Using Near-Surface Geophysics to Identify Unknown Cave Passageways in Mammoth Cave National
Park
Lott, Sarah; Jones, Sarah; Shields, Nathanial; Sosso, Catherine
Department of Geology and Laboratory for Applied Geophysics, Northern Kentucky University
Mammoth Cave National Park is a historic nature preserve located in Western Kentucky. In the park there is an unmapped section of cave from the River Styx Spring to the sumped river section underground. This section is approximately 400 meters long. Electrical Resistivity and Refraction
Microtremor surveys were conducted over the unmapped section of River Styx in order to locate and connect the conduit to other previously known and mapped caves.
The Electrical Resistivity survey included seven lines, each totaling 400 meters in length at approximately
40 meters apart, depending on terrain. This allowed for a total depth of 400 feet, or one third of the total length of the line. Each of the seven lines used a total of 84 electrodes spaced at 5 meters apart.
With the 5-meter spacing, this allowed for a resolution determined by taking half the total space between electrodes, of seven and a half feet. EarthImager 2D was then utilized to model the resistivity data collected. The Refraction Microtremor surveys were used to confirm the previous Electrical
Resistivity results. Each survey length was determined based on the depth of the conduit at that point.
The data that were collected connected the River Styx Spring to the sumped section of River Styx in the cave. Electrical Resistivity was the main method used and Refraction Microtremor was used as a second means to corroborate the original data. Further research is being planned to locate other unmapped passageways on Mammoth Cave National Park.
Stratigraphy and isotopic composition of the St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Members of the Slade
Formation in southeast Kentucky
L.J. Florea, J.K. Jones, D.L. Rust, R. Miller
Department of Geological Sciences, Ball State University, 2000 W University Ave, Muncie, IN
47306, USA. lflorea@bsu.edu
This research stems from a need to better understand the stratigraphic architecture of Mississippian
Carbonates that host major cave systems in southeast Kentucky. For one reason, the lithologic heterogeneity of these rocks serves as a partial guide for the vertical positioning of cave passages. For another reason, the chemical heterogeneity is one significant influence on the geochemical signature of groundwater in karst aquifers enclosed by these strata. In this presentation, we summarize current findings from studies from outcrops of the St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Members of the Slade
Formation. Samples span 46 meters in increments of 30.5 cm from three locations: the entrance to
Grayson Gunnar Cave, Bridgeman Mountain, and Redmond Creek Cave, all in the Otter Creek watershed. Prepared measured sections include details on bedding, fabric, and fossil assemblage. Whole rock powders were analyzed for mineralogy and the stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon. A detailed stratigraphic column accompanies this research and includes correlations among the sites tuned to the isotope and mineralogical data. The Ste. Genevieve is relatively pure calcite with massive chert near the

base. In contrast, the St. Louis is comprises several dolomitic and silica rich zones. 13 C values are depleted adjacent to sequence boundaries indicated in the field by algal laminates, breccia, and paleosol. 18 O values are enriched in dolomitic zones suggesting a strong connection to isotopic alteration during burial diagenesis and dolomitizaton.
Mineralogical and Geomicrobiological Studies of Snowy River, the World's Longest Speleothem
Michael Spilde, Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, mspilde@unm.edu
Leslie Melim, Geology Department, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, LA-Melim@wiu.edu
Snowy River passage in Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico, contains a creamy-white calcite crust that covers the mud and gravel floor of the borehole-like passage, now explored to over 19 km in length, forming the world's longest known continuous speleothem. The Snowy River formation is a subaqueous coralloid pool deposit with a very low slope (<0.8 degrees over 7.5 km) that responds quickly to large surface meteoric events, filling within hours, flowing for months, and then draining and drying over a period of weeks. Drill cores reveal that the carbonate crust has a cauliflower-like texture on the surface, and in cross section, consists of thin laminae that vary from microns to millimeters in thickness. Clasticrich layers are continuous, and correlate across eight cores drilled from the floor. One core was sectioned and contains 500 individual light and dark laminae. Each dark and light pair forms an apparent couplet of dark detritus-rich calcite at the bottom followed by a lamina of clear calcite, recording a filling-draining event. With 250 such events taking place over the period of deposition of 821 (+/-120) years (determined by uranium-series dating by Victor Polyak), an average of ~3.6 yrs is calculated between events, approximately the interval of El Nino-Southern Oscillation events (3-5 yrs) in the southwestern US. Another core was sliced, polished, and etched to expose the interior of the calcite. In addition to the clastic particles that make up the dark bands, bacterial filaments, reticulated filaments, and biofilm were also found entombed in the calcite.
