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The structure and ice content of ice caves are poorly understood. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can provide useful insights but has only rarely been applied to ice caves. This paper interprets GPR images (radargrams) in terms of internal structure, stratification, compaction, thickness and volume of the ice block in the Pena Castil ice cave (Central Massif of Picos de Europa, northern Spain), providing the endokarst geometry of the ice cave in GPR data reflections. Eight radargrams were obtained by applying a shielded ground-coupled antenna with a nominal frequency of 400 MHz. Although the radargrams do not depict the ice–basal bedrock interface, they suggest that the ice block is at least 54 m deep and similarly thick. Some curved reflection signatures suggest a potential vertical displacement in the block of ice, and thus certain dynamics in the ice body. Other images show numerous interbedded clasts and thin sediment layers imaged as banded reflections. In this particular cave a direct visual inspection of the ice stratigraphy is a difficult task but GPR provides clear reflectivity patterns of some of its internal features, making GPR a suitable instrument for this and future studies to achieve a better and broader understanding of the internal behavior of ice caves.

The Thabazimbi mine cave in South Africa contains fine examples of aragonite speleothems. The cave is somewhat unusual as it has no direct opening to the surface and was fortuitously discovered by ...

The S-19 Cave was with its explored depth of 177 m one of the most important caves of the Mt. Kanin massif, but after its discovery in 1974, a huge snow avalanche protection dyke was constructed across the cave entrance. To excavate the buried cave, the accurate location of the cave had to be determined first. Since the entrance coordinates were incorrect and no markers were available, application of geophysical techniques was necessary to do this. A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) with special 50 MHz rough terrain antennas was selected as the single suitable geophysical method for the given conditions where thick debris overlay a rugged limestone surface. Nevertheless, it was not possible to directly detect the relatively narrow cave entrance itself due to data resolution limits. However, a historical photo of the area showed that the cave entrance was located in a local depression, which therefore represented the main target of the GPR survey. Seven GPR profiles were measured across the rough and steep surface causing difficulties in traversing the area with sensitive research equipment. In all recorded radargrams a small depression was clearly imaged under debris, and recognized as a topographic feature with the cave entrance. Based on the GPR data interpretation, the exact location for digging was determined and the thickness of debris assessed at 6.5–7 m. A massive excavation by a dredger resulted in a successful opening of the cave entrance, confirming both its geophysically determined location and its estimated depth. The application of an advanced geophysical method was therefore proven successful in providing a solution to this specific case in karst exploration and an important cave was saved.

Burning cave is becoming more and more popular in rural areas of northern China. It also has some disadvantages such as uneven temperature distribution, partial higher temperature and lower thermal efficiency. In order to research the heat transfer performance of the burning cave, an unsteady heat transfer model has been established, and a theoretical calculation formula has been deduced and verified by experimental data. It shows that both the thermal characteristic of the radiant floor on the burning cave and the heat generated from different biomass fuels inside the burning cave have a large impact on the surface temperature and heat transfer of radiant floor. Moreover, while the heat transfer coefficient of the radiant floor was a constant, the surface temperature of the radiant floor changed with the heat released from different fuels was consistent with exponential variation form. However, as using the same biomass fuel, the thermal resistance of the radiant floor was increased by 0.5(m2 K)/W, the heat transferred from the burning cave to the heating room could be reduced to 0.67 times of the original heat before optimized. Therefore, the valid theoretical analysis calculation formula could provide theoretical support for reasonable design on a burning cave, and predict thermal performance on different types of burning caves more easily.

In the process of orogenesis, the geological conditions of vertical strata were formed due to the intense compressive tectonic movement, and lithologic stratification occurred in the rock mass of the plant along the horizontal plane and vertically upstream and downstream. The main powerhouse of a power station straddles two types of rock formations along the axis. Considering the lithological differences between the two ends, traditional support methods will inevitably fail to meet the requirements of safety and economy. In this paper, under the condition of systematic bolt support for the whole plant, prestressed anchor cables are added to the upstream and downstream side walls of the plant in the type III surrounding rock area to increase the stability, and the anchoring effect is analyzed and compared with the calculation of the burrow. The results show that the deformation around the cave in the surrounding rock areas of type II and III under unsupported conditions differs by 31.48%, and the depth of the plastic zone in the surrounding rock area of type III exceeds the anchoring depth of the bolt; After partition support, The horizontal displacements of typical cross-sections in the two types of surrounding rock areas have decreased by 8.66% and 17.11% respectively, the stress distribution is more uniform, the distribution range of the plastic zone in the downstream wall of the plant is significantly reduced, and the stability of the surrounding rock is guaranteed.

