XXXVIII, 51, Sarajevo 2018.

PROCEEDINGSINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “MAN AND KARST” Livno, 26–29 June 2018

ZBORNIK RADOVAMEĐUNARODNA KONFERENCIJA “ČOVJEK I KRŠ”Livno, 26.–29. juni 2018.

XXXVIII, 51, Sarajevo 2018.

IzdavačiSpeleološko društvo “Bosansko-hercegovački krš”, Sarajevo

Centar za krš i speleologiju, SarajevoBranilaca Sarajeva 30, 71000 Sarajevo

Redakcija – Editorial boardMirnes Hasanspahić, Simone Milanolo,

Jasminko Mulaomerović, Ferid Skopljak, Amila Zukanović

Urednik – EditorJasminko Mulaomerović

Korice – Cover Detalj iz pećine Klokočevice, Igman

(Foto: Simone Milanolo)

DTP & print TDP d.o.o. Sarajevo

Bilten Naš krš upisan je u evidenciju javnih glasila pod brojem 132 od 10. 3. 1991. godine.

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CONTENTS

Nadja Zupan HajnaKARST SEDIMENTS AND THEIR STUDIES; EXAMPLES FROM SLOVENIA* . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Rosario RuggieriKARST GEOSITES OF THE FAVIGNANA ISLAND (AEGADIAN ARCHIPELAGO, SICILY)* 21

Ozren Hasan, Slobodan Miko, Nikolina Ilijanić, Koraljka Bakrač, Dea Brunović, Martina Šparica MikoPALEOOKOLIŠNA REKONSTRUKCIJA KRŠKOG HOLOCENSKOG OKOLIŠA NA PODRUČJU NOVIGRADSKOGA MORA I KARINSKOGA MORA (HRVATSKA)PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION OF KARST HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENT IN NOVIGRAD SEA AND KARIN SEA (CROATIA)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Carol Ramsey & Paul GriffithsKARST CREEK TRAIL: A SELF-GUIDING, DIRECTED-ACCESS KARST SITE IN STRATHCONA PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Nediljko Ževrnja, Tonći Rađa, Tino MilatJAMA ZOVINE – ZANIMLJIV PALEONTOLOŠKI I SPELEOLOŠKI OBJEKT U ZALEĐU BIOKOVAJAMA ZOVINE – AN INTERESTING PALEONTOLOGICAL AND SPELEOLOGICAL FACILITY IN THE HINTERLAND OF BIOKOVO* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Denis Radoš, Filip Krišto, Mirko ŠaracMLINOVI DUVANJSKOG I LIVANJSKOG POLJA* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Ivo LučićBLAŽENA JE VODA ŠTO RAĐA KAMENJE – POGLED NA POEZIJU STOJANA VUČIĆEVIĆA IZ KRŠKE PERSPEKTIVE BLESSED THE WATER THAT GIVES BIRTH TO STONES A LOOK AT STOJAN VUČIĆEVIĆ’S POETRY FROM A KARST PERSPECTIVE . . . 77

Monika Šafhauzer, Neira Babić, Jasminko Mulaomerović, Miralem HusanovićPRVI ZABILJEŽENI SLUČAJ KOŠTANE DEFORMACIJE NA KRILU VELIKOG MIŠOUHOG ŠIŠMIŠA / MALOG MIŠOUHOG ŠIŠMIŠA (MYOTIS MYOTIS /MYOTIS BLYTHII OXYGNATUS) U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINITHE FIRST RECORDED CASE OF SKELETAL DEFORMATIONS ON THE WING OF GREATER MOUSE-EARED BAT / LESSER MOUSE-EARED BAT (MYOTIS MYOTIS / MYOTIS BLYTHII OXYGNATUS) IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Jasminko Mulaomerović, Miralem HusanovićGROBLJE NOĆNOG ŠIŠMIŠA (NYCTALUS NOCTULA) U OBREDNOJ PEĆINI THE GRAVEYARD OF THE COMMON NOCTULE (NYCTALUS NOCTULA) IN OBREDNA PEĆINA CAVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

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Branka Pejić, Ivana Budinski, Jelena BogosavljevićBELORUBI SLEPI MIŠIĆ PIPISTRELLUS KUHLII U GRAĐEVINSKOM FAKULTETU U CENTRU GRADA BEOGRADAKUHL’S PIPISTRELLE PIPISTRELLUS KUHLII AT THE FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN BELGRADE CITY CENTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Jasminko MulaomerovićPRILOG BILJEŠCI O NOVOM SLUČAJU ZUBNE ANOMALIJE KOD VELIKOG MIŠOUHOG ŠIŠMIŠA (MYOTIS MYOTIS)ANEX NOTE ABOUT NEW CASE OF DENTAL ANOMALIES OF GREATER MOUSE-EARED BAT (MYOTIS MYOTIS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Jasminko Mulaomerović, Primož PresetnikBIBLIOGRAFIJA RADOVA O ŠIŠMIŠIMA BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE (1892 .-2018 .) . . . . . . . 116

Jasminko MulaomerovićPOSLASTICA ZA SPELEOKOLEKCIONARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Jasminko MulaomerovićKNJIGA KAO KULTURA UPRAVLJANJA ZAŠTIĆENIM PODRUČJEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Radovi označeni sa “*” prezentirani su na Međunarodnoj konferenciji “Čovjek i krš” 2018 .

5

KARST SEDIMENTS AND THEIR STUDIES; EXAMPLES FROM SLOVENIA

Nadja Zupan Hajna1

AbstractIn last 30th years in Slovenia study and interpretations of the cave sediments and sediments on karst surfaces went through different stages in accordance with then prevailing various theoretical models, knowledges about karst processes and especially the development of dat-ing methods. Clastic sediments on the surface and in the caves are different in e.g. size, shape, color, texture and have various proveniences. One of the characteristics of the Kras is red soil although the surface sediments color in Kras comprehends all varieties from yellow to red. The color of unconsolidated clastic sediments was in the past defined by climate; the yel-low color reflected the sedimentation in cold climate. The study of the mineral composition showed that yellow color is usually an indicator of sediments of Eocene flysch origin, which were weathered in different degree. In contact with percolating water those sediments can be-come reddish due to rubification (oxidation). In sediments from caves close to the surface and from unroofed caves sediments no minerals indicating loess origin were found. In opened fissures and fault zones were studied infiltrated loam and tectonic clays. By mineral composi-tion studies of cave alluvial sediments was also noticed that in many cases high amount of carbonate clasts is significant originated from incomplete solution of cave walls.

