelaeum. Speleology is a field that combines the knowledge of chemistry, biology, geology, physics, meteorology and cartography to develop portraits of caves as complex. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted to science in the world. The creation of an accurate, detailed map is one of the most common technical activities undertaken within a cave, caves provide a home for many unique biota. Cave ecologies are diverse, and not sharply distinct from surface habitats. Generally however, the deeper the cave becomes, the more rarefied the ecology, cave environments fall into three general categories, Endogean the parts of caves that are in communication with surface soils through cracks and rock seams, groundwater seepage, and root protrusion. Parahypogean the threshold regions near cave mouths that extend to the last penetration of sunlight and these can be in regular contact with the surface via wind and underground rivers, or the migration of animals, or can be almost entirely isolated. Deep hypogean environments can host autonomous ecologies whose primary source of energy is not sunlight, cave organisms fall into three basic classes, There are also so-called accidental trogloxenes which are surface organisms that enter caves for no survival reason. Some may even be troglophobes, which survive in caves for any extended period. Examples include deer which fell through a sinkhole, frogs swept into a cave by a flash flood, the two factors that limit cave ecologies are generally energy and nutrients. To some degree moisture is available in actively forming Karst caves. Cut off from the sunlight and steady deposition of plant detritus, the majority of energy in cave environments comes from the surplus of the ecosystems outside. One major source of energy and nutrients in caves is dung from trogloxenes, because of their rarity and position in the ecosystem they are threatened by a large number of human activities. Dam construction, limestone quarrying, water pollution and logging are just some of the disasters that can devastate or destroy underground biological communities. Speleologists also work with archaeologists in studying underground ruins, tunnels, sewers and aqueducts, such as the various inlets and outlets of the Cloaca Maxima in Rome
10.
Caving
–
Caving — also traditionally known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland — is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems. In contrast, speleology is the study of caves and the cave environment. Cave diving is a distinct, and more hazardous, sub-speciality undertaken by a minority of technically proficient cavers. Sometimes categorized as a sport, it is not commonly considered as such by long-time enthusiasts. Many caving skills overlap with those involved in canyoning, mine, Caving is often undertaken for the enjoyment of the outdoor activity or for physical exercise, as well as original exploration, similar to mountaineering or diving. Physical or biological science is also an important goal for some cavers, virgin cave systems comprise some of the last unexplored regions on Earth and much effort is put into trying to locate, enter and survey them. In well-explored regions, the most accessible caves have already been explored, Caving, in certain areas, has also been utilized as a form of eco and adventure tourism. Tour companies have established a leading and guiding tours into. Depending on the type of cave and the type of tour, in many areas, there are tours led through lava tubes by a guiding service. Some however consider the assistance cavers give each other as a team sport activity. Too much emphasis on the labeling of caving as a sport can narrow the goals of caving as a whole, Caving often puts the needs and welfare of a cave before those of the active participants. Clay Perry, an American caver of the 1940s, wrote about a group of men and this group referred to themselves as spelunkers, a term derived from the Latin spēlunca cave, cavern, den, itself from the Greek σπῆλυγξ spēlynks cave. This is regarded as the first use of the word in the Americas, throughout the 1950s, spelunking was the general term used for exploring caves in US English. It was used freely, without any positive or negative connotations, in the 1960s, the terms spelunking and spelunker began to be considered déclassé among experienced enthusiasts. This sentiment is exemplified by bumper stickers and T-shirts displayed by some cavers, Cavers rescue spelunkers, nevertheless, outside the caving community, spelunking and spelunkers predominately remain neutral terms referring to the practice and practitioners, without any respect to skill level. Potholing refers to the act of exploring potholes, a word originating in the north of England for predominantly vertical caves, the base term caving comes from the Latin cavea or caverna, meaning simply, a cave. He developed his own based on ropes and metallic ladders. Martel visited Kentucky and notably Mammoth Cave National Park in October 1912, robert de Joly, Guy de Lavaur and Norbert Casteret were prominent figures of that time, surveying mostly caves in Southwest France
11.
