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We demonstrate the utility of a multi-pronged approach to geomorphological studies. We show how the synthesis of results from 3-D imaging, varied geotechnical methods, and dating, reveals hitherto unknown features of a cave and of its sediment infill, and elucidates its geomorphological history. The Unicorn Cave (Einhornhohle, southern Harz Mountains, Germany), long famous for its cave bear, lion, and mammoth fossils, is a dry vadose trunk cave high above base level, characterized by large rooms connected by shallow passages, and filled with sediments up to 40 m thick. The sediment is an archive for natural and anthropogenic environmental change: the succession of river gravels, breccia, and silts and sands provides a paleo-geomorphic and climatic archive; while human artefacts from the Paleolithic period provide information about early settlement phases. Here we derive a detailed description of the Unicorn Cave and its sediment infill by utilising several sources: (i) We synthesise data from the literature into a comprehensive picture of the sediment infill; (ii) We present new geophysical measurements of the sediments in the large room Leibnizhalle, and discuss these new measurements in view of our older findings; (iii) We map the larger chambers with the photogrammetric structure-from-motion method to build three-dimensional models; (iv) We present new age estimates from speleothem samples in the cave and discuss them with other, published, age estimates. Finally we use our newly collected evidence to reconstruct the evolution of the entire Unicorn Cave (including the newly-revealed, not-yet-accessible passages and their pristine sediment infill, as yet undisturbed by fossil hunters). The main period of speleogenesis ended with base-level incision in the mid-Pleistocene; the deposition of basal river gravels, probably in the late Cromerian, was followed by a sequence of clays and loams, capped by speleothem at ~MIS 3; the dates suggest at least two bone beds (MIS 3, and MIS 5e), along with bone material older than MIS 7.

article i nfo The Gomantong cave system of eastern Sabah, Malaysia, is well-known as an important site for harvesting edible bird-nests and, more recently, as a tourist attraction. Although the biology of the Gomantong system has been repeatedly studied, very little attention has been given to the geomorphology. Here, we report on the impact of geobiological modification in the development of the modern aspect of the cave, an important but little recognized feature of tropical caves. Basic modeling of the metabolic outputs from bats and birds (CO2, H2O, heat) reveals that post-speleogenetic biogenic corrosion can erode bedrock by between ~3.0 mm/ka (1 m/~300 ka) and ~4.6 mm/ka (1 m/~200 ka). Modeling at high densities of bats yields rates of corrosion of ~34 mm/ka (or 1 m/~30 ka). Sub-aerial corrosion creates a previously undescribed speleological feature, the apse-flute, which is semicircular in cross-section and ~80 cm wide. It is vertical regardless of rock properties, developing in parallel but apparently completely independently, and often unbroken from roof to floor. They end at a blind hemi-spherical top with no extraneous water source. Half-dome ceiling conch pockets are remnants of previous apse-fluting. Sub-cutaneous corrosion creates the floor-level guano notch formed by organic acid dissolution of bedrock in contact with guano. Speleogenetic assessment suggests that as much as 70-95% of the total volume of the modern cave may have been opened by direct subaerial biogenic dissolution and biogenically-induced collapse, and by sub-cutaneous removal of limestone, over a timescale of 1-2 Ma. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A suite of distinctive freshwater subaerial phosphatic stromatolites is developed close to the northeastern entrance of Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, in conditions of very low light but ample supply of nutrients from guano. These stromatolites are not particulate; they are composed of alternating layers of more porous and more dense amorphous hydroxylapatite. This biomineralization occurs as moulds of coccoid (the majority) and filamentous (less abundant) cyanobacteria. Mineralization occurs at a pH of ~ 7.0 in the extracellular sheaths and in micro-domains of varying carbonate content in the surrounding mucus of the biofilm. The most recent surfaces that are not yet strongly mineralized show still-living filamentous, coccoid and rod-shaped forms. Trace element composition shows enrichment in metal ions, especially Mn and Zn. The stromatolites are present as horizontal shelves arranged in series on a steep rock face that is vertically under a guano-laden shelf. The rock face undergoes active dissolution from acidic guano drainage water (e.g., pH of 2.43) and from aggressive rainwater from an overhead discharge. However, the rock surface under the stromatolite is protected while the rest of the cliff face is backcut, creating a hoodoo-like effect. The stromatolites are ~ 15–20 cm deep, ~ 4–7 cm thick, and of variable width, generally ~ 50 cm. Eventually, guano and biological detritus in the descending water film lodge in the lee of the stromatolite lip, causing local acidification and erosion of stromatolite and rock on the underside of the ledge. A dynamic equilibrium is established between upward accretion of the fresh surface and destruction at the base such that the base of the stromatolite does not reflect the date of its inception and the stromatolite climbs up the wall.

A distinctive suite of small-scale erosional forms that are oriented towards the light occur close to the entrance of Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, in SE Venezuela. These are the third example of photokarren ever studied in the world, the other two being from Borneo and Ireland. They are the only photokarren ever described from sandstone, and the only example from a non-carbonate environment. The host rock is a poorly-lithified unit of the Precambrian quartz arenite of the Roraima Supergroup. The forms are all oriented towards the light at 30° regardless of rock surface orientation. The primary (negative) erosional form is the tube. Coalescence of tubes results in the positive remnant forms of rods, pinnacles, and cones. The final stage is a bumpy, wavy surface of degraded cones. The size of the features varies with erosion rate, and details of the form vary with development stage. The main population averages 4.4 cm in depth, with 55% of the surface eroded. This is divided into 10% tubes, 70% rods, 10% cones, 5% linear valley and 5% wavy lowland. The micro-ecosystem includes many bacteria, diatoms, red algae, green algae, liverworts, and oribatid mites, but, surprisingly, no cyanobacteria. The presence of a surface biofilm inside the forms but not on the remnant rock surface and, in the non-degraded forms, the direct relationship of biomass with depth suggests that biological activity is the dominant control on development. In addition, direct bacterial corrosion was noted. These same features occur to varying extents in the photokarren of Borneo and Ireland, and the model for development that we present provides a unifying theory for all photokarren. (This study also includes the first published petrographic analysis of uppermost unit of the Mataui Formation).

article The microclimatic effect of bats roosting in bell holes (blind vertical cylindrical cavities in cave roofs) in Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, was measured and the potential impact of their metabolism on dissolution modelled. Rock temperature measurements showed that bell holes with bats get significantly hotter than those without bats during bat roosting periods (by an average of 1.1 °C). The relationship is clearest for bell holes with more than about 300 g aggregate bat body mass and for bell holes that are moderately wide and deep, of W:D ratio between 0.8 and 1.6. Measurement of temperature decay after abandonment showed that rock temperature returns to normal each day during bat foraging periods. Metabolic activity from a typical population of 400 g bat (10 individuals) yields 41 g of CO2, 417.6 kJ of heat, and 35.6 g of H2O in each 18 hour roost period, and could produce a water film of ~0.44 mm, that is saturated with CO2 at ~5%. The resultant rock dissolution is estimated at ~0.005 cm