With the research of clastic sediments along karst surface, geomorphological explanation of denuded caves was determined. Paleomagnetic data in combination with other dating meth-ods, especially U-series dating and biostratigraphy have shifted the possible beginning of cave infilling processes and speleogenesis in Slovenia below the Tertiary/Quaternary boundary. From the results were done interpretations on geomorphologic and tectonic evolution of the karst areas.

Key words: red soils, cave sediments, origin, mineral composition, age, Classical Karst.

IntroductionAbout 44% of Slovenia’s surface consists of carbonate rocks; therefore, karst geo-morphology and over 13,000 known caves represent significant part of it landscape. Various sediments present on the karst surface in the form of clastic or precipitated deposits cover or fill smaller or extended areas and they also accumulate in the caves.

Karst surface sediments are mechanical or chemical deposits. Surface mechan-ical sediments represent all kinds of clastic material deposited by surface processes such as: fluvial (e.g. gravel, sand, silt, clay; conglomerate) forming for instance al-

1 ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute, Titov trg 2, 6230 Postojna, Slovenia, zupan@zrc-sazu.si

6 Nadja Zupan Hajna

luvial fans, terraces; lacustrine; glacial, fluvioglacial and periglacial material (e.g. till forming moraines, diamicton and diamictite); and slope material (e.g. talus cones, rockfalls). Chemical deposits related to environment and climate factors, e.g.: tufa, travertine; different carbonate crusts (e.g. calcrete, caliche) and calcite cements in bulk material are also represented. Various soils may be formed due to development from insoluble residues (e.g. in situ pedogenesis) or clastic allochthonous sediments (e.g. fluvial, eolian). Former cave sediments from unroofed caves, such as clastic sed-iments and speleothems can also be found on the surface.

Cave sediments represent all types of mechanical and chemical depositions in the caves. According to their origin they are divided into allochthonous and autoch-thonous sediments (Ford & Williams 2007). Allochthonous deposits were brought into the caves from the outside and represent all kinds of clastic sediments such as gravel, sand, silt, clay (when cemented: conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, clay-stone) or organic matter such as plant debris, coarse woody debris and bones.

Karst sediments, both on the surface and in caves, represent an important source of information on the evolution of tectonic and geomorphological units of different sizes. Fluvial sediments, for instance, indicate the abundance of precipitation and hydrological characteristics. The shapes of speleothems made of secondary calcite specify the way of water percolation. The mineral composition, various inclusions and stable isotope geochemistry indicate physio-chemical conditions at the time of their precipitation. The dynamics of sedimentation are mainly controlled by climate and hydrology (e.g., glaciations, floods, precipitation), by changes in river catchment, and by the evolution of cave networks. Protected in caves, sediments are generally well preserved and reveal exceptionally good, multi-proxy records of surface envi-ronmental conditions at the time of their deposition; they can cover time spans from several million years up to the present (Bosák 2002). Cave sediments represent traps of past geologic and environmental records in spite of the fact that they mostly rep-resent the latest episodes of deposition. Many times sediments from diverse karst environments are the only sediments representing terrestrial phases of landscape evolution and they indirectly indicate the age of speleogenesis and surface evolution.

The question concerning the time span of karst evolution in Slovenia, the age of karst surfaces and speleogenesis and, consequently, the rates of processes, has been an important issue in most of the previous karst studies and syntheses (e.g. Zupan Hajna et al. 2008, 2010, 2019a; Häuselmann et al. 2015; Vrabec et al. 2018). The ma-jority of dating of karst sediments has been recently carried out in south-western Slovenia (i.e. in the north-western part of the Dinaric karst), which is known as the Kras. Eocene flysch rocks are the last marine deposits preserved in the geologic re-cord. Oligocene to Quaternary rocks represented a terrestrial period where surface denudation and erosion processes prevailed. Karst sediments preserved on the sur-face are therefore rare; but caves have functioned as traps of clastic, chemical and or-ganic sediments derived from local as well as more distant environments during the life of the cave. The position and composition of cave fill, including fossil remains,

7Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

tends to be preserved for great time spans and can offer useful information on the evolution of surface geology, morphology and also the cave itself.

Surface sedimentsIn general, not a lot of soil is usually present on the karst surface with the excep-tions of its accumulations in dolines or depressions. On the other hand, there are thick sediment/soil covers (Fig. 1) present in some areas of Southern Slovenia (north-eastern part of the Dinaric Karst).

Figure 1. Red soil covers karst relief; Dolenjska region (SE Slovenia).

Terra rossa-type red soils are composed of reddish clayey to silty material cov-ering karst landscapes in hot/warm climates (Fedoroff & Courty 2014) such as those in the Mediterranean part of Dinaric Karst. In the Kras Plateau in SW Slovenia, red soil is called “Jerovica”; it is a characteristic soil developed on Cretaceous limestone with chert, such as the Komen limestone of the Sežana Formation and the Tomaj limestone of the Lipica Formation (Jurkovšek et al. 1996).

Red soils origin and their relationship to underlying carbonates and existing karst relief has been, and still is, the subject of discussion. The origin of all red soils in Slovenia was at first attributed to insoluble remains of limestone, especially those containing cherts (Gregorič 1967; Culiberg et al. 1997; Rejšek et al. 2012); and later different opinions were expected to the nature of red soils parent material and ori-gin. Red soils were studied from different aspects, including its composition and ori-

8 Nadja Zupan Hajna

gin by Hrovat (1953), Gregorič (1967, 1969) and its accumulation in dolines by Gams (1974, 2004). Later, a possible eolian origin as loess sedimentation during Pleistocene was considered (Šušteršič et al. 2009).

Recent research on red soils from different parts of Slovenian karst found that they originate in weathered remains of limestones rich in chert, in weathered re-mains of flysch rocks, in local weathered non-carbonate rocks (Zupan Hajna et al. 2019b, in press), or even from the alluvium of unroofed caves and they are almost negligible in eolian sediments (Zupan Hajna 2000, 2005; Zupan Hajna et al. 2017). Red soils on the karst surface may differ in respect of mineral composition and thus also by their origin and time of development (Zupan Hajna 2000, 2005, 2017). For instance, most of the red clays and soils around Divača village (South part of Kras Plateau) have their origin in weathered flysch rocks (Zupan Hajna 1992, 1998a,b, 2000, 2002). Minerals such as microcline and plagioclase found in those red soils prove that they cannot be insoluble remains of limestone. In sediments from caves close to the surface and from unroofed caves sediments, no minerals indicating loess origin were found (e.g. amphiboles which are typical of loess sediments in Istria (Durn 2003), thus eolian origins can be excluded; even some of them from unroofed caves there were dated to 5-4 Ma (Zupan Hajna et al. 2008a, 2010). Red clays, accord-ing to mineral composition, represent more developed terra rossa-type of soils with polygenetic origin. (e.g. limestone insoluble residues, weathered flysch rocks, eolian sediments, alluvium from unroofed caves).