Karst
–
Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves and it has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes, the English word karst was borrowed from German Karst in the late 19th century. The German word came into use before the 19th century, according to the prevalent interpretation, the term is derived from the German name for the Karst region, a limestone plateau above the city of Trieste in the northern Adriatic. Scholars disagree, however, on whether the German word was borrowed from Slovene, the Slovene common noun kras was first attested in the 18th century, and the adjective form kraški in the 16th century. The Slovene words arose through metathesis from the reconstructed form *korsъ, ultimately, the word is of Mediterranean origin, believed to derive from some Romanized Illyrian base. It has been suggested that the word may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root karra- rock, the name may also be connected to the oronym Karsádios oros cited by Ptolemy, and perhaps also to Latin Carusardius. The development of karst occurs whenever acidic water starts to break down the surface of bedrock near its cracks, as the bedrock continues to degrade, its cracks tend to get bigger. As time goes on, these fractures will become wider, if this underground drainage system does form, it will speed up the development of karst formations there because more water will be able to flow through the region, giving it more erosive power. The carbonic acid that causes karstic features is formed as rain passes through the atmosphere picking up carbon dioxide, once the rain reaches the ground, it may pass through soil that can provide much more CO2 to form a weak carbonic acid solution, which dissolves calcium carbonate. The oxidation of sulfides leading to the formation of acid can also be one of the corrosion factors in karst formation. As oxygen -rich surface waters seep into deep anoxic karst systems, they bring oxygen, sulfuric acid then reacts with calcium carbonate, causing increased erosion within the limestone formation. This chain of reactions is, This reaction chain forms gypsum, the karstification of a landscape may result in a variety of large- or small-scale features both on the surface and beneath. On exposed surfaces, small features may include solution flutes, runnels, limestone pavement, medium-sized surface features may include sinkholes or cenotes, vertical shafts, foibe, disappearing streams, and reappearing springs. Large-scale features may include limestone pavements, poljes, and karst valleys, mature karst landscapes, where more bedrock has been removed than remains, may result in karst towers, or haystack/eggbox landscapes. Beneath the surface, complex underground systems and extensive caves. Some of the most dramatic of these formations can be seen in Thailands Phangnga Bay, calcium carbonate dissolved into water may precipitate out where the water discharges some of its dissolved carbon dioxide. Rivers which emerge from springs may produce tufa terraces, consisting of layers of calcite deposited over extended periods of time, in caves, a variety of features collectively called speleothems are formed by deposition of calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals
12.
Limestone
–
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
13.
Solvation
–
Solvation, also sometimes called dissolution, is the attraction and association of molecules of a solvent with molecules or ions of a solute. When a solute is soluble in a solvent, the solute’s molecules or ions will spread out. A molecule or ion of solute surrounded by solvent is known as a solvation complex, solvation is the process of reorganizing solvent and solute molecules into solvation complexes until the solute is distributed evenly within the solvent. Solvation depends on such as hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. Insoluble solutes prefer to maintain interactions among solute molecules rather than break apart, solvation of a solute by water is called hydration. By an IUPAC definition, solvation is an interaction of a solute with the solvent, in the solvated state, an ion in a solution is surrounded or complexed by solvent molecules. Solvated species can be described by number and the complex stability constants. The concept of the interaction can also be applied to an insoluble material, for example. Solvation is, in concept, distinct from solubility, solvation or dissolution is a kinetic process and is quantified by its rate. Solubility quantifies the dynamic equilibrium state achieved when the rate of dissolution equals the rate of precipitation, the consideration of the units makes the distinction clearer. The typical unit for dissolution rate is mol/s, the units for solubility express a concentration, mass per volume, molarity, etc. Solvation involves different types of interactions, hydrogen bonding, ion-dipole interactions. Which of these forces are at play depends on the structure and properties of the solvent. The similarity or complementary character of these properties between solvent and solute determines how well a solute can be solvated by a particular solvent, Solvent polarity is the most important factor in determining how well it solvates a particular solute. Polar solvents have molecular dipoles, meaning part of the solvent molecule has more electron density than another part of the molecule. The part with more electron density will experience a negative charge while the part with less electron density will experience a partial positive charge. Polar solvent molecules can solvate polar solutes and ions because they can orient the appropriate partially charged portion of the molecule towards the solute through electrostatic attraction and this stabilizes the system and creates a solvation shell around each particle of solute. Water is the most common and well-studied polar solvent, but others exist, such as ethanol, methanol, acetone, acetonitrile, polar solvents are often found to have a high dielectric constant, although other solvent scales are also used to classify solvent polarity
14.
