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Hypogene caves in the Plavecký hradný vrch Hill (Western Slovakia, Central Europe) were formed by waters ascending along faults in fractured Triassic carbonates related to the horst-graben structure at the contact of the Malé Karpaty Mountains and the NE part of the Vienna Basin. The Plavecká jaskyňa and Pec caves mostly contain horizontal passages and chambers with flat corrosion bedrock floors, fissure discharge feeders, wall water-table notches, replacement pockets, as well as a few other speleogens associated with sulfuric acid speleogenesis. The low-temperature sulfuric acid development phases of the Plavecká Jaskyňa are also indicated by the presence of sulfate minerals (i.e., gypsum and jarosite). Subaerial calcite popcorn rims were precipitated from water condensation at the edges of feeding fissures that were still active as thermal vents when the water table dropped. Hydrogen sulfide involved in the sulfuric acid speleogenesis was likely derived from anhydrites and/or hydrocarbon reservoirs with sulfate-saline connate waters in the fill of the adjacent Vienna Basin. It ascended to the surface along deep-rooted sub-vertical fault zones at the contact of the Vienna Basin with neighboring mountains. Three cave levels at 295 to 283 m asl in the Pec Cave, and five levels at 225 to 214 m asl in the Plavecká jaskyňa corresponded to phases of stable local erosional base levels in the bordering part of the Vienna Basin, most likely during periods of strongly decelerated and/or interrupted subsidence. Cave levels separated by vertical differences of only a few meters may also be related to the Pleistocene climatic cycles. The subhorizontal parts of the Pec Cave are probably of late Early Pleistocene age (>0.99-1.07 Ma?). The two highest levels of the Plavecká jaskyňa developed during the early Middle Pleistocene (>600 ka). Fine-grained sediments in the passage at 225 m asl with normal magnetic polarity contain jarosite. The middle level of the Plavecká jaskyňa at 220 m asl was formed in the mid-Middle Pleistocene, while the lower and lowermost levels formed in the late Middle Pleistocene (>270 ka). The water table in the lowermost cave level probably dropped after the tectonic reactivation of the Podmalokarpatská zníženina Depression just in the front of a marginal horst structure of the Malé Karpaty Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Multiphase speleothem damage and passage collapse in Niedźwiedzia Cave (NE Bohemian Massif, Poland) were dated with U‐series methods, revealing five events: (1) 320–306 ka, (2) 253–236 ka, (3) 162–158 ka, (4) 132–135 ka, and (5) >21 ka. Events 1, 3 and 4 are robustly constrained, and events 2 and 5 are less certain. Although we cannot unambiguously exclude other agents (frost or gravity collapses), the most likely trigger of damage in the cave was an earthquake, which is supported by timing (the damage occurred independently from climatic conditions in cold and warm periods) and deformation style (damage to the ceiling and walls as well as the passage floor). We applied ground motion models to determine the probable seismic source size, which is most likely the Sudetic Marginal Fault ‐ one of the most pronounced tectonic structures in Central Europe. Located <20 km from the cave and with documented earthquakes of M > 6, the Sudetic Marginal Fault can produce peak ground acceleration values high enough to break speleothems. The other plausible seismic sources are faults in the Upper Nysa Kłodzka Graben located to the east and the Trzebieszowice‐Biela Fault. Although there are sparse historical data that would allow estimating linked seismic hazards, the <8 km distance between the cave and faults should suffice to destroy the speleothems. Niedźwiedzia Cave shielded environmental earthquake effects from erosion. This study shows the advantage of employing speleoseismology in moderate seismic regions, where earthquake effects are rarely preserved in the geological record. Key Points: In low to moderate seismic regions, where earthquake effects are rarely preserved in the geological record, caves can shield them from erosionSpeleoseismological research in Niedźwiedzia Cave revealed five events of cave damage between 320 and 21 kaBased on ground motion models, the probable seismic source of damage within the cave is the Sudetic Marginal Fault [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SC-3 speleothem from Szczelina Chochołowska Cave, located in the Tatra Mountains, was studied in detail. U-series dating and age–depth modeling allowed us to constrain the period of speleothem growth to between approximately 330 and 200 ka, that is, during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 9–7. The complementary use of stable isotope analyses, petrographic studies, and trace element analyses allowed the identification of warm and wet climatic conditions that were favorable for