Through cave on the Zamna River in Eastern Serbia: New morphogenetic interpretations

Abstract

The article deals with the morphogenesis of the through cave Pećina na Reci Zamni (meaning in Serbian: Cave on the Zamna River; in further text: the Zamna Cave). The Zamna Cave was the subject of several geomorphological studies, mostly aimed at explaining the cave genesis through the evolutionary concept from through caves to natural bridges. In order to get better insight into the morphogenesis of this cave, modern geomorphometrical methods were applied. The cave and the surface topography above it were scanned in high resolution using the instrument Leica Nova MS50, applying the method of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Data processing produced the model for the analysis of the relation between surface and underground forms of karst relief. The results point to the conclusion that the Zamna Cave is an example showing that in the process of natural bridges formation by cave roof collapse, it is not necessary that there is a dry valley above the cave, as previously thought.