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SPELEOLOGYFrom Sport to ScienceAn outdoor activity where cavers try to

understand the formation of caves and

contribute to the knowledge of a fragile

environment.

Fédération française de spéléologie

www.ffspeleo.fr

Mankind has never frequented caves as much as during thelast fifty years. But the underground environment,unchanging on a human time scale, keeps all traces left byvisitors during thousands of years. The caving community hasthe responsibility to faithfully protect such a fragileenvironment.A caver’s boot print may last as long as the fascinatingprehistoric footprints discovered in several caves in southernFrance. The environmental problems also include the qualityof underground water and in some areas pollution by nitrateshas reached disturbing levels. Caves with pit entrances are stillfrequently being used to dump garbage, which results inwater pollution.

A fragile environment

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The French caving community has taken a long time tobecome fully aware of these problems, but now cavers oftenmark out a pathway in a newly discovered cave to avoiddisturbing virgin surfaces. Many cavers are involved in projectsto restore caves that have been damaged.The fragility and richness of the natural undergroundenvironment should promote the development of caveresearch and exploration and the practice of sport cavingwhich exercises proper respect for the cave environment.

that needs to be protected

3Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico.

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Unexplored places still remain on our planet

Exploration is the primary aim of speleology, which is regardedas a branch of geography.In France there are approximately 12,000 cavers, organized inlocal clubs, which belong to the French Federation ofSpeleology. Many cavers are also members of the FrenchAlpine Club. Whereas most cavers simply visit caves, motivatedonly by the sporting aspects, there are among these manycavers who are real explorers.

Cave exploration is still very active in France and otherdeveloped countries. However, the most spectacular finds havebeen made by cavers, mostly from northern hemispherecountries, working in distant lands, little known for their caves.These cavers are able to get to know caves very different fromthose they usually frequent. Recent major French expeditionshave taken place on the islands of Chilean Patagonia, and inPapua New Guinea, China, and the Yucatan of Mexico.

Scientific exploration is the study of forms and phenomena ineither virgin or well-known caves. This work is rich in futureprospects, because our present knowledge and methods ofoperating far surpass those of the first explorers.

Every year cavers discover and mapseveral kilometers of virgin passage.

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Cave Exploration Techniques

Modern caving techniques, progressively improved regardingsafety, efficiency, and comfort, were developed at the start ofthe 1970s and have contributed much to the progress of caveexploration. Today the equipment used by cavers ismanufactured industrially according to very strict safetynorms. In this regard, Fernand Petzl and the company hecreated have played a major innovative role not only in Francebut worldwide. These techniques have originated thedevelopment of a newly created professional activity involvingthe acrobatic work on the facades of high-rise buildings andcliffs.

Cave diving has made enormous progress, especially in the useof mixed gases, rebreathers (closed circuit systems). Thesetechniques have considerably improved the ability to reachgreater depths and distances in underwater passages while atthe same time assuring greater safety.

Digging cave passagesis often the only meansof penetrating new cavesor of opening up cavegalleries obstructed bytight passages. Sometimesexplosives are used, buttheir utilization is strictlycontrolled and officialdiplomas are required inFrance.

As in any outdoor sport,caving presents a few risks.The most frequent fatalaccidents are due to fallsand drowning. The FrenchFederation of Speleologyhas created its own Cave Rescue Section (Spéléo-SecoursFrançais), a volunteer and very efficient organization. Cavingis not limited to the image often given by the media duringcave accidents.

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Karst

The term karst originated in Slovenia and designates all theforms linked to the solution of limestone and the regionswhere these forms develop. Besides caves and pits, the karstcreates on the surface unusual karstic landscapes.

Landforms include closed depressions. The size of dolines mayvary from a few meters to several hundred meters and whentheir dimensions exceed a kilometer they are called closedbasins. The rainwater that falls into these depressions mustdrain out by underground passages. A polje is a large closeddepression subject to flooding because the surface drainageis limited, often by a narrow passage.

A dry valley is often found at the downstream portion of asurface drainage where the water has been captured in theunderlying limestone. A canyon is a steep-sided valley. Areculée is a canyon resulting from the retreat of a dischargeof underground waters in a limestone massif.