Ogof Craig a Ffynnon
–
Ogof Craig a Ffynnon is a cave in Wales. The cave is about 7 km in length and is located at the base of a quarried rockface in the Clydach Gorge, water flowing out of the cave is a resurgence of water draining off Llangatock Mountain above. The entrance is at the bottom of a rock face in the disused Daren Ddu Quarry. The cave is about 7 km in length and is renowned as one of the caves in Wales. The most spectacular of these is the Hall of the Mountain King, the Promised Land is a long, linear passage section with a small stream. Beyond the well-decorated section the cave continues in a series of low passages. It is thought that the cave will eventually be connected to the theoretical Llangattock System through Ogof y Daren Cilau, all the passages in Ogof Craig a Ffynnon occur in the Gilwern oolite which is located below the Llanelly Formation. The cave can be approached from just above the old Rock, an old tramroad track leads from here to the Darren Ddu Quarry. The entrance to the cave is at the foot of a face and is barred to prevent casual access. Round trips to the Hall of the Mountain King take about two and a half hours while those to the Promised Land take six hours. There is a ladder at the first boulder choke and climbing aids at the second boulder choke. The cave sometimes floods, with a sump forming beyond the first boulder choke
15.
South Wales
–
South Wales is the region of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. Areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered part of Mid Wales, the expression south Wales is not officially defined, and its meaning has changed over time. Between the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284 and the Laws in Wales Act 1535 and this was divided into a Principality of South Wales and a Principality of North Wales. The southern principality was made up of the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, the legal responsibility for this area lay in the hands of the Justiciar of South Wales based at Carmarthen. Other parts of southern Wales were in the hands of various Marcher Lords, the Laws in Wales Acts 1542 created the Court of Great Sessions in Wales based on four legal circuits. The Brecon circuit served the counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Glamorgan while the Carmarthen circuit served Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire was attached to the Oxford circuit for judicial purposes. These seven southern counties were thus differentiated from the six counties of north Wales, the Court of the Great Sessions came to an end in 1830, but the counties survived until the Local Government Act 1972 which came into operation in 1974. The creation of the county of Powys merged one northern county with two southern ones, there are thus different concepts of south Wales. Glamorgan and Monmouthshire are generally accepted by all as being in south Wales, but the status of Breconshire or Carmarthenshire, for instance, is more debatable. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people might feel that they live in both south Wales and west Wales, areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered to be in Mid Wales. A further point of uncertainty is whether the first element of the name should be capitalized, as the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC and The Guardian use the form south Wales. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. This natural beauty changed to an extent during the early Industrial Revolution when the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire valley areas were exploited for coal. By the 1830s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports in Cardiff, lord Bute then charged fees per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways. Whilst some of the left, many settled and established in the South Wales Valleys between Swansea and Abergavenny as English-speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which led to outbreaks of Cholera, and on the social and cultural side and this number is now very low, following the UK miners strike, and the last traditional deep-shaft mine, Tower Colliery, closed in January 2008
16.
Solutional cave
–
A solutional cave or karst cave is a cave usually formed in the soluble rock limestone. It is the most frequently occurring type of cave and it can also form in other rocks, including chalk, dolomite, marble, salt beds, and gypsum. Bedrock is dissolved by acid in groundwater that seeps through bedding-planes, faults, joints. Over geological epochs these openings expand as the walls are dissolved to become caves or cave systems, the portions of a solutional cave that are below the water table or the local level of the groundwater will be flooded. The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone, Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. These include flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, soda straws, calcite rafts and these secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3, the dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, and underground drainage. Solutional caves in this landform—topography are often called karst caves, lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico is generally considered the worlds most spectacularly decorated cave. Lechuguilla and nearby Carlsbad Cavern are now believed to be examples of type of solutional cave. They were formed by H2S gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes and this gas mixes with ground water and forms H2SO4. The acid then dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, geological Society of Amer,2009 John Gunn. Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science, routledge,2 ed. edition,2004 Media related to Limestone caves at Wikimedia Commons
17.