Occurrences of quartz pebbles and yellow sands on the karst surface were at first all attributed to fluvial transport of weathered remains of flysch rocks over karst in the so-called “pre-karst” phase (Melik 1961; Radinja 1972; Habič 1992). With further research, and the discovery and geomorphological explanation of denuded caves, many of those sediments have since been determined to be surface exposures of cave sediments having their origin in weathered and eroded flysch rocks (Mihevc 1996; Mihevc & Zupan Hajna 1996; Mihevc 2001, 2007).

Cave clastic sedimentsClastic sediments in caves differ in size, shape, colour, texture, mineral composition and therefore they have various proveniences. Mechanical cave sediments are cat-egorized in terms of their autochthonous or allochthonous origins.

The most common allochthonous cave deposits are allogenic sediments which are brought into the caves by sinking rivers as gravel, sand, silt and clay size materials origi-nating from weathered bedrocks and sediments of the sinking river catchment area. Infiltration sediments which are brought into the cave through open fissures or cave entrances and are composed of various surface clastic sediments and soils (e.g. “terra rossa“) are also allochthonous, as are eolian and glacial or periglacial materials which can be present at the entrance areas of the caves (e.g. loess, till, lacustrine sediments).

Autochthonous clastic sediments are all deposits formed in caves. These include breakdown and crumbled wall materials as well as chemical deposits like secondary

9Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

cave minerals and speleothems. Autochthonous mechanical caves sediments are due to weathering processes on cave ceilings and walls, allochthonous sediments are clay, silt, sand, and gravel originating from outside of the caves. In these sediments, various minerals are accumulated. The most important factors for the determina-tion of the origin of cave mechanical sediments are the invariable mineral associa-tions and also the presence of some typical residual minerals. Less resistant minerals are replaced by clay minerals, chlorites, iron hydroxides, etc. and those secondary minerals usually represents the weathering conditions in the environment.

Cave sediment faciesFrom a sedimentological point of view, the cave environment can be divided into an entrance facies and an interior facies (Ford & Williams 2007). The farther away cave sediments are from cave entrances, the less they are subjected to environmental changes on the surface after deposition. During several years of research, we found that sediments in a cave can remain completely unchanged for millions of years. In the vicinity of cave entrances, deposited sediments are influenced mainly by diurnal and seasonal changes in temperature and water intake (precipitation, floods), which can greatly alter the chemical and mechanical properties of existing sediments.

The entrance facies includes fine-grained sediments transported from the vi-cinity of the cave by wind and water, coarser clasts transported into the cave by slope processes, or autochthonous sediments produced by frost action or other mechani-cal and chemical processes on the cave walls. The cave entrance contains pollen as well as datable archaeological and palaeontological remains that are protected from surface erosion, weathering and biochemical alteration. Entrance zones of caves are often exposed to seasonal freezing that cause spalling of cave walls and formation of fragments of various sizes which accumulate on the cave floor. Resulting sediments are often subject to creeping due to cryoclastic processes (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Frost action expressed in entrance parts of the caves: a. limestone and speleothem ruble in the Snežna jama na Rduhi; b. polygons – patterned ground are developed in cave

shelter in Barka, Mt. Snežnik, SW Slovenia.

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Cryoturbated cave sediments in Slovenia were usually attributed to Pleistocene climates (e.g. Brodar & Brodar 1983; Turk et al 2001), but a recent patterned ground formation was first described in Skednena jama by Gams (1963). Accumulations due to frost action are now known and described from many cave entrances in Slovenia, especially from higher elevations but also from lower elevations. Examples include Potočka zijalka and Snežna jama na Raduhi in the Savinja Alps (Mihevc 2001b), Divje babe (Turk et al. 2001) and Skednena jama (Mihevc 2009, 2019) in the central part of Slovenia, and Barka rock shelter on the slopes of Snežnik Mountain (Zupan Hajna 2007). In the Barka rock shelter, rock fragments produced by gelifraction are accumulated on the cave floor; in the wintertime freezing causes development of sorted (Fig. 2b) and non-sorted patterned ground (Zupan Hajna 2007).

The interior facies develops in those parts of the cave that are more remote from the surface. The composition, mineralogy, and lithology of cave clastic sedi-ments depend on the material available in the source areas, but the deposition in the cave depends on the internal dynamics of the conduit system (White 2007). Bosch and White (2004) described facies according to particle size and the degree of sort-ing as channel, thalweg, slackwater, diamicton, backswamp facies. The channel fa-cies, with the widest range of particle size and particle sorting, occurs in the most common stream deposits in caves and thalweg facies are the coarse cobbles that form the beds of many active cave streams. Slackwater facies are the thin layers of fine grained silt and clay forming the final top of clastic deposits; diamicton facies are the result of debris flows, and backswamp facies are locally derived (residual in-soluble or infiltrated material). Slackwater and channel facies were actually the most represented and studied in the last 20 years of our research work (e.g. Zupan Hajna et al. 2008a, 2010, 2019a).

Infiltrated sedimentsBy weathering and erosional processes on the surface and percolating water through open fissures and vadose shafts, a lot of different material (like terra rossa or weath-ered residues of various rocks) can be infiltrated into the karst (Ford & Williams 2007). Mineral composition in such cases depends on the composition of rocks from where the weathering remains originated. Open fissures and shafts filled with sedi-ments were always of interest to Slovenian researchers (e.g. Šušteršič 1978; Kogovšek & Zupan 1992); their composition and origin were interpreted differently. For a long time, a prevailing opinion was that in all fissures (and also along faults) in karst, red or yellow clays and silts are either "terra rossa" infiltrated into the karst from the sur-face, infiltrated eolian deposits, or remains of flood sediments in underground open fissures or cavities. All of the sediment types listed above contain quartz as a domi-nant mineral among various clay minerals (e.g. Fig. 6, DHrs). Research of mineral composition of sediments in fissures and fault zones (e.g. Figs. 5, 6) has since proven that those are not allochthonous sediments, but tectonic clays formed in situ (Zupan 1989; Zupan Hajna 1997).

11Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

Allogenic sedimentsMajor sources of sediments in caves are allogenic sinking streams, bringing sedi-ments into the underground from eroded noncarbonated rocks (Ford & Williams 2007, White 2007). Allogenic cave sediments are particularly important for un-derstanding the environment of their formation before transport and storage in the cave. The same rocks on the surface weather in different ways under different environmental conditions (T, amount of precipitation, pH, Eh) (e.g. Zupan Hajna 1992). Different clay minerals are produced and colour of the product depends on the type of iron minerals and pigment (e.g. hematite, goethite). Allogenic sediments with almost the same mineral composition but differences in colour are found in the Slovenian river caves Postojnska jama (Fig. 6) and Škocjanske jame (Fig. 3, 6).

Most of the clastic cave sediments in SW Slovenian karst originate from weath-ered remains of Eocene flysch rocks. Allogenic rivers flowing into the caves, such as the river Pivka (which sinks into Postojnska jama) and the river Reka (which sinks into Škocjanske jame), bring the sediments from weathered flysch rocks of the Pivka Basin and Brkini Mountains. For example, among fluvial sediments of active, relict and unroofed caves of the active and relict allogenic river Reka, the mineral composition of all studied sediments is very similar (Fig. 6, samples SCfl-DFys). In

Figure 3. Allogenic gravel and sand from Reka riverbed in cave Škocjanske jame. Pebbles origin from flysch sandstone and various limestones.

12 Nadja Zupan Hajna

almost all samples relatively equal mineral composition prevailed, indicating the main source was from flysch rocks which were differentially weathered. The samples contained quartz, clay minerals, microcline, plagioclase, and heavy minerals (e.g. goethite, tourmaline, rutile), which are typical of Eocene flysch rocks in the Reka catchment area. The process of flysch transport into the caves continued for a few million years, but the intensity varied over time (Zupan Hajna et al. 2008a,b, 2010, 2017). Large accumulations of allogenic cave sediments having their origin in flysch rocks show that in some period flysch rocks weathered intensively and the sediments were transported to the existing caves. The erosion of flysch rocks was probably ac-celerated in the colder climate and due to increased rainfall or/and due to tectonic uplifting of the landscape.

Accumulations of fine carbonate clastsThrough studies of the mineral composition of alluvial cave sediments, it was also noticed that in many cases a high amount of carbonate clasts is significant (Zupan Hajna 1992, 1998b, 2002). Examples are sediments in the bottom of deep shafts in Alpine caves of the Kanin Plateau (Črnelsko brezno; Fig. 6, sample CHs). It was rec-ognized that the origin of the carbonate clasts (clay, silt and sand size) is the selective

Figure 4. Weathered limestone on cave wall in Martinska jama gives material for production autochthonous carbonate fine clasts in cave sediments.

13Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

and incomplete solution of limestones and dolomites of the caves walls where weath-ered carbonate rocks were eroded by flowing water (Zupan Hajna 2002, 2003). The solution is very similar to the subsoil corrosion on the karst surface, except that the carbonate particles are not mechanically-eroded and transported. From the pres-ence of undissolved carbonate particles, it can be concluded that the removal of the limestone from its primary place is not always conditioned merely by dissolution, but also by mechanical erosion. The process of the fine-grained carbonate particles formation is explained below.

Tectonic claysVery high contents of carbonate minerals can be detected in tectonic clays if they were formed in fault zones situated in carbonate rocks. This clay size material is formed by tectonic compression of carbonate rocks. Tectonic clay consists almost entirely of calcite or dolomite. Their admixture depends on mineral composition of the parent rocks. Studies of materials from selected locations found that red clays/silts often are actually tectonic clays (mylonite; cataclastite) of the inner fault zones, with mineral compositions mostly of calcite in clay or silt size clasts (or dolomite; depending on the parent rock), where clay minerals, goethite and hematite were pre-sent only in traces (Zupan 1989; Zupan Hajna 1997).

Figure 5. Inner part of fault zone: a) Tectonic clay exposed in artificial tunnel in Pivka jama; b) tectonic clay at fault plane; it consists almost 100 % of calcite particles of silt and clay size

(Fig. 6).

Tectonic clays may be either yellow or red in colour. Goethite gives the clay a yellow colour, while a red colour is due to hematite present in the places where the water had been squeezed out of goethite and it was transformed into hematite. This clay impedes drainage within the fault zone. This is why no karstification was re-corded in such fault zones.

14 Nadja Zupan Hajna

Colour, mineral composition and originThe colour of sediments depends on their mineral composition, the presence of various pigments, and on physical and chemical conditions in the environment. But the same colour of sediments doesn’t mean the same mineral composition and knowledge of the mineral composition is not enough to declare the origin of the cla-stic sediments. This is because at the end of the weathering only the most resistant minerals, and also the distinctive secondary minerals for certain environments, are present, which reflect the diagenesis of mechanical sediments in the cave. The sedi-ments’ colour in Slovenia includes all varieties from grey, yellow to red and brown. Red colour is usually linked to mineral hematite and thus to oxidation processes, while yellow and grey colours are controlled by humid and reduction conditions wit-hin the environment and black by organic matter. The mineral composition of cave mechanical sediments does not reflect just the climatic conditions at the time of the-ir deposition in caves but also reflects the mineral composition of the original rocks. However, it is not always possible to determine the original rock due to long lasting weathering which may disintegrate a lot of the primary minerals. Heavy minerals

Figure 6. Comparison of selected cave sediment sample mineralogical compositions originating from underground rivers Reka and Pivka (Škocjan Caves and Postojna Cave),

fault zone in cave Pivka jama and from the Alpine cave Črnelsko brezno, Slovenia. Legend: SCfl – Škocjanske jame recent flood loam; DCys – Divaška jama relict laminated yellow

sand; Tys – Trhlovca relict yellow sand; Trc – Trhlovca red clasts; DFys – Divača relict yellow sand and clay; PRyl – Povir (roofless cave) yellow loam; DHys – Divaški hrib (relict filled

cave) yellow sand; DHrs (relict filled cave) infiltrated red sediment; DOys – Divača 1 (doline) yellow sediment; DOrs – Divača 1 (doline) red sediment; PCfl – Pivka jama (active

cave) flood loam; PCtc – Pivka jama (fault zone) tectonic clay; CHs – Črnelsko brezno (deep shaft) clastic sediment; Q – quartz; Ca – calcite; D – dolomite; Mu/IL – muscovite/

illite minerals; Ka – kaolinite; CL – chlorite; Mo –montmorillonite group of minerals; Mi – microcline; Pl – plagioclase; Gi – gibbsite; G – goethite; T – tourmaline; Ru – rutile.

15Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

are very important for determining origin because they are resistant to weathering and transport due to their mechanical and chemical properties. It is easiest to de-termine the origin of cave mechanical sediments when their composition entirely reflects the mineral association of the original rock.

Comparison of mineralogical composition of various cave sediments is pre-sented on Fig. 6. In almost all prevail quartz; quartz is a very resistant mineral in respect to weathering and transport and because of this quartz may be detritus of weathering of various rocks, and its presence does not tell much.

Age of cave sediments the first studies of cave sediments in Slovenia were carried out during archaeological and paleontological excavations of sediments in cave entrances (e.g. Brodar 1952, 1966), where they interpreted all sediments with alternation of cold and warm peri-ods during Pleistocene, disintegration of cave walls and the sliding of the slope mate-rials into the cave. Detailed studies of cave sediments were later done by Gospodarič (e.g. 1976, 1981, 1988) in the 70s and 80s of the last century. Gospodarič (1988) ap-plied a relative dating method, comparing cave sediments from different sites to es-tablish the age of deposits and also used available dating methods. He suspected that the cave sediments were not much older than 350 ka, although it has been al-ready noted that some dating results were beyond this time. In his geochronology of cave sediments, based on recognition and descriptions of several profiles from various caves, he classified different deposition phases in the subsurface and linked them to sea level oscillations and climate changes during the Pleistocene (Franke & Geyh 1971; Ikeya et al. 1983; Ford & Gospodarič 1989). In the Kras region (SW Slovenia), Gospodarič (1988) linked the karstification of the area with glacio-eustat-ic oscillations of the Adriatic Sea and the global paleoclimate evolution during the Pleistocene.

Later U-series dating indicated that speleothems from different caves in Slovenia must be older (Zupan 1991; Zupan Hajna 1996; Mihevc & Lauritzen 1997; Mihevc 2001a). Results indicated that speleothem growth corresponded to warmer periods during the Pleistocene; but nevertheless there were large numbers of speleo-thems older than the limit of the method (350 ka in the 1990s). These results proved that the cave sediments were older than was previously thought.

The application and interpretation of paleomagnetic analysis and magneto-stratigraphy of cave sediments, both clastic and chemogenic, which began in 1997, suggested substantial changes in the lower limiting ages of cave fill deposition (e.g. Bosák et al. 1998, 1999, 2000a,b, 2002, 2004; Mihevc et al. 2002; Horáček et al. 2007; Zupan Hajna et al. 2008a,b, 2010, 2019a).

Systematic studies of cave sediments in Slovenian caves in the last 20 years us-ing different dating methods showed that the sediments are much older than was originally assumed, as the identified ages cover not only the entire periods of the Pleistocene and Pliocene but also reach into the Miocene. In SW Slovenia, in the

16 Nadja Zupan Hajna

area of the Classical Karst, the last evidence of marine sedimentation exists since the Eocene, when flysch sediments were deposited. Paleomagnetic dating in combina-tion with other methods, especially U-series dating and biostratigraphy, have shift-ed the possible beginning of cave infilling processes and speleogenesis in Slovenia below the Tertiary/Quaternary boundary (Fig. 7). Sediment sections from about 30 studied caves were divided into segments according to paleomagnetic polarity, NRM, MS, lithology, and age. Mean paleomagnetic declination and inclination were then calculated for each segment (Vrabec et al. 2018). Where possible, age determi-nation was augmented with absolute ages obtained from speleothems interbedded with or covering the sediments, and with biostratigraphical (Horáček et al. 2007) or archeological data. We found that cave sediments were predominately deposited in three distinct episodes: 5.4–4.1 Ma, 3.6–1.8 Ma, and 0.78 Ma-present, reflecting regional-scale environmental and tectonic forcing (Zupan Hajna et al. 2010, 2019a) as the cessation of Miocene deposition in the Pannonian Basin in the central, E and SE Slovenia and post-Messinian evolution in the SW and W Slovenia. These sedi-mentation phases in the underground suggest climatic changes on the surface with possible flood events and/or changes of the tectonic regimes during Neogene and Quaternary. It was also evident that all studied sediments were deposited within one post-Eocene karstification period. However, since the processes of sedimentation in the caves is very complex and strongly influenced by local factors, with sediment profile thicknesses of usually only a few meters and interrupted by several uncon-formities, the interpretation of cave sediments and the resulting data of the surface and subsurface processes very complex. Calibrated data contributed to reconstruc-tion of the speleogenesis, deposition in caves, and indirectly to evolution of karst surfaces and succession of tectonic displacements (Häuselmann et al. 2015; Vrabec et al. 2018; Zupan Hajna et al. 2017, 2019a).

Figure 7. Age of sediments from selected Slovenian karst sites and their studied sections (modified from Zupan Hajna et al. 2019a).

17Karst sediments and their studies; examples from Slovenia

The research of cave sediments is not finished; interpretations of obtained data regarding tectonic, climate, geomorphological and speleological evolution of spe-cific karst areas are in progress.

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Vrabec, M, Pruner, P, Zupan Hajna, N, Mihevc, A, Bosák, P, 2018: Unraveling neotectonic vertical-axis rotations in the Adria-Eurasia collision zone: paleomagnetic data from Pliocene-Quaternary cave sediments (Slovenia). In: Ustaszewski, K. (Ed.), Grützner, C. (Ed.), Navabpour, P. (Ed.). TSK Jena 2018. 1st ed. Jena: Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Geological Sciences, p. 134.

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.11.010

21

KARST GEOSITES OF THE FAVIGNANA ISLAND (AEGADIAN ARCHIPELAGO, SICILY)

Rosario Ruggieri1

AbstractThe territory of Favignana presents outcrops of Mesozoic and Quaternary carbonate rocks that have been the subject, since their emergence from marine waters, of phenomena of physi-cal erosion and chemical corrosion. The erosive agents, and especially the chemical ones, have originated over time a widespread variety of surface and underground forms to give the whole area context an evident and precise geomorphological characterization of karst landscape. Given the above, the study, knowledge, protection and enhancement of the above-described karst-morphological features of the Favignana island constitute the aims of a research entru-sted by the Municipal Administration of Favignana to CIRS Ragusa, in summary described in this report.

Keywords: Favignana island, Sicily, karst Geosites, caves, sea karren.

IntroductionThe large forms that make up the characteristic features of the landscape of the Monti di Trapani and Capo San Vito, essentially the great mountain ridges, owe mainly their present configuration to elements of tectonic-structural type and to subsequent mechanical and gravitational erosion processes. On these main forms, and in particular on the outcrop carbonate rocks, a widespread series of karst fea-tures, both surface and underground, have originated due to solution processes, so as to give the territory in question, on the whole, an unmistakable karst imprint (Ruggieri , 2009, 2015; Ruggieri & Messina Panfalone, 2011, 2015).