Cone karst consists of conical hills with nearly identical shapes.In certain tropical countries it covers extensive areas and is notunusual in temperate zones.

Dolomite pinnacle karst, as found at Montpellier-le-Vieux inthe Aveyron, is a grouping of vertical rock formations up to10 meters high exhibiting tortured shapes in the form ofarches, towers, and mushrooms.

Karrenresults from

surfacesolution ofthe rock -

Pierre SaintMartin,French

Pyrenees

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Underground Water

Underground water circulation is ruled by unusualmechanisms. Tectonic movement of the earth’s crust occurringin the vicinity of fractures or at the meeting of strata createsspaces, which the water uses, selecting the route that allowsthe best flow. The selective widening of certain tectonic spacesresults in a two-stage circulation of water. A system of cracksis dissolved, but its dimensions do not allow the passage ofcavers. Then a system of passages is developed, startingdownstream, as with the surface streams. Now partlypenetrable, this is the realm of cavers.

Underground rivers have very variable flow rates. In floodstate, the water level rises in the conduits, due to its inabilityto spread out, as would a surface stream. As the speed of thewater increases the amount of suspended sedimentsaugments. The essential erosion of the conduits takes placeduring those few days or weeks of yearly flooding.

The discharge where the waterresurges drains the limestonemassif continually. Otherdischarge points, higher inelevation, only function at floodperiods. The study of floodwaterat the discharge level allows anestimation of the reserves ofwater in the groundwateraquifer, which drain outthrough the fractures andconduits.

Underground water is the most precious resource thatcaves provide for mankind. The city of Paris is partlydependent on cave waters and the Quercy region ofcentral France is almost totally dependent.

Bordes de Crue Spring - Ariege, France.

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How caves are formed

Caves are formed in sedimentary rocks, principally limestone(calcium carbonate) and gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate),that can be dissolved in water and that have sufficientstructural resistance to support ceilings with large spans. Inlimestone this process is essentially due to chemical corrosioncausing the solution of calcium carbonate by water togetherwith carbon dioxide generated through contact with the airin the soil cover which is rich in carbonic acid. In gypsum, thechemical corrosion acts together with mechanical erosion, butthe physical solution also takes place. Extensive caves are alsoformed within glaciers, developed due to melting of the ice.

A Geological Phenomenon

Excepting a few special circumstances, the formation of alimestone cave large enough to be entered by man takes atleast a several hundred thousand years. Many caves are severalmillion years old (Cottonwood Cave, New Mexico, is 12 millionyears old) and some are even hundreds of millions years old.

The formation of a cave can be deduced from the visible caveforms : the passage layout, pits, and rooms, whose generalorganization can be very complex. The sections of conduitsand the wall scallops can be very varied.

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When caves are refilled

Remarkable sediment traps, caves are also protected fromvarious eroding agents, making them a remarkablypreservative environment. The sediments near the entrancesprovide a wealth of data on recent climatic evolution, whilethe deep zones of caves also constitute a formidable reserveof information.

Stalactites and stalagmites, or more generally speaking whatare called speleothems (an American term), result from thedeposition of calcium carbonate carried in solution by thewater after the carbon dioxide has been released, an oppositeprocess to that of corrosion. The stalagmites of the AvenArmand in the Lozere and those of the Aven d’Orgnac in theArdeche are known the world over. Speleothems can alsoallow very accurate dating.

Clastic sediments consisting of either clay, sand, pebbles, orblocks, nearly always cover the cave bedrock floor, sometimesup to several meters in depth. They primarily indicate thedirection of the water flow and the original source of thewater in the conduits where there is no longer any flow.

The forms of sediments andespecially their sequence comeunder the study of stratigraphy.

Erosion and refilling of cavesare frequently interdependent.The shapes in the walls andceilings testify to the action ofancient refilling. Sediments arecarved and incised by therenewal of erosion. Clasticmaterial is often broughtunderground by water andremains trapped there, while ithas completely disappeared onthe surface, such is the case ofthe halloysite, an unusual whiteclay found in the Grotte deClamouse in the Herault.