Leang Lonrong Cave with underground river flowing in it is located in Maros-Pangkep karst area known with a high level of annual rainfall. That condition affects the surrounding environment including water discharge and subsurface mineral types. This study aims at analyzing the impact of rainfall on sub-surface mineral types around the area of Leang Lonrong Cave. The data used are rainfall intensity of Tondong Tallasa, Bungoro and Ballocci stations in 2015-2019 which are analyzed using Oldeman and Schmidt-Ferguson methods to find out the characteristics of rainfall occuring in Pangkep Regency. As for water discharge in June 2020 and rock resistivity data, they are examined using geo-electric method by Wenner’s through IP2Win and Res2DinV. The results of this study show that the area is dominated by wet months in November to April with rainfall intensity above 100mm per year and dry months which generally occurring in July to September where the others are considered as humid months with low water discharge flows in dry months. Moreover, the subsurface minerals are dominated by groundwater, clay and sand with resistivity extends from 0 to 27Ωm.

The Rajagala is the dry lowland of the island, which lies at or below 900m asl, is confined to the north-central and southeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The zone comprises a plain rarely rising above c.40 m asl, but which contains isolated eroded remnants or monadnocks. The site of Rajagala is spread over 1025 acres consisting of more than 700 archaeological remains of prehistoric and historic periods. Preliminary investigations revealed that prehistoric human activity took place in the natural cave of the area before the third century BC. Accordingly, from 2016 to 2019, a selected cave called Maha Lena (ML) was excavated for further investigation. This cave was excavated jointly by Deccan College and the University of Sri Jayawardanepura. Excavations in 2018 and 2019 revealed a large number of prehistoric evidences. Among them are stone tools, bone tools, animal bones, and botanical remains. The main focus of this research paper is to analyze the biological remains found during the excavation of the ML Cave and to assess what the past environment was like through it. We have very limited knowledge of prehistoric research and information in the Eastern Province compared to the Low land Wet Zone of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the focus was on research questions on the subsistence of prehistoric humans living in the caves of the Eastern Province and how environmental conditions have changed concerning the wet zone. Faunal and botanical remains have been recorded from ML, denoting the prevalence of climatic conditions similar to those of the present.

A large karst area, the Analamera, extends northeast of the Ankarana Plateau. Recent exploration northeast of the Ankarana Plateau, led by the French caver J. C. Dobrilla, has indicated important speleological potential. He found an incredible maze, the Antsarahaso, whose length of 20 km makes it the third longest cave in Madagascar.

The Friars Hole Cave System in Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia at 75.2 km is the longest cave in the Appalachian Highlands of eastern United States. The cave is developed in the Mississippian Greenbrier Limestone. The cave represents an evolutionary sequence of drainage systems discharging to two springs 20 km distant from each other with high flows discharge to one and low flows to the other. Drainage patterns have shifted over time as the surface drainage is captured. An estimated age for the entire system is 4.1 million years.

The Frasassi Caves are a rare and striking example of active hypogenic karst. The combined effects of tectonic uplift and river downcutting produced a succession of horizontal passage levels connected by vertical shafts, with older caves occupying higher elevations. This unique setting is an extraordinary natural laboratory that provides a bridge between cave forming processes that we can observe in real time, such as sulfuric acid speleogenesis, with “fossil” morphologies in older cave levels and other inactive caves whose genesis involved similar processes. The Frasassi Caves are also home to a spectacular and diverse chemosynthetic ecosystem that derives energy from the mixing of sulfide- and oxygen-rich fluids in the cave passages. The extraordinary beauty and size of the passages and speleothems led to the opening of a show cave in a section of the Grotta Grande del Vento in 1974, with an average of 350,000 visitors per year.

Much of the evidence for the evolution of humans has been preserved in caves and rock art that has been found on all the occupied continents. Early human cultures dating back at least 64,000 years to the Neanderthals in southern Europe created basic symbols and hand stencils on cave walls. Isolated indigenous people to this day create works of art on rocks and shelters, but it is the sophisticated paintings of ice-age animals from cave sin France and Spain that have attracted the most study by prehistorians. There are about 340 documented European caves containing art ranging from simple figurines and symbols scratched on the cave walls to complex friezes covering a large wall with many different animals shown in detail. The serious study of these paintings started with the discovery of paintings in Altamira Cave in northern Spain in 1879. Other well-documented art caves from southern France include Lascaux Cave, Chauvet Cave, Niaux Cave, and Cosquer Cave.

Jewel Cave was first entered in 1900 and in 1908 became the first National Monument established for the protection of a cave. Over 200 miles (322 km) have been mapped to date, making it the third longest cave in the world. The cave has a prominent barometric wind, which provides evidence that only about three percent of the passages have been discovered. Recent geological mapping documents compelling relationships between the cave and the present-day geologic contacts and structures. It shows that there is no mappable paleokarst topography within the Jewel Cave quadrangle, and infers that cave “paleofill” is really a more recent “neofill.” These observations suggest that the cave was formed concurrently with the modern landscape and present-day geologic contacts and structures. A working hypothesis ties the key observations with a plausible scenario to encourage reconsideration of the timing and mechanisms responsible for the origin of the cave.

