Tag

Caves

All articles tagged with #caves

science16 days ago•95 min saved

Surface Trenches on Australia's Nullarbor Plain Mark Collapsed Ancient Cave Systems

New research confirms that mysterious, linear trenches across Australia's Nullarbor Plain are not river channels but surface scars from the collapse of massive underground cave systems. Led by Matej Lipar, the study utilized electrical resistivity tomography and digital modeling to reveal that these shallow depressions sit atop deep, sediment-filled cavities. The findings challenge previous assumptions about the region's hydrology and offer a diagnostic method for identifying similar hidden cave structures on other planets, such as Mars.

via Live Science|

#australia #caves #geology

science17 days ago•5 min saved

Hidden Cavern Networks Revealed Under the Nullarbor Plain

Geophysicists mapping trenches on Australia's Nullarbor Plain found that surface depressions are shallow expressions of extensive, deep underground cave networks formed by ancient groundwater dissolution; some caves extend 50–150 meters below the surface and connect across hundreds of meters. Electrical resistivity tomography and passive seismic data reveal broad, under-surface zones of sediment-filled and fractured rock, a collapse doline at Clay Dam Cave, and surface trenches like Koonalda and Yangoonabie marking these concealed cavities. The study suggests these caves serve as natural archives for past climates and environments and may offer Mars analogs for subsurface caves that could host life or future exploration.

via ScienceAlert|

#cave-systems #caves #electrical-resistivity-tomography

science28 days ago•14 min saved

Breath of Tourists Threatens the World’s Show Caves

Public show caves are fragile microclimates: the CO2-rich, warm, moist air released by visitors changes the cave atmosphere enough to dissolve calcium carbonate on stalactites, effectively eroding formations that took hundreds of thousands of years to grow. The pattern is illustrated by Altamira’s historic CO2 spikes and closures, Lascaux’s closure in the 1960s, and ongoing issues in Romanian show caves where the environment never fully recovers between visits and lampenflora worsens decay. Conservation responses include limiting visitor numbers, upgrading to LED lighting, installing airlocks, and in some cases building above-ground replicas; in short, the very act of public viewing is jeopardizing the future of these ancient structures.)

via Space Daily|

#caves #co2 #conservation

space1 month ago•3 min saved

NASA backs swarms of aerobots to probe Titan’s hidden caves

NASA-funded SPARK project aims to deploy a swarm of lighter-than-air aerobots with electrohydrodynamic propulsion to explore Titan’s subsurface caves, in a NIAC feasibility study that could precede future missions alongside Dragonfly.

via Gizmodo|

#aerobots #caves #nasa

science3 months ago•12 min saved

Mars Caves Hint at Water-Formed Karst, Not Lava Tubes

A new study identifies eight accessible Martian cave-like features in Hebrus Valles that could be karstic—formed by water dissolving soluble rock rather than by lava tubes—potentially revealing a subsurface record of past fluids and offering sheltered spaces for future exploration, though the evidence is orbital and multiple formation processes could explain the shapes, so confirmation awaits in-situ observations.

via Space Daily|

#caves #hebrus-valles #karst

human-history4 months ago•17 min saved

Britain's Oldest Cave Art Vindicated, Dating to 17,000 Years Ago

New dating and image-analysis of Bacon Hole cave in south Wales confirm that its red markings are ancient abstract art dating to about 17,000 years ago, making them the oldest rock art in the British Isles; previously dismissed as mineral staining and graffiti, uranium–thorium dating and enhanced imagery reveal human-like symbolic lines and dots, likely created by Upper Paleolithic hunter–gatherers, with surrounding mineral deposits supporting the minimum age.

via Gizmodo|

#archaeology #caves #dating

science4 months ago•6 min saved

Gigantic Jurassic Sauropod Tracks Stamped into a French Cave Ceiling

In Castelbouc Cave in southern France, researchers documented three-dimensional counterprint casts of sauropod footprints on the ceiling, dating to about 168 million years ago with tracks up to 1.25 meters long. The prints formed when dinosaurs walked across soft lagoon mud, later filled and preserved as rock, revealing that giant herbivores roamed coastal wetlands. Studying them required deep cave exploration and rare preservation conditions, and the team notes similar discoveries elsewhere may follow.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#caves #dinosaurs #jurassic