speleothem growth during MIS 9e and MIS 9c. Unfavorable climatic periods included the cold glacial conditions of MIS 8 and the MIS 9/MIS 8 transition. The breaks in the growth of the SC-3 stalagmite were most likely connected with a reduction in precipitation in MIS 9a and extreme hydrologic events during MIS 8. Comparisons with other European records suggest that the climatic variability recorded in the speleothem from the Tatra Mountains is not only a record of local environmental conditions but can also be linked to European climatic patterns during both interglacial and glacial intervals. This makes our study the northernmost paleoclimatic record for the whole Carpathian range and one of the very few records from those periods worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study from the renowned Demänová Cave System in the Carpathians of Slovakia demonstrates that the conventional methods of fluvial sedimentology, combined with an allostratigraphic mapping and speleothem U‐series isotopic dating, can give unprecedented insights into the hydrological history of underground karst conduit. The deposits studied are a relic compound sidebar ranging from gravel to mud and encapsulating the conduit's hydrological history from the middle Pleistocene to the present time. A succession of 10 allostratigraphic units, time‐constrained by speleothems, are recognized in the sidebar deposits, and the corresponding morphodynamics of an evolving cave‐floor sedimentation are reconstructed in considerable detail. The subterranean river water stages recognized from the deposits, time‐constrained by flowstone layers and stalagmites, correlate with and add to the regional record of climate changes. Two distinct episodes of flow ponding (high‐stage slackwater conditions) are recognized and attributed to the independently documented downstream cave‐roof collapses, probably triggered by the Carpathian post‐orogenic earthquakes. This multidisciplinary study may serve as a useful methodological guide for the analysis of fluviokarstic deposits in speleological research and reconstruction of their hosting cave hydrological history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Opera Corcontica is the property of Sprava Krkonosskeho Narodniho Parku and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We present 100‐ka multiproxy palaeoenvironmental records from three stalagmites collected in different caves located in the Tatra Mountains on the Polish/Slovakian border. A combination of three records from one mountain region helps to estimate local factors controlling the recorded proxies and separate them from regional/global patterns. The studied stalagmites react to the same environmental changes in different ways due to the differences in their local settings. Furthermore, the analysed records show environmental changes from relatively cold and dry climates to interglacial conditions of MIS 5e. One episode of a colder climate during the MIS 6/MIS 5e transition similar to Dryas periods is observed in all studied stalagmites. The δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite is most similar to the GRIP record. During the MIS 5e, the δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite e xhibits a pattern similar to the records from the western part of the European continent. This finding suggests that the Atlantic Ocean was an important source of moisture for the region. The observed rapid change of δ18O, δ13C, Sr and Si proxies from the MAG‐1 and Dz‐1 stalagmites after 109 ka are potentially related to a drier and colder climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wet-based mountain glaciers are efficient agents of erosion, which leads to the assumption that each glacial episode results in successive valley deepening. The tendency of subsequent glaciations to obscure evidence of previous events makes it difficult to study the work done by past glacial episodes. Epiphreatic and paleophreatic caves that developed at or under the water table and dried out in response to valley deepening can serve as recorders of the valley incision history. U-series data from speleothems in the cave networks at the base of the present-day valleys in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians) consistently yield the oldest ages of ca. 325 ka. While speleothem ages are typically phreatic-vadose transition minimum ages, they nonetheless unequivocally demonstrate that neither glacial valley deepening nor fluvial incision occurred over the past 300 ka, unlike the successive valley deepening over the same period in the adjacent Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five stalagmites from the Demänová Cave System (DCS, Western Carpathians, Slovakia), spanning the period from 13,000 to 500 a BP, were analyzed for their oxygen and carbon stable isotopic composition of the calcite. The isotopic data obtained from several stalagmites located in one cave system allow