The Mananjeba Buttes comprise a group of three hills isolated from the Northern Ankarana by the widening and deepening of one of the main couloirs that cut the plateau. The northernmost butte is crossed by a side branch of the Mananjeba River. The central butte is crossed by the main stream of the Mananjeba and contains the second longest cave in the Ankarana: Ambatoharanana. No major cave has yet been found in the southernmost butte, but there is little doubt that a long cave network exists there.

A new locality of coarse-grained cryogenic cave carbonates has been found in the Za Hajovnou Cave in Javořicko Karst in Central Moravia, Czech Republic. Crystals and crystal aggregates, usually up to 15 mm in size, form typical loose accumulations on the surface of large fallen limestone blocks and clays covering the bottoms of several cave chambers distant from the cave entrance. The cryogenic origin of the carbonates is supported by their mode of occurrence, specific crystal and aggregate morphology, and C and O stable isotope data. U-series dating of one sample of cryogenic carbonate (age 29.5 ±0.1 ka) indicated that a period of karst water freezing occurred in marine isotope stage (MIS) 3, within the Weichselian. The cave also hosts numerous examples of speleothem damage. As shown in this paper, some of these are clearly connected with freezing conditions and cave ice action.

As the energy demand for economic development continues to increase at a breakneck pace, shallow coal resources are increasingly being depleted and the scale and depth of mining operations are growing substantially on a daily basis. Consequently, large deformations, coal bursts and other types of mining hazards in conventional longwall mining are becoming increasingly severe owing to high rock pressures and the intense perturbations induced by mining operations. To address these issues, we propose an innovative longwall method with roof-cutting unloading for coal mining. By using this method to apply cuts in the roof and relieve the rock pressure and by anchoring the roof of the roadway in advance, it was possible to let the goaf areas cave in and allow the formation of roadways. Moreover, this method makes no-pillar mining possible. The control of the mine’s ground pressure is one of the most important topics in coal mining research. The ground pressures measured during the application of the proposed method in actual coal operations are reported in this paper. Numerical analysis was carried out to compare the ground pressures and the roof stabilities obtained by the proposed method with those obtained by the conventional longwall mining method. The results confirmed the advantages of the proposed method.

Hanging roofs can occur on a very large scale (generally can reach 15,000 m2) during the initial mining stages in longwall coal mining operations and are often a result of hard roof at the active mining face. Besides, when it suddenly fractures and caves, some risks and disasters would occur such as shock loading, wind blasts, and sudden gas extrusion from gob to working face. To control the size and competency of the hanging roof, Φ32-mm fracturing drills can create holes in the roof near the front and back coal walls, and Φ32-mm linear fracturing drills can be used to create holes in the roof at the face ends. The length of these drill holes is 3 to 5 times the height of the mining face and is based upon the principle that the gob should be fully filled with a caved roof to support vertical stresses, as well as the assumption that the broken-expansion coefficient of the rock is given as an empirical value. Considering the fracture propagation range and the support form of the cut, the drill-hole spacing is set to be between 1 and 2 times the single-hole crack propagation range. Hydraulic fracturing can generate main fractures and wing-shaped branching cracks inside the roof rock and can transform and weaken the roof structure, forming weak fracture plane favorable to roof caving. These fractures cause the roof to cave in a timely and adequate manner under in situ ground pressures. Successful field test in the no. 2 mine of Cuncaota, Shendong group indicated that the propagation range of hydraulic fractures is approximately 4–8 m. When the active face advanced 22.5 m, the roof beyond the hydraulic supports caves entirely, and gradually, the gob is fully filled with the caved roof and is absent of large voids. Thus, hazards such as shock loading, wind blasts, and sudden gas extrusion can be reduced or eliminated.

The analysis of mining-induced sinkholes occurrence is a very important issue as far as the spatial development optimization is concerned. Research conducted for this paper was focussed on examining the applicability of GIS and the associated AHP method (analytic hierarchy process) for estimating the risk of discontinuous deformation occurrence on the surface. Qualitative factors were accounted for in the sinkhole risk assessment, thus creating bases for the research. These elements play an important role in the process of sinkholes formation; however, they were not used in prediction models. Another assumption lay in minimizing the number of variables in the model. Accordingly, the most important qualitative and quantitative risk factors were finally selected on the basis of whether the risk of cave-ins occurrence on the surface could be calculated. The results of the estimation of potential sinkhole zones were verified. The locations of actual and high-risk potential discontinuous deformation were compared. The congruence between predicted values and the actual observations of sinkholes was very high. The results of research presented prove the necessity to evaluate sinkhole hazards in view of qualitative factors.