Phytoliths (Plant Biominerals) As Climatic and Vegetation Indicators in Cave Sediments
P.J. Boston, K.D. Morgan Edel, and M.N. Spilde.
1 Dept. of Earth & Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, NM
87801; pboston@nmt.edu
2 National Cave and Karst Research Institute, Socorro, NM 87801
3 Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Many higher plants make biomineral bodies (aka phytoliths) for mechanical strength, structural support, storage of soil-derived chemicals, inhibition of insect and other grazing damage, and sequestration of toxins. Chemical compositions of phytoliths include amorphous silica, calcium carbonate salts, phosphate minerals, oxalates, and more. Because these remnants of plants are non-organic, they are not degraded by microorganisms and are often well preserved. Thus phytoliths can provide an important record of surface vegetation at the time that they were released into sediments that eventually made their ways into caves. In turn, the nature of the vegetation can give us clues as to the

climate at the time the plants were alive. Phytoliths have been used to investigate human diet, climate and environmental conditions in archeological studies but not applied to cave science per se.
Phytoliths from plants characteristic of the southwestern United States have been poorly studied. To build an atlas for comparison to phytoliths recovered from caves and other environments, we have extracted them from key indicator species and used scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to study their morphology and chemistry. We have conducted mechanical weathering simulations to see how well the biominerals hold up and how recognizable they may be after such treatment. Phytoliths from living material, plant fossils, and cave sediments from Ft.
Stanton Cave, NM, have been studied as the thesis project of the second author (Morgan-Edel). We will present results showing little damage from weathering, and discuss intricacies, and difficulties of interpreting cave phytoliths.
Cave spar thermochronometry: a case study from the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico and Texas , a new geo-thermochronometer
Decker, D.D., Polyak, V.J., Asmerom, Y.
University of New Mexico, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Radiogenic Isotopes Lab. ddecke67@unm.edu
Constraining temperature-depth history of landscapes is essential to tectonic studies.
Finding precisely datable, low-temperature (sub-100⁰C) thermometers and barometers remains challenging. Cave spar, a deep phreatic speleothem, is a good candidate. To establish cave spar as a thermochronometer, four requirements must be met: 1) we must show depth of spar formation; 2) the spar must be dateable; 3) we must show the precipitation temperature of the spar; and 4) we must show that spar lining ‘spar caves’ is the only spar that forms under these conditions. A speleogenesis model applied to the origin of spar caves related to the supercritical
CO2 system suggests that depth of cave spar is restricted to 500 ± 250 meters, satisfying requirements one and four. Spar calcite is dateable by the U-Pb method satisfying requirement two. While spar ages cluster in two groups, there are enough outliers to suggest that the sparderived geologic history of the Guadalupe Mountains covers a long period of time (180 to 28
Ma). These ages constrain the uplift history of the Guadalupe Mountains. Requirement three is met in two ways. Cave spar hosts fluid inclusions from which temperature is measured, and a recent technique for measuring temperature using strontium isotopes (δ88Sr) is being developed. Our preliminary results are encouraging and show that origin of the spar caves in the Guadalupe Mountains is likely related to regional igneous activity, and that only modest uplift took place during the Laramide, with the Guadalupe tectonic block uplift occurring later than 28 Ma.
Preliminary data of the speleogenesis of the Atl Cave, Veracruz Mexico
Rogelio Hernández-Vergara a,b* . rogeliohernandezvergara@gmail.com
Rafael López-Martínez a,b . rafaelopez83@hotmail.com a Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación
Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F.

b P.K.N. Proyecto Karstológico Nacional, México.
ABSTRACT
Preliminary data on the speleogenesis of the Atl Cave (“water” in the Nahuatl language), located south of Orizaba in Mexico’s state of Veracruz, is presented. The cave rests on limestone belonging to formations from the Albian-Cenomanian age. The data obtained through the geological and structural mapping of the cave surface and its comparison to the cave’s detailed topography revealed features characteristic of an alpine-type multi-level epigenetic system. The cave galleries extend in two preferential directions and present significant tectonic influence. The superimposition of phreatic and vadose-incisive phases suggests a complex formation process typical of an active tectonic environment.