science4 months ago•5 min saved

Possible Neanderthal Kneeprint Unearthed Deep Inside a French Cave

Scientists studying Bruniquel cave in southwestern France report a calcite-preserved kneeprint deep in the cavern that may belong to a Neanderthal dating to about 175,000 years ago, potentially connected to the cave’s underground circular structures built from broken stalagmites. While an animal origin is unlikely and researchers caution that more knee impressions and possibly preserved biological evidence are needed for confirmation, the find suggests early human groups ventured far underground and used the cave environment in sophisticated ways.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#archaeology #caves #france

science6 months ago•4 min saved

Saudi Lava Tubes Uncover 7,000 Years of Pastoral Life

Researchers at Umm Jirsan, a vast lava tube north of Medina, Saudi Arabia, found repeated human occupation from the Neolithic to Bronze Age, indicating the cave served as a stop along ancient pastoral routes. Rock art depicts cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs, while isotopic analysis shows livestock fed mainly on wild vegetation, suggesting an gradual shift toward oasis-based agriculture. This is the first in-depth study of lava tubes in Saudi Arabia and underscores caves’ value as time capsules when surface traces fade.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#archaeology #caves #lava-tubes

science6 months ago•4 min saved

Ice Age Nomads Used Serbia’s Caves as Seasonal Shelters

New evidence from three caves in Serbia’s Morava River basin shows Ice Age humans used mountain caves as short‑term shelters rather than year‑round homes, suggesting mobile groups moved between inland sites and areas near the Adriatic during 25,000–19,000 years ago. Finds—primarily bladelets and bone tools—indicate diverse tool use and adaptation to harsh conditions, with each site serving a different role in a broader pattern of seasonal movement.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#archaeology #caves #ice-age

science6 months ago•4 min saved

Cambodian cave survey uncovers flying snake and neon turquoise pit viper

In a multi-year exploration of more than 60 limestone caves in Battambang, Cambodia, researchers uncovered rare and new species including a flying snake and a vivid, heat-sensing pit viper, along with camouflaged leaf-toed geckos and bright millipedes, highlighting how isolated karst ecosystems foster unique life and underscoring the need to protect these habitats, of which only about 1% is legally safeguarded.

via CBS News|

#biodiversity #cambodia #caves

science6 months ago•188 min saved

Cambodian Karst Caves Reveal 11 New Species, Highlighting Fragile Biodiversity

Scientists surveying Cambodia’s limestone karst revealed 11 species new to science across 64 caves, including a turquoise pit viper, an ornate flying snake, several geckos, micro-snails and millipedes. The discovery shows how isolated cave systems fuel rapid evolution, but warns that quarrying, tourism and habitat destruction threaten these species and underscores the need for protection.

via CNN|

#biodiversity #cambodia #caves

science6 months ago•188 min saved

Cambodia's hidden caves yield 11 new species, from turquoise pit viper to flying geckos

A survey of Cambodia’s karst limestone caves uncovered 11 species new to science, including a turquoise pit viper with a heat-detecting head organ, the ornate flying snake, several geckos (one named Gekko shiva), and other invertebrates, found across 64 caves on 10 karst hills between 2023 and 2025. Researchers warn that these isolated cave ecosystems are under threat from limestone quarrying, habitat loss, and overtourism, and call for protective status and continued conservation work.

via CNN|

#biodiversity #cambodia #caves

science8 months ago•16 min saved

Cave cyanobacteria harness near-infrared light, expanding the search for life in the cosmos

Scientists exploring Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico found cyanobacteria on cave walls that can photosynthesize using near-infrared light thanks to chlorophyll d and f, enabling energy capture in darkness and in cave zones possibly untouched for about 49 million years. This widens the known range of photosynthesis, implying red-dwarf–type stars could host life and helping to refine the search for habitable exoplanets with JWST by focusing on longer wavelengths and lower light levels where oxygen could signal life.

via BBC|

#astrobiology #caves #cyanobacteria

space-exploration9 months ago•5 min saved

Mysterious Martian Hole May Be Vital for Future Astronaut Survival

Scientists have discovered a mysterious hole on Mars that could be a skylight leading to lava tubes, which may serve as protective habitats for future human explorers by shielding them from radiation and harsh environmental conditions. The hole's exact nature is still under investigation, but it represents a promising avenue for exploring underground refuges on Mars, similar to lunar lava tubes, and could be crucial for sustainable colonization.

via ZME Science|

#arsia-mons #caves #habitats