In this similar geomorphological context is located the island of Favignana (the Roman Aegusa, the medieval Faugnana), the main island of the Aegadian archipel-ago, which also includes the island of Marettimo, Levanzo and another two smaller islands Formica and Maraone. It is part of the province of Trapani and 17 km from the town of Trapani, it has an area of 19.38 km2, a total length of 9 km in a WNW-ESE direction and a maximum width of 4 km in N-S direction (Fig. 1).

From a geological point of view, the Egadi archipelago represents the emerged part of the submarine mountain chain connecting the Sicilian-Maghrebian Chain with the Tunisian one. In this context, the island of Favignana assumes the configu-

1 Hyblean Centre of Speleo-Hydrogeological Research Ragusa, Italy, info@cirs-ragusa.org; Scientific Commission of Geosites of Sicily Region

22 Rosario Ruggieri

ration of an orogenic prism, consisting of the overlapping of various embryonic tec-tonic bodies, laid down during the neogenic tectonic phases (Incandela, 1996; Abate et al., 1997; Nigro et al., 2000)

The island consists mainly of Mesozoic carbonate rocks, and secondly of Quaternary rocks, which have undergone, from the early stages of their emergence, a widespread process of karst corrosion, both on the surface and in depth. This high-lights a marked karst morphological in the landscape imprinted with karren and cavities in the hinterland, consisting of the carbonate ridge of Santa Caterina, and along the coast, the latter also characterized by numerous sea caves.

To study this interesting geomorphological context a research project on the karstic aspects of the island was carried out by the CIRS Ragusa, also hav-ing the purpose of documenting the presence of geomorphological features of scientific and / or aesthetic relevance to be proposed as Geosites under the Regional Law 25/2012, for their protection and fruition with minimum impact. With these objectives the study was structured in three phases, with a series of field-trips for the surveying of the surface karst features, the exploration and surveying of different type of caves and for the surveying of sea karren along the coastal belt.

Karst morphologies of the islandAs far as the geographical context of the Island of Favignana is concerned, within the purposes of the present research the surface karst morphologies, both continen-tal and marine, and the cavities, these last ones distinguished in karst (epigenetic, singenetic and / or hypogenic), marine, tectonic / structural and tafoni type (from physical, chemical and biological degradation). The aforementioned morphologies have been reported, with conventional symbology (Bini et al., 1986), in the “Map of the karst morphologies of the island of Favignana.

Figure 1. Favignana island

23Karst Geosites of the Favignana island (Aegadian archipelago, Sicily)

The continental surface karst morphologiesThe surveyed continental surface karst morphologies have been divided into various types according to a hydrological criterion, in forms of runoff, collection, infiltra-tion, and in polygenic forms, from selective erosion and biokarst (Perna and Sauro, 1978; Gines, 2009; AA .VV., 2009; Goudie, 2009).

This investigation has allowed for the highlighting of the widespread presence of corrosion forms in the dolomites and dolomitic limestone of the Upper Trias – Lias period, constituting the lithostructural framework of the Santa Caterina ridge. In this regard, among the various detected and described morphologies, the phy-tokarst solution pools represent the most re-current forms, especially in the upper parts of the ridge (Fig. 2), followed by polygenic infiltration forms consisting of pin-nacles and spiers, Stone Forest type. These forms are present in the medium-slope sectors of the ridge, emerging in the very evocative context among the fragrances and colors of the Mediterranean bush of the Island.

Figure 2. Surface karren in the Santa Caterina ridge

The cavesAmong the 22 documented caves, classified as epigenetic (Ford and Williams, 2007; Palmer, 2007), singenetic, hypogenic, structural and littoral, the study has high-lighted: the Ciacca Niura (Fig. 3), as the deepest and widest cave of the island and

24 Rosario Ruggieri

Figure 3. Shaft in the Ciacca Nivira cave Figure 4. Singular speleothems in the Ciacca Nivira cave

Figure 5. Grotta d’Oriente flowstones

25Karst Geosites of the Favignana island (Aegadian archipelago, Sicily)

interesting under a speleological profile, being mainly a vertical cave and therefore indicated for a speleological fruition. The cave also shows a mineralogical impor-tance for the presence of particular mammellonar speleothems (Fig. 4), whose gen-esis presupposes paleogeographic conditions decidedly different from the current ones, in addition to a widespread variety of speleothems detected in the lower part, explored during the research; the Grotta d’Oriente, an interesting cave for its cal-cite mineralizations, of various morphologies, varicolors and spectacular flowstone formations (Fig. 5). Among the singenetic (flank margin cave according to Mylroie and Carew,1990; Mylroie et al., 2008) / or hypogenic caves (according to Klimchouk, 2014), the research highlighted the Grotta delle Pecore, the Grotta della Ucceria and the Grotta Faraglione, present respectively in the western marine paleo-cliff of Capo Grosso and in the Faraglioni promontory. These caves owe their origins to solu-tion processes acting specifically in telogenetic limestones, by the mixing of seawater and fresh water lens. Finally, among the documented paleo-sea caves, the Grotta dell’Acqua, presents a particular paleontological, paleoenvironmental and paleogeo-graphic interest, due to the discovery of fossil coral incrustations on the walls whose future study and dating can contribute to a better understanding of the geological events that have affected the island of Favignana in the Mediterranean context dur-ing the Pleistocene period.

Coastal karrenCoastal karren are small-scale forms of dissolution and / or bio-erosion that develop on rocky surfaces in the narrow area of exposed rocks near the sea, and within the direct range of its waters. The erosion processes are directly connected to the surface of the marine waters and operate (a) in the area flooded immediately next to the shore, (b) in the zone of alternation of the sea levels, (c) in the area of the splashe, and (d) in the spray area (Lundeberg, 2009). For the purposes of surveying and genetic classification of the morphologies described above, drawing on the methodology of research carried out by Luis Gomez-Pujol & Joan J. Fornos (2009), adapted to the physiographic reality of the island, three main coastal domains have been identified where forms of costal karren are present, from the lapping / wave area to that of the sprays and that of the sprays / aerosols, up to the transition to the complete continen-tal environment (or fourth domain).

The surveying of sea morphologies along the coastal belt of the island has high-lighted the presence of a varied and rich range of marine karren as a result of the erosion and corrosion processes, both physical and biological (Fig. 6). Among the various detected and described morphologies of particular interest are those found along the western coastal strip “Grosso – Punta Faraglione”, where the aforemen-tioned phenomena of sea erosion and bio-corrosion has affected the Pleistocene cal-carenites to form a maze feature of three-dimensional micro-reliefs and vacuolarity of great effect and suggestion.