Block caving is an underground mining method, which uses gravity to exploit the mineral deposits that are too deep for conventional open-pit mining and is generally used to extract massive low-grade deposits. Design of ventilation systems for block caving mines is a relatively challenging task. Apart from the commonly used traditional ventilation design software packages, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques are also commonly used to understand the complex behavior of air/gas flow through the system. However, this study uses a laboratory scale (1:100) model set-up to investigate the ventilation characteristics of a block/panel cave mine, and the changes in the system caused by changing cave characteristics such as porosity and permeability (flow paths). This paper presents a preliminary study of an on-going project, the challenges faced while working on the experimental model, and the methods by which these issues were dealt with; the future study of this project will address the effect of changing cave characteristics on the ventilation system.

Șura Mare Cave with its enormous entrance and 11,694 m of passages is the tenth longest cave in Romania and the fourth one with respect to its vertical range (+425 m). The karst system penetrated vertically and horizontally the entire sequence of limestone deposits of the Ponorici Cioclovina-Ohaba Ponor Plateau. Șura Mare Cave is known for its long underground stream, spectacular domes, and large well-decorated chambers. Dye studies performed in the early eighties prove the connection with Dosul Lacșorului and Fundatura Hobenilor shafts, making this karst system one of the most important in Romania.

Peștera Vântului lies in a ~200-m-thick middle Triassic limestone and is the longest cave in Romania, with a surveyed length of over 50 km and vertical extent of 162 m. It is a multi-level cave, which consists of passages that are mainly sinuous tubes and canyons having their floor covered with alluvial sediments and breakdown blocks. Vadose flow is present in the lowest level of the cave, where significant amounts of black iron–manganese-rich deposits coat the gravels and the cave walls along the underground stream. Fourteen oxide and hydroxide minerals have been described in their composition, with braunite first documented in a cave environment worldwide. Gypsum speleothems are abundant particularly along the upper levels 1 and 2. Typical for Vântului Cave is its deep meandering canyons, which are best displayed in the Racovița Meanders section of the second level. From a speleogenetic point of view, it is a base-level cave, having its all four major levels developed in the epiphreatic zone, later connected in between by vadose canyons and shafts.

Over 300 dry (fossil) and active (stream) caves of thermal and hypogene origin are known in the upper Cerna Valley, between Naiba Valley and Pecinișca Village. The large variety of caves is sustained by a complex geology developed along the graben, with granites outcropping along the Cerna River’s thalweg. The presence of this granitoid pluton is the source of a large geothermal anomaly in Baile Herculane area and a smaller one 21 km north, where two thermal springs are located. A synthesis of the Focul Viu Caving Club explorations, emphasizing the Great Cave of Șalitrari (the longest cave in the area) and Ogașul Adânc, a stream cave that traverses the limestone strip, is presented in this chapter.

Padurea Craiului has the largest plateau-type karst in the Apuseni Mountains developed at about 500–600 m altitude with numerous karst features as karren, dolines, ponors, springs, and caves. In the southern part of the plateau, Ciur Izbuc–Ciur Ponor–Topliţa de Rosia karst system includes two distinct caves. Ciur Izbuc is a through cave traversed by a stream that disappears in the middle of the cave to resurface in Ciur Ponor–Toplița de Rosia Cave. The highlights of the system are the Bears Gallery (Galeria Urșilor) and the Footprints Hall, which housed many skeletal remains of cave bear and about 400 footprints as old as 27–31 ka. Ciur Ponor–Topliţa de Rosia is the longest through cave in Romania, with a stream that runs from Ciur Ponor entrance to Topliţa de Rosia Spring passing through large chambers with their floor covered with alluvial sediments and breakdown blocks and large passages and sumps in between. In the northern part of the plateau, the underground stream traversing Batrânului Cave resurfaces a few km downstream in Vadu Crisului Cave ending its journey with a spectacular waterfall in the south bank of the Crisul Repede River.

Poiana Gropii with 1900 m in length and −249 m depth is the deepest vertical cave in Banat region formed by vadose water flowing along fractures and bedding planes. Speleothems are present only below −130 m, but spectacular morphologies due to erosion and corrosion occur throughout the cave.

The Polovragi Cave–Oltețului Gorge karst area is about 3 km2 in size and is traverse by the Olteț River through a spectacular narrow gorge, which represents the natural boundary between Parâng Mountains to the west and Capațânii Mountains in the east. These mountains are part of the Southern Carpathian. Focul Viu Caving Club surveyed the Polovragi Cave between 1975 and 1985. In parallel with the survey activities in the main cave developed on the first level, several smaller caves were identified on both sides of the Oltețului Gorge. These caves are located on the second and third levels, which are interrelated with different peneplanation events that occurred in the Carpathians. In 2000, Focul Viu began working in the cave again, replacing gates, removing trash, digging to open new passages, and performing underwater explorations. By the end of 2011, new passages were found in the Hope Chamber and Costin Gallery, extending the total length of the cave to 10,793 and 92 m in vertical range. The Polovragi Cave along with two other smaller caves is presented in this chapter. The Polovragi Cave is the third longest cave in the Southern Carpathians and the eleventh in Romania. One of the smaller caves hosts an important bat colony, and the other one, with 800 m of passages, hosts Ursus spelaeus bones and deposits of saltpeter. The Bones Cave (Peștera cu Oase) located on the western side of the gorge (opposite side of Polovragi Cave) at a higher elevation is an old meander of the Olteț River.