Chalk
–
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is a salt called calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the accumulation of minute calcite shells shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. Flint is very common as bands parallel to the bedding or as embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified, Chalk as seen in Cretaceous deposits of Western Europe is unusual among sedimentary limestones in the thickness of the beds. Most cliffs of chalk have very few obvious bedding planes unlike most thick sequences of such as the Carboniferous Limestone or the Jurassic oolitic limestones. This presumably indicates very stable conditions over tens of millions of years, Chalk has greater resistance to weathering and slumping than the clays with which it is usually associated, thus forming tall steep cliffs where chalk ridges meet the sea. Chalk hills, known as chalk downland, usually form where bands of chalk reach the surface at an angle, because chalk is well jointed it can hold a large volume of ground water, providing a natural reservoir that releases water slowly through dry seasons. Chalk is mined from chalk deposits both above ground and underground, Chalk mining boomed during the Industrial Revolution, due to the need for chalk products such as quicklime and bricks. Abandoned chalk mines remain a popular tourist attraction due to their massive expanse, the Chalk Group is a European stratigraphic unit deposited during the late Cretaceous Period. It forms the famous White Cliffs of Dover in Kent, England, the Champagne region of France is mostly underlain by chalk deposits, which contain artificial caves used for wine storage. Some of the highest chalk cliffs in the occur at Jasmund National Park in Germany. Ninety million years ago what is now the chalk downland of Northern Europe was ooze accumulating at the bottom of a great sea. Chalk was one of the earliest rocks made up of particles to be studied under the electron microscope. Their shells were made of calcite extracted from the rich sea-water, as they died, a substantial layer gradually built up over millions of years and, through the weight of overlying sediments, eventually became consolidated into rock. Later earth movements related to the formation of the Alps raised these former sea-floor deposits above sea level, the chemical composition of chalk is calcium carbonate, with minor amounts of silt and clay. It is formed in the sea by plankton, which fall to the sea floor and are then consolidated and compressed during diagenesis into chalk rock
18.
Dolostone
–
Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg2. In old USGS publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone, technically, dolostone has a stoichiometric ratio of nearly equal amounts of magnesium and calcium. Most dolostones formed as a replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is resistant to erosion and can either contain bedded layers or be unbedded and it is less soluble than limestone in weakly acidic groundwater, but it can still develop solution features over time. Dolostone can act as an oil and natural gas reservoir, the term dolostone was introduced to avoid confusion with the mineral dolomite. The usage of the term dolostone is controversial because the name dolomite was first applied to the rock during the late 18th century, the use of the term dolostone is not recommended by the Glossary of Geology published by the American Geological Institute. It is, however, used in some geological publications, the geological process of conversion of calcite to dolomite is known as dolomitization and any intermediate product is known as dolomitic limestone. The dolomite problem refers to the vast worldwide depositions of dolostone in past geologic record eluding a unified explanation for their formation, as with limestone caves, natural caves and solution tubes can form in dolomite rock as a result of dissolution by weak carbonic acid. Calcium carbonate speleothems in the forms of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone etc, “Dolomite is a common rock type, but a relatively uncommon mineral in speleothems”. Both calcium and magnesium go into solution when dolomite rock is dissolved, the speleothem precipitation sequence is, calcite, Mg-calcite, aragonite, huntite and hydromagnesite. Hence, the most common speleothem in caves within dolomite rock karst, is calcium carbonate in the most stable form of calcite. Speleothem types known to have a dolomite constituent include, coatings, crusts, moonmilk, flowstone, coralloids, powder, spar and rafts. Although there are reports of dolomite speleothems known to exist in a number of cave around the world, they are usually in small quantities. Blatt, Harvey, Tracy, Robert J. Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, tucker, M. E. V. P. Wright. Zenger, D. H. Mazzullo, S. J. Dolomitization
19.
Gypsum
–
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer, and as the constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard chalk. Mohs scale of hardness, based on scratch Hardness comparison. It forms as a mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The word gypsum is derived from the Greek word γύψος, plaster, because the quarries of the Montmartre district of Paris have long furnished burnt gypsum used for various purposes, this dehydrated gypsum became known as plaster of Paris. Upon addition of water, after a few tens of minutes plaster of Paris becomes regular gypsum again, causing the material to harden or set in ways that are useful for casting, Gypsum was known in Old English as spærstān, spear stone, referring to its crystalline projections. Gypsum may act as a source of sulfur for plant growth, which was discovered by J. M. Mayer, american farmers were so anxious to acquire it that a lively smuggling trade with Nova Scotia evolved, resulting in the so-called Plaster War of 1820. In the 19th century, it was known as lime sulfate or sulfate of lime. Gypsum is moderately water-soluble and, in contrast to most other salts, it exhibits retrograde solubility, when gypsum is heated in air it loses water and converts first to calcium sulfate hemihydrate, and, if heated further, to anhydrous calcium sulfate. As for anhydrite, its solubility in saline solutions and in brines is also dependent on NaCl concentration. Gypsum crystals are found to contain water and hydrogen bonding. Gypsum occurs in nature as flattened and often twinned crystals, and transparent, selenite contains no significant selenium, rather, both substances were named for the ancient Greek word for the Moon. Selenite may also occur in a silky, fibrous form, in case it is commonly called satin spar. Finally, it may also be granular or quite compact, in hand-sized samples, it can be anywhere from transparent to opaque. A very fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, called alabaster, is prized for ornamental work of various sorts, in arid areas, gypsum can occur in a flower-like form, typically opaque, with embedded sand grains called desert rose. It also forms some of the largest crystals found in nature, up to 12 m long, Gypsum is a common mineral, with thick and extensive evaporite beds in association with sedimentary rocks. Deposits are known to occur in strata from as far back as the Archaean eon, Gypsum is deposited from lake and sea water, as well as in hot springs, from volcanic vapors, and sulfate solutions in veins. Hydrothermal anhydrite in veins is commonly hydrated to gypsum by groundwater in near-surface exposures and it is often associated with the minerals halite and sulfur
20.