us to separate the changes of regional/global importance from the local changes. Oxygen isotope ratios point to dynamic changes in the environment at the onset of the Holocene. Despite the local differences, carbon isotope data express the gradual and steady development of vegetation on the surface above the cave from the beginning of the Holocene until 6,000 a BP. The oxygen isotope values in the DCS stalagmites are higher than that derived from the Rayleigh distillation model until approximately 9,000 a BP, suggesting (1) an increase in the isotopic gradient to the east of Europe, probably caused by a different seasonality in precipitation amount or (2) different sources of meteoric water, transported from the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, in Central and Eastern Europe compared to the Western, circum-Atlantic part of the continent. The younger part of the DCS records falls in the range described by the model and points to the increasing role of the westerlies in the determination of the climatic conditions of Central Europe during middle- and late-Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed analyses of speleothems collected in caves of the Demänová Valley, Nízke Tatry, Slovakia, have found significant variability in uranium concentrations and initial 234U/238U activity ratios, plus correlation between these variables. They are related to the ages of samples and their differing locations in the caves. Strong variability of initial 234U/238U activity ratios is the reason for serious limitations in applying the 234U/238U Regional Uranium Best Estimate method as an age estimator for speleothems older than the range of the 230Th/234U method (500 ka). The strong variability of uranium contents in speleothems, rocks and waters and their isotopic compositions allowed us to distinguish distinct periods with changes in water circulation paths or distribution/weathering degrees of deposits in surface alimentation areas or in the epikarst zone, that result from the more ready leaching of the 234U isotope from sediments. Periods characterised with higher initial 234U/238U activity ratios are most likely associated with the deposition of "fresh" colluvial deposits and/or soil development (potential uranium source) in the alimentation area. Gradual decrease of initial 234U/238U activity values indicate prolonged stable weathering and uranium leaching conditions. The Demänová results indicate periods of intensive erosion and "fresh" sediment deposition in the alimentation areas at ~120 ka, ~80-70 ka, and during the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ještěd Ridge (part of the Krkonoše-Jizera Crystalline Complex; northern part of the Bohemian Massif) hosts 20 known karst caves, which are developed in marbles of Devonian age. The caves are mostly relatively small and isolated, not connected into larger cave systems. The longest one, Západní (Jitravská) Cave, currently exceeds the length of 450 m. Majority of the known caves are shorter than 50 m. Formation of these cavities was initiated under morphological conditions different from those of today, in the pre-Quaternary. The caves are developed along two systems of regional faults, one striking NW-SE and the second striking SW-NE. One of the newly found caves, about 70 m long Dvoustovka Cave, was discovered in 2015 at an elevation of ca. 795 m a.s.l., close to the Ještěd ridgeline near the Pláně pod Ještědem site. The cave hosts several speleothem types including unusual, coarse-crystalline speleothems characterized by translucent calcite crystals up to 15 mm in size (so-called dogtooth spar). These speleothems developed in several small water pools located at different elevations within the cave. Fluid inclusions and C and O stable isotope studies (Table 1) do not support their deposition from thermal water and indicate formation from usual lowtemperature descending karst water. Fluid inclusions in calcite of dogtooth spar are single-phase, containing low-salinity water. The C and O isotope data lie in a range typical of usual low-temperature Quaternary speleothems of the area. The U-series dating (methods: spike addition; dissolution; chromatographic separation using TRU-resin; measurement on ICP-MS; results in Table 2) indicate an age of the coarse-crystalline speleothems fitting into the Eemian interglacial (118 ± 3 ka BP). Underground spaces of the Dvoustovka Cave are affected by numerous movements along cracks and rock collapses. While some of these movements occurred before the formation of the studied coarse-crystalline speleothems, majority of them are younger, related most probably to slope movements (mass wasting) during the last Glacial. The cave cannot keep larger stagnant pools of karst water today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant bog oak trunks occur in alluvial deposits of the Raba River in the village of Targowisko (southern Poland). Several of them contain