Discovered in 1985 at an altitude of 2020 m above present sea level, the “Avenul de sub Colții Grindului” Cave (hereafter Grind Pit) represents Romania’s first Alpine-type cave included on the list of world’s deepest caves. With a depth of 540 m, the Grind Pit was for decades the deepest cave in Romania and has only recently been surpassed by the Varașoaia cave system in the Apuseni Mountains. The cave develops in the Upper Tithonian limestones belonging to the Grind Formation. The highly tectonized, bedded limestone dips 75° to 85° toward east, and therefore, pit’s verticality is high. The origin of the pit is related to a massive tectonic breccia zone, formed during the uplift of the Carpathians, which is traversed by a fault that facilitated karstification. The stream flowing through the cave is recharging multiple karstic springs (medium flow: 400 l/s) located near the town of Zarnești, four kilometers away. The exploration activities are concentrated at −540 m in an effort to surpass the current terminus of the cave choked by a large boulder. The expected total vertical potential of the Grind Pit is 1270 m.

This chapter moves the narrative to Myanmar (Burma) where, through the popularization efforts of Mahasi Sayadaw, Ledi Sayadaw and others, many of the international mindfulness movements have especially drawn from. After a visit to the ancient capital of Bagan, the author continues interviews with monks, students, psychiatrists and villagers in the areas around Mandalay, including at Maha Gandayon Monastery, Mandalay University, and the Government Psychiatric Hospital. Here we learn that mindfulness (called thati in Burmese) takes on many similar and some particular qualities relative to those in Thailand. These particular understandings of meaning and practice, including a greater emphasis on the Abhidhamma and the role of memory, are examined in light of the TAPES of temporality, affect, power, ethics, and selfhood.

Asxaana x Cave, a burial cave in the Islands of the Four Mountains, was excavated in 1990. One radiocarbon date for a burial in the front area of the cave is 700±60 BP (Beta-39962). Due to the conditions in the cave, there was excellent preservation of organic materials, though these had been considerably disturbed. Wooden artifacts include boat parts and paddles, bent-wood and carved trays, bowls and baskets, netting tools, and ceremonial objects. The iqya-x (baidarkas) are definitely Unangan but with peculiarities unique to the Islands of the Four Mountains; the carved Halibut bowl and many of the ceremonial objects bear strong resemblance to artifacts from Karluk One on Kodiak. The distribution of the wooden artifacts within the cave deposits suggests that the three areas excavated within the cave were used for burial by different family groups.

Lava tubes and channels forming lava distributaries have been recognized from different parts of western Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP). Openings of smaller dimension have been documented from the pāhoehoe flows around Pune, in the western DVP. A small lava cave is exposed in Ghoradeshwar hill, near Pune. Detailed field studies of the physical characteristics, structure and morphology of the flows hosting the lava tube has been carried out. This is the first detailed documentation of a lava cave from the DVP. The lava cave occurs in a compound pāhoehoe flow of Karla Formation, characterized by the presence of lobes, toes and small scale features like squeeze-ups. Field observations and measurements reveal that the dimensions of the cave are small, with low roof and a maximum width of 108 cm. The cave morphology along the 20 m passage varies from circular to semi-circular, with a twilight zone to the north. The gentle micro-topography at Ghoradeshwar controlled the advancement of pāhoehoe lobes and toes within the sheet lobe. The pre-flow gradients towards the north led to the progression of flow from the east, where the cave opening is presently seen. Dimensions and related morphology of the lava cave suggest that it can be best described as a small sub-crustal cave formed by draining of an inflated of pāhoehoe lava lobe. At Ghoradeshwar, besides the natural lava cave, Buddhist caves carved in pāhoehoe lava flows are also observed, indicating that early man took advantage of the existing openings in pāhoehoe flows and sculpted the caves to suit their requirements.

With the discovery of Homo erectus teeth, stone artifacts and a rich fauna, Bailong Cave in northern Hubei Province is an important hominin/archaeological site in China. However, due to the lack of suitable dating methods, the previous age estimates all come from biostratigraphic correlations. Here we report the first application of a radio-isotopic dating method to the site. Three 26Al/10Be measurements of two quartz samples give a weighted mean burial age of 0.76 ± 0.06 million years (Ma, 1σ). Taking into account possible bias of the dating method, stratigraphic order and evidence for rapid sedimentation, the cultural deposits of the site should be somewhat younger than the above date. This is consistent with previous biostratigraphic age estimates at around the Early/Middle Pleistocene transition, and possibly indicates an earlier human coexistence with Stegodon–Ailuropoda fauna than previously estimated.

