The Svarthamar cave research project, Fauske, north Norway (original) (raw)
Related papers
Caves Indicating Neotectonic Activity in Sweden
Geografiska Annaler Series A-physical Geography, 1986
ABSTRACf. Several caves formed within gigantic boulders have been researehed in Sweden. Many facts suggest a neoleetonic origin forthese bouldercaves, meaning that they were formed by earthquakes during the melting ofthe Weichsel-glaciation about 10.000 years B.P., when the isostatic uplift of the region could have reached 0.2-0.5 m per year. The author proposes a threefold classification of such caves, into l. Caves in split roches moutonm!es, 2. Caves in collapsed mountain-slopes, and 3. Caves in sub-horizontally displaced mountain-tops. The most prominent evidence of neoleetonic origin regarding these caves isthat (a) the boulders forming many ofthese caves are striated, which proves that they were formed after the advance of the inland ice; (b) huge talus blocks forming caves of type 2 are situated in a manner which that indicates a momentary collapse of the mountain-slope; and (c) scarcely any weathering products are found on the floors of the caves; this indicates a recent date for cave formation.
2004
In 1999 we selected the LoLc 1650 "Abisso sul Margine dell'Alto Bregai" ice cave to be a test site for a large number of different studies dealing with both ice caves climatology and cave ice glaciology. To investigate the dynamics of the vegetation cover outside the cave we constructed a local 850 years long Larix decidua Miller growth curve. We recorded air temperatures both inside and outside the cave, and described the surface morphology and internal structure of the fossil, stratified, clear ice deposit found at a depth of -80 m below the cave entrance. On 5 cm-thick ice samples cut from a 1.20 m-long ice core we determined chemical composition, δ 18 O and pollen content, and performed atmospheric dust counting. We also cut thick sections for the morphological description of fluid inclusion and thin sections for ice fabric observations and measurements of c-axis orientations. Most of the investigation is still ongoing and comparisons with the results from a new 4.6 m long ice core are being carried out. In the present paper we summarize the results obtained thus far, and show that the integration of data coming from different disciplines is the fundamental step in the study of ice caves and cave ice. We also briefly discuss some terminological issues about various classifications commonly found in literature.
First investigations of an ice core from Eisriesenwelt cave (Austria
The Cryosphere Discussions, 2010
Investigations into the genesis and dynamical properties of cave ice are essential for assessing the climate significance of these underground glaciers. We drilled an ice core through a 7.1 m-thick ice body filling a large cavern of the dynamic ice cave Eisenriesenwelt (Austria). In addition to visual core inspections, quasi-continuous measurements at 2 cm resolution comprised particulate matter, stable water isotope (δ 18 O, δD) and electrolytic conductivity profiles supplemented by specifically selected samples analyzed for tritium and radiocarbon. We found that recent ablation led to an almost complete loss of bomb-derived tritium removing any ice accumulated since, at least, the early fifties leaving the actual ice surface even below the natural tritium level. The small particulate organic masses rendered radiocarbon dating inconclusive, though a crude estimate gave a basal ice age in the order of several thousand years. The visual stratigraphy and all investigated parameters showed a clear dichotomy between the upper 2 m and the bottom 3 m of the core, which points to a substantial change in the ice formation process. Main features of the core comprise the changing appearance and composition of distinct cryocalcite layers, extremely low total ion content and a surprisingly high variability of the isotope signature. Co-isotope evaluation (δD versus δ 18 O) of the core in comparison with data from precipitation and karst spring water clearly indicate that ice formation is governed by (slow) freezing of dripping water.
The first radiometric dating of Norwegian stalagmites – Evidence of pre-Weichselian karst caves
Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 1980
Speleogenetic theories of karst caves in Norway are divergent , and the caves considered are probably of different ages and polygenetic in origin. Uranium decay series dating of speleothems is a recently developed method that has not earlier been applied to material from Norway . This paper presents the dating of two stalagmite samples; one with age of 2 ,600 ± 1, 100, and the other with a growth range of 91,OOO ± !:~ to less than 148,OOO ± l~;~gg years B. P., respectively. This demonstrates that at least one cave is of pre-Weic hselian age. Correlation of the results with other Pleistocene chronologies is discussed , as well as the consequences of stalagmite datings for inter pretation of cave and land surface development through g1ac ials.
Marine caves: On-off signals for glaciations
Quaternary International, 1989
A marine-cut cave situated above the highest postglacial sea level in western Norway contains a 15 m thick sediment sequence showing a repetitive pattern of glacial and non-glacial sediments. Three periods of continental glaciation with underlying, intervening and overlying ice-free periods are recorded. The gtaciogenic sediments consist of laminated silts and clays deposited in an ice dammed.lake. The ice-free periods are represented by blocky beds where the blocks are weathered from the cave ceiling by frost-shattering. Speleothem fragments are found in the upper three of the blocky beds, vertebrate bones in the upper two. The sediments range in age from ca. 80--90 ka to the present. The last ice-free period, the /~lesund Interstadial, is dated to around 30 ka BP.
Morphology of Tjoarvekrajgge, the longest cave of Scandinavia
ICS Proceedings, 2009
Tjoarvekrájgge (Tjorve), with a surveyed length of 21,814 meters, the longest cave of Scandinavia, isfound in one of four marble bands of stripe karst in Bonå, some miles north of the Polar circle in Norway.Te cave is a two-dimensional labyrinth system situated close to a shoulder of a “U” shaped valley.Morphometric and fractal analysis can be made with over 99 % of the passage dimensions. Morphometric parameters of Tjorve yield a passage density of 47.5 km/km2 and a cave porosity of 0.8 %, intermediate between the values of confined and unconfined settings, and an areal coverage of 21.8 %, close to the values for confined settings. Values for the uppermost part of the cave (cave porosity: 3.6 %, areal coverage: 32.6 %) are closer to or within the values for confined settings. The values might reflect a cyclic development of the cave over several glacial-interglacial cycles. Four levels in the cave can be discerned in vertical profile, possibly corresponding to ancient water tables that have been step-wise lowered in successive glacial periods. Tjorve may have developed over a long time-period, from perhaps the Tertiary. The Linked Modular Element (LME) method (Curl 1986: http://tinyurl.com/6o53kd) is applied to Tjorve to determine the distribution of cave passage sizes. The distribution of LME sizes fit a power-law function from 1.8 to 5.9 m and exhibits a fractal dimension of 2.929 (s.d. 0.068), similar to Little Brush Creek Cave (LBC), Utah (fractal dimension 2.79). The proper modulus is near 1.1 m, compared to 0.6 m for LBC, indicating perhaps less complete exploration.
CAVE AND KARST SCIENCE, 2011
Since the second half of the nineteenth century Scandinavian caves have been studied from various angles, to answer questions about their location, dating, and use. There was intensive archaeological interest in caves in the nineteenth century and at the start of the twentieth century. This has continued without interruption in Norway. There has been much less archaeological research on caves in Sweden, with nothing like the breadth and depth of its counterpart in Norway. However, in the last few decades archaeological cave research has seen a renaissance in both Norway and Sweden. This has been integrated not only in studies of landscape archaeology but also on other topics concerning cultural history, such as their practical function and symbolic meaning. Here a study of the caves at Kullaberg in southernmost Sweden helps to put Scandinavian cave research into perspective.