26 Rosario Ruggieri

Figure 6. Coastal karren

ConclusionsOn the basis of the results obtained, the establishment of seven Geosites were pro-posed, made up of six Karst caves and one Stone Forest area, according to Regional Law 25/2012, for the valorization and protection of their karst features of particular scientific, aesthetic and cultural importance. Furthermore, for the purposes of the valorization and fruition, the following actions have been proposed, addressed to different people in relation to their professional, scientific or naturalistic or tourist development:

– Proposals of karst geomorphological educational excursions.1. Creation of didactic footpath for the discovery of the surface karst

morphologies.2. Creation of educational footpath for the discover of coastal karren morpholo-

gies, with particular reference to the marine morphologies of “Grosso-Punta Faraglione”.

– Suggestions for visit of caves, with minimal impact, with expert guides.1. Faraglione Cave;2. Cave of the East, lower level;3. Cave of the Ucceria;– Suggestions for visit of caves with expert speleological guides.1. Ciacca Niura cave;2. Cave of the sheep or of the Madonna;3. Cave of the East, upper level

27Karst Geosites of the Favignana island (Aegadian archipelago, Sicily)

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Ford D.C. & Williams P.W., 2007 – Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pp. 562.

Gines A., 2009 – Karrenfield landscapes and karren landforms. Karst Rock Features – Karren Sculpturing. Carsologica 9, pp. 13-24.

Goudie A. S., 2009 – Cavernous weathering. Karst Rock Features – Karren Sculpturing. Carsologica 9, pp. 85-87.

Incandela A. (1996) – Deformazioni neogeniche nelle isole di Favignana e Levanzo. Mem. Soc. Geol. It., 51, 129-135.

Joyce Lundeberg, 2009. Coastal karren, da Karst Rock features, Karren Sculturing, Carsologica 9, 249-264.

Klimchouk A., 2014 – The Methodological Strength of the Hydrogeological approach to distinguishing Hypogene Speleogenesis. In Hypogene cave morphologies, Karst Water Institute Special Publication 18, 2014, pp.4-12.

Luis Gomez-Pujol & Joan J. Fornos, 2009 – Coastal karren in the Balearic Islands, da Karst Rock features, Karren Sculturing, Carsologica 9, 487-502.

Mylroie E., Carew L.,1990 – The flank Margin Model for dissolution cave development in carbonate platform. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Vol. 15, 413-424.

Mylroie J. E., Mylroie J. R., Nelson C.S., 2008 – Flank Margin cave development in telogenetic limestones of New Zealand. Acta Carstologica 37/1, 15-40.

Nigro F., Renda P. & Arisco G. (2000) – Tettonica recente nella Sicilia nord-occidentale e nelle Isole Egadi. Boll. Soc. Geol. It., 119, 307-319.

Palmer A.N., 2007 – Cave Geology, Dayton, USA, pp. 453.Perna G. & Sauro U., 1978 – Atlante delle microforme di dissoluzione carsica del Trentino e

del Veneto. Memorie del Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Vol. XXII, pagg. 1-176.Ruggieri R., 2009 – Karst Itinerary and cave discovery in the Zingaro Reserve. Ediz. Azienda

Foreste Demaniali, Palermo, pp. 207.Ruggieri R. and Messina Panfalone D. 2011- Dentro e fuori la Montagna. Ed. Comune di

Custonaci, pp. 182.Ruggieri Rosario, 2015 – Speleological and speleogenetic aspects of the Monti di Capo San

Vito (Sicily): influence of morpho-tectonic evolution. Ph.D. theses, University of Nova Gorica, Springer edition, 267 pp..

Ruggieri R. & Messina Panfalone D., 2015 – Geositi carsici dell’area di Capo San Vito (Sicilia nord-occidentale). Proceedings of the XXII Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia, Pertosa-Auletta (Sa), 30/05-02/06/2015., pagg. 613-618.

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PALEOOKOLIŠNA REKONSTRUKCIJA KRŠKOG HOLOCENSKOG OKOLIŠA NA PODRUČJU

NOVIGRADSKOGA MORA I KARINSKOGA MORA (HRVATSKA)

PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION OF KARST HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENT IN NOVIGRAD SEA AND

KARIN SEA (CROATIA)

Ozren Hasan, Slobodan Miko, Nikolina Ilijanić, Koraljka Bakrač, Dea Brunović, Martina Šparica Miko1

SažetakU ovom sažetku želimo prikazati rekonstrukciju razvoja četiri susjedna sliva smještena na istočno jadranskoj obali tijekom Holocena. Geoakustična geofizička mjerenja morskih sedi-menata su povezana analizama visoke razlučivosti raznih pokazatelja (kemijske analize, ve-ličina čestica, magnetski susceptibilitet (MS), L*a*b* spektar boja, analiza C i N, kvalitativna XRD analiza, datiranje metodom AMS 14C). Analize obuhvaćaju sedimente iz četiri jezgre morskih sedimenata smještenih u ušću rijeke Zrmanje, Novigradskom moru, Karinskom moru i Velebitskom kanalu, te tla iz njihovih slivova. Prikupljeni podaci omogućili su izradu paleookolišne rekonstrukcije holocenskih sedimenata i djelomično pleistocenskih naslaga u Novigradskom i Karinskom moru. Tijekom holocena površina današnjeg područja Novigradskoga i Karinskoga mora bila je ispresijecana riječnim kanalima usječenim u pleistocenske klastične stijene. Brojni kanali ukazuju na postojanje sustava pletene rijeke. Tri morske jezgre prodrle su kroz morske se-dimente i završile u sedimentima taloženim prije holocenskoga izdizanja mora. Sastav fo-raminifera (ili u neki slučajevima njihov nedostatak) u sedimentima ukazuje na postojanje aluvijalnih, koluvijalnih ili plažnih sedimenata.Porastom razine more je poplavilo područje Novigradskoga mora kroz Novsko ždrilo. Prvi dokazi marinskih okoliša vidljivi su u jezgri NOV-3 oko 10750 cal. yr. BP, potom u MOD-A na 10.210 cal. yr. BP, te u KAR-A na 9.870 cal. yr. BP. Taloženje morskih sedimenata traje neprekidno do danas.Vršni dijelovi morskih jezgara sadrže povećanje siliciklastične komponente, MS-a i omjera C/N, dok se udio Ca smanjuje. Ovi parametri ukazuju na povišen donos terigenog materijala većinom zbog antropogenog utjecaja uslijed uklanjanja šumskog pokrivača ili poljoprivredne djelatnosti. Najviši donos kopnenog siliciklastičnog materijala zabilježen je između 720 i 515 cal. yr. BP. Sličan događaj vidljiv je i u naplavnoj ravnici rijeke Krupe. Radi sječe šume u slivu taloženje sedimenta bogatog organskom tvari naglo je oko 1900 cal. yr. BP. zamijenjen terige-nom sedimentacijom s visokim siliciklastičnim udjelom.