Ice caves exist in locations where annual average air temperature is higher than 0 °C. An example is Ningwu ice cave, Shanxi Province, the largest ice cave in China. In order to quantitatively investigate the mechanism of formation and preservation of the ice cave, we use the finite-element method to simulate the heat transfer process at this ice cave. There are two major control factors. First, there is the seasonal asymmetric heat transfer. Heat is transferred into the ice cave from outside very inefficiently by conduction in spring, summer and fall. In winter, thermal convection occurs that transfers heat very efficiently out of the ice cave, thus cooling it down. Secondly, ice–water phase change provides a heat barrier for heat transfer into the cave in summer. The calculation also helps to evaluate effects of global warming, tourists, colored lights, climatic conditions, etc. for sustainable development of the ice cave as a tourism resource. In some other ice caves in China, managers have installed airtight doors at these ice caves' entrances with the intention of "protecting" these caves, but this in fact prevents cooling in winter and these cave ices will entirely melt within tens of years.

Harmanecká Cave is located in the Harmanec Valley to the northwest of Banská Bystrica city, in the southern part of the Great Fatra Mountains, Slovakia. This cave is the most important underground locality of bat occurrence in Slovakia (population of 1000 to 1500 individuals). The study aimed at mycological evaluation of the air, the water, and the rock surface of Harmanecká Cave in Slovakia. The samples were taken on 24 July 2014. To examine the air, the Air Ideal 3P sampler was used. Microbiological evaluation of the rock surface was performed using swab sampling and the water by using the serial dilution technique. The authors observed a relationship between air temperature and the concentration of fungi. The concentration of airborne fungi increased with the increase in the air temperature and decreased with distance from the entrance to the cave. The density of airborne fungi isolated from the outdoor air samples was 810.5 colony-forming units (CFU) per 1 m3 of air and from 27.4 to 128.5 CFU for the indoor air samples. From the rock surface inside the cave, 45.0 to 106.6 CFU per 1 cm2 were isolated, whereas from the water, 29.9 CFU per 1 ml were isolated. Seven species of filamentous fungi were isolated from the external air samples and 12 species of filamentous fungi and 3 species of yeast-like fungi from the internal air samples. From the surface of the rocks inside the cave, 5 species of filamentous fungi and 1 species of yeast-like fungi were cultured, whereas from the water samples, 6 species of filamentous fungi were cultured. Cladosporium spp. were the fungi most frequently isolated from the external air; from the internal air, Penicillium urticae was most frequently isolated; from the rock surface, it was Gliocladium roseum; and from the water, it was P. chrysogenum. The species found in the cave can be pathogenic for humans and animals, especially for immunocompromised persons, and they can also cause biodegradation of the rocks. However, the concentration of airborne fungi inside the cave did not exceed official limits and norms stated as dangerous for the health of tourists.