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Cave Climate

The climate in caves is attenuated in its variations comparedto the exterior climate conditions. Since the cave air is nearlyalways saturated with humidity, any variation in temperatureresults in evaporation or condensation that engenders enoughenergy to reduce the variations in temperature. Thisphenomenon is even more noticeable in hot and humidregions.

The air temperature is less and less variable as one gets furtherfrom the entrance, becoming approximately the mean annual

temperature of thearea where the cave is

located. In a down-slopingcave the temperature is lower

because the cold air, being relativelyheavier, can enter the cave in winter, whereas in the summer,the warm air does not enter. This cold-air trap phenomenonexplains why some natural ice caves (glacieres) have beenmeasured well below 0°C.

The composition of the air is different from the outside air.During the deposition of calcite and the formation ofspeleothems, carbon dioxide is released, and its proportionbecomes higher than it is outside the cave and is compensatedby a reduction of oxygen. Cavers sometimes suffer from heavybreathing, but the only danger arises in cases of exceptionallydeep accumulations of gas.

The level of the radioactive gas, radon, is also superior. Here again, thedangerous levels for a caver or people working in caves are only attainedin areas near volcanoes, even extinct volcanoes.

Regarding air movements generated in caves, the mostimportant are the air currents between two entrances at highelevations or entrances with different orientations. Thebarometric variations induce movements of air to compensatebetween the cave and the exterior.

A cold-air trap cave,the Glacière deChaux-les-Passavantin the Doubs.

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Evolution of Caves

Mountain uplifts lead to a reorganization of undergroundwater circulation. The evolution of world climate is anotherimportant factor where, during cold weather, the chemicalreactions are decreased and the cave development andspeleothems growth are greatly reduced. In warm periods, theexact opposite occurs.

Base level variations of the principal valleys result due tomountain uplift as well as climatic variations. During the lastglaciation, some 20,000 years ago, the sea level all over theworld was 100 meters lower than today, and this broughtabout the deepening of valleys.

In turn the lowering of the base level causes a lowering of theerosion process of the system of conduits.

A rising of the base level, due to the filling of valleys by alluvialsediments, causes the flooding of the system of conduitsduring a long period.

On the surface the stream piracy disrupts the circulation ofwater that drains into caves. Within the limestone massif othersinkholes and depressions concentrate this circulation towarda unique discharge point. The discharge springs in limestoneterrains are far more powerful than those in other types of rock.

The progressive enlargement of conduits provoke collapses,some of which reach the surface, thus creating the formationof cave pits like the Gouffre de Padirac in the karst deserts ofQuercy.

The Fountain of VaucluseA spectacular illustration of base level variation.

Following collapse of the ancient discharge points, due to the rise of the Mediterraneansea level, the water of this cave system was only able to find an exit through a preexistingconduit which the waters of this vauclusian spring climbed along its entire length for over300 meters. The base of this conduit is situated at 224 meters below the present sea level.

Paleo tributary of the Rhône canyon

Vaucluse spring(paleo shaft)

Vaucluse Mounts

Urgonian limestone

Hypothetic cave system

Blowhole(Trou souffleur)

Neocomian marls

Cenozoic molasse Phreatic zone

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Scientific Speleology

Speleology became a science at the end of the 19th century. TheFrench speleologists played a major role, especially, EdouardAlfred Martel, who from 1888 to 1936 was the originator ofthe scientific study of speleology. Norbert Casteret popularizedcave exploration all over the world and Pierre Chevalierimproved the equipment and techniques of sport caving.

The present organization in France centers around the FrenchFederation of Speleology (FFS), which is attached to theMinistry of Sports. Its scientific commission organizes trainingprograms. The October Conference (Rencontre d’Octobre), anannual scientific conference of French speleologists, has beenorganized since 1991 by the Speleo Club de Paris. The FrenchAssociation of Karstology (AFK) co-edits with the FFS ascientific revue, Karstologia, which disseminates findings inkarst research worldwide.

Since 1953, the International Union of Speleology (UIS)organizes a congress every four years. Numerous national andinternational sessions are held on specialized themes : karsthydrology, volcanospeleology, glaciospeleology, speleotherapy,biospeleology, and more. Some 5000 annual speleologicalpublications and books are catalogued regularly inSpeleological Abstracts.