Geologic Processes and Controls of Cave Formation in the Southern Ozarks of Northern Arkansas
John Van Brahana, brahana@uark.edu
Caves in the southern Ozark region of northern Arkansas are highly variable, occurring with a wide range of attributes that at first glance makes explaining their speleogenesis difficult. Based on more than 25 years of exploring and examining these caves, however, has allowed the generation of a coherent conceptual model based on key geologic processes and controls. This model essentially describes the full range of chemical and physical conditions of water and rock that play a part in cave formation. Many are obvious to most cavers. Although specific variables of the model can number more than 60 in rare cases, most of the major differences in these caves can be attributed to no more than 5 or 6 factors, and in many instances, to mainly three, lithology, stratigraphy, and structure. In general, the lithology, or rock type, describes the potential for dissolution; the stratigraphy, or layering sequence, describes the vertical distribution of lithology and permeability; and the structure describes tilting, which orients shallow permeability zones, especially in the impure limestone of the Boone Formation, and faulting and fracturing that allow vertical flow to great depth,. Cross-sections, cave maps, and photos provide visual syntheses of cave variation that are known to occur, and tables and matrices of the variables explain the science (hydrogeology and geochemistry) which likely was involved in their creation. The application of this methodology can guide ridgewalking, karst inventorying, and exploration endeavors, and is a direct and beneficial management tool in guiding land use on these karst lands.
The geologically recent origin of Jewel Cave (Part 2)
Wiles, Michael E.
Jewel Cave National Monument
11149 U.S. Highway 16, Custer, SD 57730
Mike_Wiles@nps.gov
With over 175 miles (280 km) of passages, Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world. Previous work demonstrated an intimate relationship between the cave and present-day geologic structure, contacts, and topography. This paper examines new evidence uncovered by recent highway construction, and estimates when and how quickly the cave could have formed.

Quartzite clasts are scattered across 1,500 square miles (3,885 km2) of the Black Hills, and cross-cut strata from the Pahasapa Limestone through the lower Spearfish shale. They provide a timing element for a Hills-wide event that correlates with the cave, because one clast within Jewel Cave is covered with calcite spar. A single U-Pb date places the spar at 26 to 14.7 Ma, the presumed end of dissolutional flow.
Estimated hydrologic properties show that, under optimal abiotic conditions, there would have been sufficient flow to create the cave in less than two million years. However, this doesn’t consider the potentially significant catalyzing effect of microbial activity. New road cut features support the working hypothesis.
The newest evidence supports a geologically recent origin for the cave. More work is needed to determine the source, transport method, and timing of the quartzite clasts. U-Pb dating of the calcite spar is inconclusive, and must be validated or rejected. Initial fracture sizes should be estimated. Once the hydrologic parameters of a crucial sandstone unit have been determined, there will be sufficient information to begin computer modeling. Finally, as the emerging science of biospeleology develops, the model should be calibrated to include the effects of microbial activity.
Drowned Polygonal Karst on Belau (Palau) Island, Western Pacific
Joan Mylroie and John Mylroie
Department of Geosciences
Mississippi State University
The Belau (Palau) Islands are located in the western Pacific (6o 53’ to 8 o 12’ North and 134 o 6’ to 134 o 44’ East; about midway between Guam and New Guinea), an independent country in the former western Caroline Islands. The archipelago extends for 160 km in a north-south arc, with 414 km2 of land area. The northern islands are mostly volcanic, but the southern islands are Miocene to Pleistocene limestones which are heavily karstified. The signature feature of the southern archipelago are the Rock Islands, which rise from lagoons as steep-sided towers, some free-standing, others grouped so as to create internal depressions, many which have become inland water bodies. The overall appearance is of a cockpit or polygonal karst that has been drowned as a result of Holocene sea-level rise. Given that for over 90% of the Quaternary, sea level has been lower than the lagoon, these karst features evolved primarily in a subaerial condition. In their current environment, bioerosional notching over a 3 meter tidal range has over-steepened the hills, initiating collapse that has amplified the hills’ verticality. Flank margin caves in various stages of erosional removal are found at 1 to 6 m above sea level, consistent with the last interglacial sea-level highstand (MIS 5e), and minimal tectonic or subsidence since.
In this case, karst features have helped resolve a debate regarding tectonic motion in the last
100 ka. The island caves display significant archeological and historical features, especially from
WWII.