galleries of the great capricorn beetle ( Cerambyx cerdo L.). A well-preserved subfossil larva and pupa, as well as adults of this species, are concealed in some of the galleries. These galleries co-occur with boring galleries of other insects such as ship-timber beetles (Lymexylidae) and metallic wood borers (Buprestidae). A dry larva of a stag beetle (Lucanidae) and a mite (Acari) have been found in the C. cerdo galleries. Selected samples of the trunks and a sample of the C. cerdo larva were dated, using radiocarbon and dendrochronological methods, to the period from 45 bc to ad 554; one sample was dated to the period from 799 to 700 bc. Accumulation of the channel alluvia containing the bog oak trunks is synchronous with the Roman Warm Period (late antiquity/Early Mediaeval times). The most recent part of this period correlates with massive accumulations of fallen oak trunks noted from various river valleys in the Carpathian region and dated to ad 450-570. The results indicate that C. cerdo was more abundant within the study area during the Roman Warm Period than it is today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, we tested the MOD-AGE procedure for non-parametric age–depth model computations for several lake sediment sequences dated by the 210Pb method. MOD-AGE uses the randomization method (a type of Monte Carlo simulation) for age–depth model construction and confidence band estimation and the LOESS (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing) method for fitting of the age–depth function. To validate the constructed age–depth models, we used (1) sediments of known age and (2) an independent radiometric dating method (radiocarbon dating). All tests confirmed that the MOD-AGE algorithm is a suitable tool for the calculation of age–depth models for lake sediment sequences. We also tested the MOD-AGE procedure for calculations based on the results of two different dating methods. The tests indicated that an age–depth model based on both data sets, i.e., probability distributions of 210Pb dates and radiocarbon dates, is more consistent than the age–depth models based only on one of the two data sets. The important advantage of MOD-AGE compared to other algorithms is that it models both age and depth value as well as their confidence bands while considering the uncertainties of these values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cold Wind Cave, located at elevations ranging between 1,600 and 1,700 m a. s. l. in the main range of the Nízke Tatry Mountains (Slovakia), is linked in origin with the adjacent Dead Bats Cave. Together, these caves form a major cave system located within a narrow tectonic slice of Triassic sediments. Both caves have undergone complex multiphase development. A system of sub-horizontal cave levels characterized by large, tunnel-like corridors was formed during the Tertiary, when elevation differences surrounding the cave were less pronounced than today. The central part of the Nízke Tatry Mountains, together with the cave systems, was uplifted during the Neogene and Lower Pleistocene, which changed the drainage pattern of the area completely. The formation of numerous steep-sloped vadose channels and widespread cave roof frost shattering characterized cave development throughout the Quaternary. In the Cold Wind Cave, extensive accumulations of loose, morphologically variable crystal aggregates of secondary cave carbonate ranging in size between less than 1 mm to about 35 mm was found on the surface of fallen limestone blocks. Based on the C and O stable isotope compositions of the carbonate (δ13C: 0.72 to 6.34 ‰, δ18O: -22.61 to -13.68 ‰ V-PDB) and the negative relation between δ13C and δ18O, the carbonate crystal aggregates are interpreted as being cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC). Published models suggest the formation of CCC in slowly freezing water pools, probably on the surface of cave ice, most probably during transitions from stadials to interstadials. Though the formation of these carbonates is likely one of the youngest events in the sequence of formation of cave sediments of the studied caves, the 230Th/234U ages of three samples (79.7±2.3, 104.0±2.9, and 180.0±6.3 ka) are the oldest so far obtained for CCC in Central Europe. This is the first description of CCC formation in one cave during two glacial periods (Saalian and Weichselian). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U-series dating indicates five episodes of flowstone growth in Brestovská Cave, namely: ca. 200 ka, ca. 128-88 ka, ca. 82-65 ka, ca. 64-50 ka, and during the Holocene. The age of flowstones and their spatial distribution within the cave prove that the upper storey of the cave was dewatered before 200 ka. At that time the lower storey also existed and was able to carry the whole water flowing through the cave. It suggests that 200 ka ago the water-table was at similar level as it is at present. Hence, one should accept that the valley bottom was then also at the present level. During at least a part of the MIS 6 the growth of speleothems was possible in the cave. It suggests that the cave was located outside the permafrost zone then. Between 50 ka and Holocene, Brestovská Cave was flooded by invasion waters originating from the melting of the Würm glacier; the water-table was additionally raised due to the blockage of a resurgence by glacifluvial sediments. The flooding event caused the destruction of older deposits, including speleothems, and deposition of fine-grained clastics on the cave walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the black coloured laminae which occur within speleothems in Domica cave (Slovakia). The laminae are composed of non completely carbonized organic compounds and charcoal particles. The components were formed during combustion of plant material, mainly wood, inside the cave. Thus, they are a by-product of human activity inside the cave. The radiocarbon ages of organic fraction of these laminae fall between 6460 and 6640 cal BP and 7160 and 7330 cal BP. These dates indicate that the origin of the laminae is connected with two episodes of prehistoric occupation of the cave. The first one should be related either to later part of Gemer Linear Pottery or to early Buick culture populations. The second episode refers to the youngest phase of human occupation in Domica cave reflecting the last period of Bükk populations' existence in the Slovak Karst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediments of three oxbow lakes located in Vistula valley near Warsaw (Poland) were analysed for activity of 210Pb. The sediment age was calculated applying the CRS model. The sedimentation rate was determined for each lake based on the sediment age and thickness under the assumption of constant deposition between dated layers. Sedimentation rate varies in time and between lakes. The major changes of sedimentation rate were correlated with flood events and construction of flood dams that isolate the lakes from the river. The recent differences between the lakes seem to be related to different trophy state and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Budimirica Cave is a small cave located in the southern part of the Republic of Macedonia, in the Kamenica Valley, a tributary to the Crna Reka and part of the Vardar river drainage network. The response of the cave to Late Pleistocene environmental changes is interpreted based on a detailed study of cave sediments, with previous data being supplemented, reinterpreted and compared to the Ohrid Lake palaeoclimate record. The oldest exposed speleothems in the Budimirica sediment profile were deposited during the MIS 5a (radiometric age of ca 83 ka). Sands to clays in the overburden are characterized by cycles separated by short-lived interruptions in deposition. They were deposited from a number of repeated flood events likely during the MIS 4 stage, the Weichselian (Wurmian) Glaciation, correlating to aggradation in the Kamenica Valley. The top flowstone is correlated with a warmer climate excursion at 45-50 ka (MIS 3) recorded from the Ohrid Lake deposits. The whole section was extensively eroded during the MIS 2 stage, due to strong incision in the Kamenica Valley, indicated by knickpoint retreat. The erosion surface is overlain by a fossil-bearing breccia (with Ursus spelaeus) derived from frost shattering of the cave walls close to the entrance due to climate deterioration and enlargement of the entrance by slope retreat during the MIS 2 stage. Budimirica Cave sediments reflect changes in the Kamenica Valley, as well as the environmental changes during the last glacial-interglacial cycle, with clastic cave sediments deposited during glacial stadials, and erosion and flowstone deposition characteristic of the interstadials. They also allow reconstruction of the evolution of the Kamenica Valley during the Late Pleistocene, with a general trend of valley incision hindered by climate influenced river aggradation, but reinforced by river knickpoint retreat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The diatoms and Cladocera (Crustacea) remains from two lakes in the Sudets Mountains were analyzed to indicate an influence of acidification induced by anthropogenic factors during the last 150 years. The border area of the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, the so-called “Black Triangle”, has been strongly impacted by developed industry for several decades. The most visible effect of this process is the destruction of mountain forests in the region by acid rains. The diatom communities of Mały Staw and Wielki Staw show that acid rain has strongly affected water biota. Diatom-inferred pH reconstruction suggests major acidification during the last two decades. This process was controlled mainly by anthropogenic factors. Cladoceran records also presented changes of dominant