INTRODUCTION:Swiftlet (Aerodramus sp) is a bird that is very unique, because this bird has a habit of foraging by way of darting in the air to catch small insects. In addition, this bird is also a bird that is aerial and like gliding. The bird's nest is recognized as a health food source of the prestigious and winning (Mei Yang., Sau-Ha Cheung, Sze Chun Li., and Hon-Yeung, 2014). 90% of people use the Chinese a bird nest in their cooking Swallow nest is made from the saliva of swallow. Swiftlets nest are beneficial to health and delicacy in nature with high nutrient content (Marcone, 2005; Olsen, P. S., Poulsen, S. S., Kirkegaard, P., and Nexo, E. 1984).Protein contained in the swiftlet's nest is 62 -63% and carbohydrates is it 25,26% and 27,26% (Oda, M., Ohta, S., Suga, T and Aoki, T. 1998). In addition, swiftlets nest can inhibit influenza virus infection, accelerate the recovery of the disease, stimulating the appetite, aid digestion strengthens the lungs and boost immunity (Guo, C. T., Takahashi, T., Bukawa, W., Takahashi, N., Yagi, H., Kato, K., Hidari, K. J., Miyamoto, D., Suzuki, T., and Suzuki, Y. 2006; Mei Yang, 2014).Swiftlets usually live in cave especially dark ones. Swiftlet are capable of detecting nest (echolocation) in the dark similar to bats. Swiftlet nest breeding in the cave, by utilizing the cave walls, ceilings are curved and have small bumps found on cave walls to make a nest. Swiftlet excretes a gelatinous secretion which is located under the tongue which serves to bind the materials to make nests that are often referred to as a nest cement (R,. Suriya and Zakaria, Zunita and Yusoff, Rosnina and A., Fadzillah and Hassan, Latiffah, 2004).Gunong Pungki is one of the mountains in the Tadu Raya district of Nagan Raya. In Gunong Pungki region, there is a cave inhabited by the swiftlets, which is managed by the local community. The cave has been a natural habitat to swiftlet for a long time, but the people were not aware of its benefits of the swiftlets nest.The swiftlets nest cave natural habitat occupied swiftlet Gunong Pungki region, has its own morphology characteristics based on its place. This is what researchers want to examine to determine the characteristics of the surface morphology and the outer surface of the cave in Gunong Pungki. Moreover, the presence of this study are expected to be able to know the people around the cave caves morphological characteristics and also the benefit of bird nest that is in the cave.MATERIAL AND MENTHODS:This study was conducted between May 2014 to June 2014. The research activities carried out in the Gunong Pungki Tadu Raya District Nagan Raya were shown in the Figure-i.The tools used in this study are digital cameras, notebooks, polpen. The materials used in this study is the birds' nest caves, plants and animals that exist around the cave.The method used in this study is a survey method that is divided into two phases: pre -survey and survey stage. Pre-stage survey was conducted to observe the initial location around Cave a natural swiftlets nest. Phase survey was conducted to collect the data needed to record the types of plants, animals that are around the cave, the morphology characteristics of the surface and the outer surface morphology cave in Gunong Pungki Tadu Rata District of Nagan Raya.Technique for Getting Samples:The swiftlets nest cave divided into 2 places of observation, namely the upper / outer cave swiftlet nest and the inner surface of bird's nest cave. Retrieval of research data on the upper surface of the cave swiftlet nests made by observing the types of plants and animals on cave swiftlet nests. On the outer surface of the cave also observed the surface morphology on the ground lining the cave. The surface of the cave was directly observed. Observation of the dark cave lit by torchlight, and the cave ceiling was observed using a bamboo ladder.Technique for Collecting Data:Collecting data with field observation and recording. …

Caves are an ideal observatory of infiltration water in karstified limestone, and the application of remote sensing techniques can bring new insights toward flow patterns and processes. We present an exhaustive characterization of Golgotha Cave in SW Western Australia, based on a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurement campaign. The cave is developed in Quaternary age aeolianite (dune limestone) and its infiltration waters form speleothems. We collect ground-based LiDAR scans of the cave ceiling at three sites within the cave system. The resulting point-clouds are analyzed using mathematical morphology to determine statistical information on stalactite widths, lengths, and spatial distributions. We establish a relationship between stalactite diameter and length that is in agreement with the platonic ideal of stalactite shape. We relate stalactite density variation with topography of the cave ceiling and variations in hydraulic gradient. From this analysis, it appears that longer stalactites tend to occur in comparatively lower ceiling elevation, which, we hypothesize, represents greater mass of water in the limestone above the roof of the cave. We also investigate the relationship between stalactite distribution and ceiling features such as fractures. We apply this to identify different types of possible flow patterns such as matrix flow and fracture flow. This analysis demonstrates a spatial variability, with one site having linear groups of stalactites and another site mostly dominated by stalactite clusters.

The Lascaux Cave, located in the south-eastern part of the department of the Dordogne (24, France), is considered to be one of the most important prehistoric caves in the world. The scope of this study is the protection and conservation of the Lascaux paintings from a hydrogeological and climatic environmental standpoint. Geophysical methods enable us to monitor the environment of the decorated cave in a non-invasive way. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) using a pole–dipole array, together with analysis of the local effective rainfall (groundwater recharge) and the flow in the cave, helps us to identify an area where upstream underground water is probably stored e.g. a recharge zone. There is a relationship between resistivity change in this zone and the underground flow measured in the cave, but with a time lag. Thus systematic electrical surveys following rainy periods could be used to predict the beginning of the underground flow and in so doing provide valuable advice for the preservation of the Lascaux Cave. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Palabora Mining Company commenced mining of the Lift 1 block cave in 2001. Lift 1 is now nearing completion, and this paper will discuss the challenges around the reconciliation and forecasting of grades during the life of Lift 1. Particular emphasis will be placed on the impact of the open pit failure which took place in 2004 and its impact on the grades later on in Lift 1. The paper will look at the different caving mechanisms which have contributed to, and impacted on, the recovered metal from the block cave. It will also look at how the cave management was impacted by the coarse fragmentation of the cave, which was a first worldwide at the time, and the interaction between practical mining constraints and idealised caving strategies. In the latter stages of the mine, some particularly surprising grade behaviour was experienced, and plausible explanations for this behaviour will be presented relating to the open pit failure material and cave back shapes. Concluding remarks will discuss how the experiences learned from Palabora Lift 1 can potentially benefit Palabora Lift 2 and other future caving operations.

