Subglacial Maze Origin in Low-Dip Marble Stripe Karst: Examples from Norway

Abstract

Maze caves or network caves are enigmatic in their evolution, as they form flow nets rather than more efficient, direct point-to-point flow routes. Network caves are often characterized by uniform passage dimensions in several directions, which indicates simultaneous dissolution of most available fractures. Nonshauggrotta in Gildeskål, northern Norway, is formed in low-dip marble strata and situated as a relict in a topographical and hydrological hanging position, thus lacking a modern drainage area. The cave displays a reticulate network geometry dictated by two orthogonal fracture sets. Passage morphology and paleocurrent marks in the cave walls (scallops) demonstrate that the cave evolved under water-filled conditions (phreatic) and that the relatively slow flow was directed uphill towards the confining aquiclude and the cliff face. In that sense, it has some resemblance to hypogene caves. However, we propose that the cave is a result of ice-contact speleogenesis, as it developed in the lee side of the Nonshaugen ridge under topographically directed glacier flow and seems independent of the otherwise variable flow regimes characteristic of the glacial environment.

The World Karst Aquifer Mapping project: concept, mapping procedure and map of Europe

“…Carbonate sedimentary formations including more than 75% of carbonate minerals such as limestone and dolomite, are the most important karstifiable rocks (Ford and Williams 2007). Karst also occurs in other rock types with predominantly carbonatic composition, including carbonatic conglomerates (Goeppert et al 2011) and carbonatic metamorphic rocks (marble, calcite schist; Skoglund and Lauritzen 2011). Evaporitic formations, such as gypsum and anhydrite, are also highly karstifiable.…”

Characterization of karstic aquifer complexity using fractal dimensions

“…The functioning of the karst system is a widely studied field (cf., e.g., Bauer and Tóth (2015)). Veneziano and Essiam (2003) have shown that for an aquifer with a multifractal hydraulic conductivity field, the resulting hydraulic gradient and specific discharge are also multifractal fields; see also (Florea 2001;Skoglund and Lauritzen 2011). Hence, an analysis focusing on the fractal or multifractal characteristics of the discharge of springs may shed light on certain properties of the karst media that would otherwise be difficult to infer directly.…”

Fractal dimensions of cave for exemplary gypsum cave-mazes of Western Ukraine

“…Good examples of karst fractals are: the karst landscape densely dotted by craters and karst depressions, often overlapping each other, the corroded walls in caves covered by micro-forms, the rock massifs cut by nets of karsified fissures, and others structures. The problem is not discussed in details in scientific literature, there are only a few works devoted to fractal problematics in karst (Curl 1986, Laverty 1987, Kusumayudha et al 2000, Finnesand, Curl 2009, Piccini 2011, Skoglund, Lauritzen 2011.…”