Water Tracing Efforts in the “Big Four” Spring Region of the Ozarks
James W. Duley
Missouri Geological Survey
111 Fairgrounds Road Rolla, MO, 65401, USA. bill.duley@dnr.mo.gov

Cecil Boswell
Missouri Geological Survey
111 Fairgrounds Road Rolla, MO, 65401, USA. cecil.boswell@dnr.mo.gov
Ongoing work by the Missouri Geological Survey (MGS) is refining the known recharge areas of the largest springs in the Ozarks. In some cases, past tracer injection sites are utilized in attempts to replicate older traces from those locations. The data clearly show that there is value in applying newer dye detection techniques in attempting to replicate older traces. Some repeat injections and subsequent monitoring confirm earlier traces. Other replication efforts reveal additional recovery points that were undetected by the legacy traces, thus expanding known recharge areas. Still other replication efforts indicate that some older traces are not repeatable. Among the findings of the overall study to date:
Mammoth Spring and Greer Spring share a portion of their recharge, with the majority of Greer Spring’s flow apparently passing under a gaining segment of the 11 Point River, ultimately surfacing more than four kilometers to the southeast. A simple and effective method is also described for illustration and comparison of dye recovery curves using fluorescent spectrometry data.
The Roubidoux Creek, the Lost River
Dan Slais, dslais@fidnet.com
Roubidoux Creek is one of the best examples of a lost river in the state of Missouri. I have worked as part of a Missouri Department of Conservation Stream Team on a stretch of the
Roubidoux in Texas County. Normal flow of the creek is between 40 and 60 cubic feet per second. Where the Roubidoux goes around Devil’s Backbone, the creek disappears into a gravel bar. A fault map drawn up by geologists Imes and Schmacher in 1996 shows three faults cross the Roubidoux in the approximate area where it goes underground. The water then reappears on the surface as Roubidoux Spring.
The Gasconade dolomite hosts the solution activity and includes numerous springs, caves and sinkholes. I personally found a group of natural arches I called the Roubidoux Quadarches just upstream from the Texas County Highway 17 bridge.
The Roubidoux sandstone formation's type section is T 33 N, R 12 W, Sec.10. SW1/4, NW 1/4,
SE ¼, just upstream from where the St. Anna low water bridge used to be in Texas County. The
Roubidoux sandstone supplied stone for much of the early building of foundations and rock homes in the area.
Ground Water Tracing in Murfreesboro, TN for Planning Best Management Practices for Stormwater
Runoff and Locating Potential Sources of e-coli in Springs:Years 3 & 4
Albert E. Ogden, Dept. Ground Water Consulting Services, 6478 Jones Lane, Murfreesboro, TN 37127,
(615) 907-0004; aogden@mtsu.edu; and Josh Upham, Murfreesboro Water and Sewer Department.,
220 NW Broad St., Murfreesboro, TN 37167, (615) 848-3200; jupham@murfreesborotn.gov
For four years, Murfreesboro’s Stormwater Quality Program has funded a ground water tracing study to locate potential sources of e-coli in springs. The Murfreesboro Urban Growth Boundary occurs within

the upper Stones River Watershed. The area is totally underlain by Ordovician-age limestones and two thin impermeable units that have been subtly folded. Nearly all of the summer flow of the upper Stones
River emerges from springs, thus surface water contamination is largely the result of contaminated ground water. The springs showing the worst contamination or springs in high growth watersheds were the focus of the investigation. Seven traces were conducted the third year of the study to five springs to which no trace had ever been performed. Two traces have been conducted so far during the present fourth year of study. Since there are few septic tanks in the study area, leaky sewer lines and runoff from animal grazing appear to be the primary sources of the e-coli contamination. In one case, a
“mountain” of chicken manure was found next to a sinking stream that was traced to Lee Spring. The intensive field work has also helped locate other sources of contamination like leaked petroleum product and construction sediment runoff into sinkholes. Very slight strata dip is the controlling factor in guiding the direction of ground water flow. Ground water flows down-dip along northwest oriented fractures toward the synclinal troughs to springs perched above the Pierce shaly limestone. This helps predict the flow direction of infiltrating contaminants and future spills.
New Findings on the Recharge Areas of the Big Four Springs in the Ozarks
Cecil Boswell
Missouri Geological Survey
111 Fairgrounds Road Rolla, MO, 65401, USA. cecil.boswell@dnr.mo.gov
Abstract
Ongoing work by the Missouri Geological Survey (MGS) is refining the known recharge areas of a number of the largest springs in the Ozarks (the “Big Four”). The new interpretations will be shared in a revised recharge area boundary map of the southern Ozarks. A simple and effective method (peak valley ratio or PVR) is used for illustration and comparison of dye recovery curves employing fluorescent spectrometry data. Among the findings of the overall study to date: Mammoth Spring and Greer Spring share a portion of their recharge, with the majority of Greer Spring’s flow apparently passing under a gaining segment of the 11 Point River, ultimately surfacing more than four kilometers to the southeast.
Selected traces will be highlighted to demonstrate shared recharge areas and application of the PVR dye recovery curves.