taxa in this period and point to significant changes in living conditions. The discovery of a pH decrease during the last decade is contradictory to emissions data that suggest decrease in industrial pollution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Ochtiná Aragonite Cave (Western Carpathians) represents a unique natural phenomenon. It originated under particular lithological and hydrogeological conditions of the Ochtiná Karst in which several isolated lenses of Paleozoic crystalline limestone, partly metasomatically altered to ankerite, are enclosed by phyllites. Meteoric water seepage through non-carbonate rocks dissolved limestone and caused the oxidation of ankerite to Fe oxyhydroxides. Carbon dioxide produced during ankerite oxidation enhanced limestone dissolution. The maze cave consists of parallel fault-controlled linear passages and chambers interconnected by transverse horizontal passages. Phreatic and epiphreatic solution morphologies resulted from slowly moving or standing water. These include flat ceilings (Laugdecken), facets, lateral notches, convection ceiling cupola-shaped depressions, and spongework-like hollows. Flat ceilings were developed in several altitude positions, each of them probably closely below the slightly oscillated water table. Primary phreatic cupola-shaped depressions, truncated by flat ceilings, represent relics of the oldest cavities (pre-Quaternary? to Early Pleistocene). Inward-sloping smooth facets were not developed only in passages with flat ceilings, but also in the passages and halls with a vaulted ceiling. The asymmetrical shape of cusped depressions above the facets were documented in detail by a high-resolution cave topography with terrestrial laser scanning and digital photogrammetry. Middle--Late Pleistocene accumulation phases, identified by magnetostratigraphy of cave sediments and U-series dating of speleothems, are associated with phreatic and later epiphreatic development. The deposition on the bottom bedrock began before 1.8 Ma. The Brunhes/Matuyama boundary (0.773 Ma) and Jaramillo magnetozone (0.990-1.071 Ma) were recorded in the profile in the Oválna chodba Passage. Slow depositional rate (~0.09 cm/kyr) calculated from magnetostratigraphy resulted from slow water movement in confined conditions in marbles completely enclosed by phyllites and no direct relation to the surface. Only occasionally turbid water was loaded in extremely fine-grained infiltration material and autochthonous Fe oxyhydroxides. The depositional rate in Mn-rich layer was much slower (~0.03 cm/kyr). Additional U-series dating confirmed that old aragonite generations (with ages about 500-450 ka and 143-121 ka) were partly corroded by repeated floods during Late Pleistocene humid episodes. Aragonite younger than 13.5 ka is not corroded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock-slope failures represent a significant hazard along global coastlines, but their chronology remains poorly documented. Here, we focus on the geomorphology and chronology of giant rockslides affecting the Crimean Mountains along the Black Sea coast. Geomorphic evidence suggests that high (>100 m) limestone cliffs flanking the southern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are scarps of rockslides nested within larger deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs). Such pervasive slope failures originated due to lateral spreading of intensively faulted Late Jurassic carbonate blocks moving atop weak/plastic Late Triassic flysch and tuff layers. By introducing a dating strategy relying on the combination of the uranium-thorium dating (U-Th) of exposed calcareous speleothems covering the landslide scarps with the 36 Cl exposure dating of rock walls, we are able to approximate the time interval between the origin of incipient crevices and the final collapse of limestone blocks that exposed the cliff faces. For the three representative large-scale rockslides between the towns of Foros and Yalta, the initiation of the DSGSDs as evidenced by the widening of crevices and the onset of speleothem accumulation was >300 ka BP, but the recent cliff morphology along the coast is the result of Late Pleistocene/Holocene failures spanning ∼20–0.5 ka BP. The exposures of rockslide scarps occurred mostly at ∼20–15, ∼8, ∼5–4 and ∼2–0.5 ka, which substantially coincide with the last major Black Sea transgressions and/or more humid Holocene intervals. Our study suggests that before ultimate fast and/or catastrophic slope failures, the relaxation of rock massifs correlative with karstification, cracks opening, and incipient sliding lasted on the order of 10 4 –10 5 years. Rapid Late Glacial/Holocene transgressions of the Black Sea likely represented the last impulse for the collapse of limestone blocks and the origin of giant rockslides, simultaneously affecting the majority of the SW coast of the Crimean Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]