All 43 caves with perennial ice cover confirmed in the last years of the 20th century in Poland were located in the Tatra Mountains, which are part of the only mountain chain in Poland characterized by high-mountain morphology and climate. They were glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch; however, they lack modern glaciers. The ice caves there exceed an altitude of 1300 m. They contain predominantly two types of ice: congelation ice and recrystallized snow; hoarfrost rarely occurs. Congelation ice is noted mainly in caves characterized by a dynamic microclimate, in areas near the lowermost entrances of such caves. Ice Cave in Ciemniak is the best known ice cave in Poland. It hosts the largest known perennial cave ice mass in the Tatra Mountains. In all the caves, a marked trend of degradation of ice has been observed.

With the underground water level falling, the reliable estimates of the stability and deformation characteristics of soil caves in karst region area are required for analysis used for engineering design. Aimed at this goal, combined with practical engineering and field geotechnical test, detail analysis on vertical maximum displacement of top, vertical maximum displacement of surface, maximum principal stress and maximum shear stress were conducted by finite element software, with an emphasis on two varying factors: the size and the depth of soil cave. The calculations on the soil cave show that, its stability of soil cave is affected by both the size and depth, and only when extending a certain limit, the collapse occurred along with the falling of underground water; Additionally, its maximum shear stress is in arch toes, and its deformation curve trend of maximum displacement is similar to the maximum shear stress, which further verified that the collapse of soil cave was mainly due to shear-failure.

Throughout a mining environment, variations in geotechnical and stress conditions can lead to unplanned rock mass failure. For operations with microseismic monitoring capabilities, seismic event locations and source parameters can often provide significant insight into rock mass failure processes. This paper presents observed variations in the seismic source parameter, apparent stress, during an unplanned rock mass cave in a deep Canadian mine. Over the course of six months, the rock mass cave propagates upwards more than 75 m, at more than 1,000 m depth below surface. Emphasis is placed on identifying zones of relatively high rock mass stress as the cave propagates upwards over time.

About 7% of Austria's currently known 16,300 caves host accumulations of perennial snow, firn, and/or ice. This high percentage is mainly due to the presence of large uplifted and heavily karstified plateaus in particular in the central and eastern part of the Northern Calcareous Alps. The highest abundance of ice-bearing caves can be found between about 1800 and 2100 m a.s.l. Most of the about 1200 ice caves in this country are small pits which act as cold traps. Almost all large ice caves, however, show more than one entrance and are characterized by strong seasonal air flow, giving rise to strong winter cooling and ice deposition close to the lower-elevation entrance. Four examples of ice caves are reviewed in this article. Eisriesenwelt opens at the western escarpment of Tennengebirge and hosts 28,000 m2 of ice behind the main (lower) entrance of a 42 km-long system. Located in the western part of Totes Gebirge, Schonberg-Hohlensystem ranks as the longest cave in the European Union. Its currently known 34 entrances give rise to a complex ventilation pattern and the presence of ice bodies in three parts of this vast system. Dachstein-Mammuthohle is a giant cave system at the northern escarpment of the Dachstein massif. Its two ice-bearing parts show an uninterrupted decline of ice height and volume since at least the last three decades and the ice will likely disappear within the next decade. Located in the lower Inn Valley of Tyrol, Hundsalm Eis- und Tropfsteinhohle is an example of a small sag-type cave hosting a shrinking firn and ice body. This cave will likely transform into a seasonal ice cave within the not-too-distant future.

The significant role that caves play in the preservation of cultural heritage and archaeology has been long recognised. This paper describes the use of 3D digital surveying for the geometric documentation and modelling of the Dikteon Andron Cave in Crete. As it stands today, the cave consists of five chambers with an upper and lower section. The difficult environmental conditions of caves and the presence of a complex geometry (free-form shapes) require dedicated geomatic techniques which involve proper field procedures to collect data and good processing techniques to obtain the maximum content of information. The approach used to implement a 3D geometric documentation of the entire volume of the cavity of the upper cave and the external part of the cave using a number of appropriate sensors and techniques, such as terrestrial laser scanning and conventional surveying, is described. The results of this study demonstrate the important advantages of geomatics technologies in bringing “visual protection” of cultural heritage objects, such as caves that are unstable in the geological timescale.

WOS: 000451347500005, PubMed ID: 29780078, Geotechnical site works are comprehensive, and they constitute the first step of the construction process. This study performs data mining of geotechnical works and analyzes the database for the root causes of accidents. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was chosen for the 1984-2013 time frame with 247 cases. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to discuss variables such as the end use of the work, project type and cost, soil type and condition, type and degree of injury, cause and type of accident, unsafe acts, and occupation and union status of the victim. The results showed that these accidents have a high frequency of recurrence and have a high severity level (54.3% fatalities). In addition, a total of 838 violations were recorded with penalties reaching 5 million US dollars. This study emphasizes that project-specific countermeasures should be taken regarding the root causes of accidents, leading to vigorous strategies to develop safety measures.