Caves as Natural Laboratories

Laboratories have been installed in caves, first of all to study caveanimals and also physical phenomena, such as, earth tides,earthquakes, and recent tectonic movements. Caves have been usedfor long confinement, Beyond Time experiments, conducted byMichel Siffre, showing that the sleep-wakefulness rhythm is longerwhen someone is deprived of a time reference.

Over 100 show caves in France play an important cultural role forthe six million people that visit them annually. Most of the managersof these caves are very concerned about cave conservation andproper presentation by the guides who must undergo trainingprograms. Associations bring together the owners and managers oftourist show caves. Scientific measurement equipment can beinstalled in these caves for long periods of time, as in the Grotte deHan-sur-Lesse in Belgium.

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Generally speaking, the study of karst, surface andunderground features, is well developed in France. More thanone hundred university papers and theses have beencompleted at the Moulis Laboratory in Ariege and at theuniversities of Montpellier, Bordeaux, and Aix-en-Provence. Akarst research team of the CNRS is associated with theUniversity of Savoy at Chambery. Today cavers who choose todo further studies in geology and geography are activepromoters of the scientific study of caves.

Tools used by working speleologists

The observation of cave genesis and the refilling processes isa necessary part of the study of any cave and constitutes themain occupation of a speleologist. In order to carry out thisresearch the speleologist uses several tools.

Surveying - Specialized software has been developed by caversto represent the three-dimensional spaces of an undergroundcave. The examination of a well-made cave map is sufficientfor imagining the speleogenetic origins of a cave. Today theGPS helps situate cave entrances on the map.

Photography is used to capture images of erosion forms, suchas conduit sections or scalloped walls, which are difficult tomeasure or draw.

Dye tracing is a means of detecting underground watercirculation to determine the discharge point of water or thetime the water takes to travel to the discharge. The mostfrequently used tracer is fluorescein.

The variations of cave water levels can be recordedautomatically with a luirograph, an instrument that measures,over a long period of immersion, pressures attaining up toseveral dozen bars. In the Grotte de la Luire in the Vercors, forwhich this instrument was first conceived, the water level canrise over 450 meters.

Cavers can measure the levels of carbon dioxide in the cavewith a Drager gas detector.

Specialized laboratories can establish absolute dating bymeasuring the proportion of stable isotopes in sediments andwater.

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Life in caves

Biospeleology studies the cave fauna; animals which spendtheir entire live cycle underground and are totally adapted tothe cave environment, essentially invertebrates, such as,

insects, spiders, and crustaceansbut also salamanders and fish.Their main characteristics arelack of pigmentation and amarked regression of theirocular system leading to a totaldisappearance of the eyes.Their reduced metabolism rate isoften accompanied by anaugmented life span.

Occasionally cavers bring back from their explorations newspecies unknown to science. The paleontologist also benefitsfrom discoveries made by cavers. Fossil bones of large extinctmammals, especially the cave bear, have been found in cavedeposits, sometimes quite far from the entrance, as in theBalme à Collomb in the Savoy.

In Europe, the bats that inhabit caves are insectivorous andthe massive use of insecticides has brought about a decreasein their numbers. Important populations of bats may still befound in tropical regions. An estimated twenty million batsare estimated to roost in the Bracken Bat Cave of Texas.

In certain tropical countries, theinhalation of cave dust containingfungus spores can transmit theserious, sometimes fatal disease ofhistoplasmosis, which has symptomssimilar to tuberculosis.

The Aphaenops is an authentictroglobite, totally adapted tothe cave environment.

Trichomycterus chaberti, a troglobitic fish from Bolivia.

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Caves around the world

Most caves are formed in limestone or in a related rock,dolomite. In certain regions like Ukraine, caves frequentlyform in gypsum. So the distribution of caves depends directlyon the geology.

In France, the published departmental cave lists haveinventoried over 70,000 natural caves. The majority are locatedin the Jura mountains, the lower French Alps, the Caussesplateaus, the Languedoc region, and the Pyrenees mountains.