Bed (geology)
–
In geology a bed is the smallest division of a geologic formation or stratigraphic rock series marked by well-defined divisional planes separating it from layers above and below. A bed is the smallest lithostratigraphic unit, usually ranging in thickness from a centimetre to several metres and distinguishable from beds above, beds can be differentiated in various ways, including rock or mineral type and particle size. The term is applied to sedimentary strata, but may also be used for volcanic flows or ash layers. In a quarry, a bedding is a used for a structure occurring in granite. Three kinds of beds are, parallel beds, cross beds, geological unit Lamination Stratigraphy Stratum Lamina, Laminaset, Bed and Bedset
21.
Fault (geology)
–
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement. Large faults within the Earths crust result from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. A fault plane is the plane that represents the surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault line is the intersection of a plane with the ground surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on maps to represent a fault. Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, the two sides of a non-vertical fault are known as the hanging wall and footwall. By definition, the wall occurs above the fault plane. This terminology comes from mining, when working a tabular ore body, because of friction and the rigidity of rocks, they cannot glide or flow past each other easily, and occasionally all movement stops. A fault in ductile rocks can also release instantaneously when the rate is too great. The energy released by instantaneous strain-release causes earthquakes, a common phenomenon along transform boundaries, slip is defined as the relative movement of geological features present on either side of a fault plane, and is a displacement vector. A faults sense of slip is defined as the motion of the rock on each side of the fault with respect to the other side. In practice, it is only possible to find the slip direction of faults. Based on direction of slip, faults can be categorized as, strike-slip. Dip-slip, offset is predominantly vertical and/or perpendicular to the fault trace, oblique-slip, combining significant strike and dip slip. The fault surface is usually vertical and the footwall moves either left or right or laterally with very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are known as sinistral faults. Those with right-lateral motion are known as dextral faults
22.
Carbonic acid
–
Not to be confused with Carbolic acid, an antiquated name for phenol. Carbonic acid is a compound with the chemical formula H2CO3. It is also a name given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water. In physiology, carbonic acid is described as acid or respiratory acid. It plays an important role in the buffer system to maintain acid–base homeostasis. Carbonic acid, which is an acid, forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates. In geology, carbonic acid causes limestone to dissolve producing calcium bicarbonate which leads to many features such as stalactites and stalagmites. It was long believed that carbonic acid could not exist as a pure compound, however, in 1991 it was reported that NASA scientists had succeeded in making solid H2CO3 samples. 7×10−3 in pure water and ≈1. 2×10−3 in seawater. Hence, the majority of the dioxide is not converted into carbonic acid. In the absence of a catalyst, the equilibrium is reached quite slowly, the rate constants are 0.039 s−1 for the forward reaction and 23 s−1 for the reverse reaction. The addition of two molecules of water to CO2 would give orthocarbonic acid, C4, which only in minute amounts in aqueous solution. Addition of base to an excess of acid gives bicarbonate. With excess base, carbonic acid reacts to give carbonate salts, bicarbonate is an intermediate in the transport of CO2 out of the body via respiratory gas exchange. This catalysed reaction is reversed in the lungs, where it converts the bicarbonate back into CO2 and this equilibration plays an important role as a buffer in mammalian blood. A2016 theoretical report suggests that carbonic acid may play a role in protonating various nitrogen bases in blood serum. The oceans of the world have absorbed almost half of the CO2 emitted by humans from the burning of fossil fuels and it has been theorized that the extra dissolved carbon dioxide has caused the oceans average surface pH to shift by about −0.1 unit from pre-industrial levels. This theory is known as acidification, even though the ocean remains basic. Carbonic acid is a polyprotic acid — specifically it is diprotic meaning it has two protons which may dissociate from the parent molecule