In Europe, caves are more numerous in the central andsouthern countries. The density of caves is particularly high inSlovenia. In Africa, the northwestern portion (Maghreb) andSouth Africa both contain numerous natural caves. In Northand South America, notably, the United States, Mexico, theWest Indies, and Brazil are especially rich in caves. Venezuelahas some exceptionally large pits developed in quartzite. InAsia the most important known caves are located in thesoutheastern part of the continent in China, Vietnam,Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Several major caves arefound in Papua New Guinea and in southern Australia.

Volcanic islands, like Hawaii, the Canaries, and the Azores,have many lava tube caves that were formed under the lavaflows. The upper part of the lava flow solidifies on contactwith the air while the molten interior continues to flow. Thesetypes of cave are also found on the continents in Kenya, Korea,and northwestern United States.

Various records give an idea of cave phenomena

Over 579 km of cave passages have been surveyed in the Mammoth CaveSystem in Kentucky.The depth of 1000 meters was reached in 1956 in the Gouffre Berger,France and the depth of 2000 meters was reached in October 2004 in theKrubera (or Voronya) Cave in the Caucasian Mountains of Abkhazia. The Sarawak Chamber in Borneo in the largest known cave room with alength of 700 m, an average width of 300 m, and a height of 70 m.Xe-Bang-Fai Cave in Laos drains a closed basin of 1300 square kilometersand its average discharge rate is 65 cubic meters/second and, in floodtime, an estimated 600 cubic meters/second.

For further information

The best references are :- Spelunca (magazine of the French Federation of Speleology).- Karstologia (magazine of the French Federation of Speleology and

of the French Association of Karstology).- Speleological Abstracts (annual).- Spéléo (indépendent magazine of caving news)Recent publications are on sale at Spelunca-Librairie (FFS bookstore).Catalog on request.

AddressesFédération française de spéléologie (and Spelunca-Librairie), 28 rue Delandine, 69002 Lyon ; 04 72 56 09 63www.ffspeleo.fr ; secretariat@ ffspeleo.fr

Fédération française des Clubs alpins et de montagneCommission nationale de spéléologie, 24 av. de Laumière, 75019 Paris ; 01 53 72 87 13 - www.clubalpin.com/fr/

Association française de karstologie, Université de Nice, BP20, 06204 Nice cedex 3 - audra@unice.fr.

Laboratoire EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, 73376 Le-Bourget-du-Lac ; 04 79 75 81 04, (Karstologia)karstologia@univ-savoie.fr

Association nationale des exploitants de cavernes aménagées pour le tourisme (ANECAT) - www.grottes.net (French Show CavesAssociation).

Laboratoire souterrain du CNRS, Moulis, 09200 Saint-Girons ; 05 61 66 31 26 - labo-moulis.dr14.cnrs.fr/present.htm

Spéléo-Club de Paris, Club alpin français d’Ile-de France, 12 rue Boissonade, 75014 Paris - membres.lycos.fr/scp

In memory of Jacques Choppy (1926-2004)

Photos and drawings : Cover photo : Lake Como seen from the bucone diTremezzo, Italy, Photo Jean-Yves Bigot ; p.2-3 : Photo Daniel Chailloux ; p.4 : Cavemapping in Grottes de Coquibus, Essonne (JYB) ; p.5 : Aven de la Plaine des Gras,Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche (JYB) ; p.6 : Photo Francis Guichard ; p.7 : Photo EricOllivier ; p.8 : Main passage in Grotte de Sakany, Quié, Ariège (JYB) ; p.9 : AvenDespeysse, Bidon, Ardèche (JYB) ; p.10 : Drawing by Jean Taisne from Trouillet ;p.11 : Drawing by Eric Gilli ; p.12 : Grotte de Saint-Eucher, Beaumont-de-Pertuis,Vaucluse (JYB) ; p.14 : Aphaenops cerberus Dieck, Gouffre de Peillot, Cazavet,Ariège (EO) ; Drawing by J.-P. Durand ; Horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Gouffre de Peillot. (JYB).

Editors : Jacques Choppy, Jacques Chabert & Daniel Chailloux, with the help ofPhilippe Audra, Jean-Yves Bigot, Stéphane Jaillet, François Landry.

Translated by David Brison.Many thanks to the speleologists whose work has been cited here.

© Comité scientifique du CAF, 24 avenue de Laumière 75019, Paris - 2005 - editions.com@clubalpin.com