1 Hrvatski geološki institut, Sachsova 2, 10000 Zagreb

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Ključne riječi: Zrmanja, Holocen, multi-proxy, anthropogeni uticaj, osjetljivost, C/N, deforestacija

AbstractThe main objective of this paper is to reconstruct Holocene evolution in four neighbouring catchments in the Eastern Adriatic coast (Croatia). Marine geoacoustic geophysical survey was paired with high-resolution multiproxy analysis (chemical analysis, grain size, magnetic susceptibility (MS), L*a*b* spectrum, C/N analysis, bulk XRD analysis, AMS 14C) of four long marine sediment cores at Zrmanja river mouth, Novigrad Sea, Karin Sea and Modrič bay together with fifteen soil sediment cores or profiles sampled in their respective catchments. This data enabled us to create palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Holocene sediment sequence and partially of underlying Pleistocene sediments in the Novigrad and Karin Sea. During the early Holocene surface of today’s area of Novigrad and Karin Sea hosted river channels incised in Pleistocene clastic rocks. Multiple channels suggest the existence of braided river system. Three marine sediment cores penetrated marine sediment sequences and terminated in sediments predating the Holocene sea level rise. Assemblage of foraminife-ra (or their absence) in sediments indicates alluvial/colluvial/beach sediments.As the sea level rose, seawater flooded Novigrad Sea area thru Novsko ždrilo. First evidence of marine environment exists in core NOV-3 at 10750 cal. yr. BP, later in MOD-A after 10.210 cal. yr. BP, and in KAR-A at 9.870 cal. yr. BP. Marine sedimentation lasts until today. Upper parts of all marine sediment cores show increase of siliciclastic material input, MS and C/N ratios, while Ca concentration decreases. Those parameters indicate higher terrestrial sediment input mainly due to anthropogenic influence caused by deforestation or agriculture in the catchments. The highest terrestrial siliciclastic material input is visible between 720 and 515 cal. yr. BP. Similar event is visible in the floodplain of Krupa river. Due to deforestation in its catchment, sedimentation of organic peat-like material was abruptly replaced around 1900 cal. yr. BP by terrigenous siliciclastic input.

Key words: Zrmanja, Holocene, multi-proxy, anthropogenic impact, susceptibility, C/N, deforestation

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of karst Holocene environment in Novigrad Sea and Karin Sea (Croatia)

30Ozren Hasan, Slobodan Miko, Nikolina Ilijanić, Koraljka Bakrač, Dea Brunović, Martina Šparica Miko

Figu

re 1

.

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KARST CREEK TRAIL: A SELF-GUIDING, DIRECTED-ACCESS KARST SITE IN STRATHCONA PARK,

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Carol Ramsey1 & Paul Griffiths1

AbstractThe province of British Columbia, Canada, has few self-guiding, directed-access2 karst sites in its parks system that are readily accessible to the general public. Karst Creek Trail, located in Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, is situated along a paved public “highway” near the shores of Buttle Lake in a temperate rainforest setting. The karst at this particular site is not especially spectacular. The surface expression of the karst is relatively subdued and the area in which the site is located has been subject to different land-use impacts and natural disturbances. On the positive side, Karst Creek Trail is easily accessed and already possesses some of the basic infrastructure necessary to make the trail a relaxing nature walk for many park visitors. Given its accessibility and manageable size, we suggest that with modest inves-tments in improved and expanded interpretation, trail maintenance, and basic karst research, Karst Creek Trail has the potential to be an excellent regional public educational site for karst.

Key Words: karst, parks, Vancouver Island, public education

IntroductionThe province of British Columbia (BC), Canada has a total area of 944,735 km2. About 10% of this area is underlain by bedrock with the potential to form karst.

The distribution of potential karst in BC does not coincide with the distribu-tion of the province’s population.3 The majority of the province’s residents are clus-tered around larger population centres in the southwestern corner of the province – Vancouver (pop. 2,264,823), Victoria (pop. 335,696), and in the southern interior near the cities of Kelowna (pop. 151,957) and Kamloops (pop. 78,026). The main population centre in north-central BC is Prince George (pop. 65,510). Most of the known karst occurrences are in remote areas away from roads and these major pop-ulation centres.

BC has only a few karst sites in its parks system that are easily accessible and possess infrastructure such as trails and interpretation. Examples of self-guiding, directed-access karst sites within the provincial parks system include Cody Caves Provincial Park in the southeastern corner of the province near the city of Nelson

1 Independet Contractor, c/o 544 Springbok Road, Campell River, BC, Canada V9W8A2, clramsey@shaw.ca2 “Directed-access” here means people are given the directions to access the karst site by the management authority.3 British Columbia’s estimated population as of April, 2018, was 4,862,610 (Government of British Columbia, 2018).

32 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

and the Stone Corral Interpretive Hiking Trail in Monkman Provincial Park (north-east of the city of Prince George near the town of Tumbler Ridge). Self-guiding, directed-access karst sites in provincial parks on Vancouver Island include Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park near the town of Qualicum and Karst Creek Trail in Strathcona Provincial Park. (See Figure 1, below).

Figure 1: Map showing locations of self-guiding, directed access sites for public viewing of karst in BC parks: 1) Cody Caves Provincial Park; 2) Stone Corral Interpretive Hiking

Trail in Monkman Provincial Park; 3) Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park; 4) Upana Caves Interpretive Forest Site; 5) Little Huson Cave Regional Park; 6) Karst Creek Trail in

Strathcona Provincial Park. Map by Paul Griffiths.

There are a number of self-guiding, directed access “karst recreation sites” out-side of the BC parks system on Vancouver Island. These include the Upana Caves Interpretive Forest Site near the village of Gold River, Little Huson Cave Regional Park near the village of Woss, and the Eternal Fountain and Devil’s Bath sites form-ing part of the so-called “Alice Lake Loop” on northern Vancouver Island near Port McNeill.4 Many of these recreation sites were built primarily for the purpose of di-

4 The Vanishing River and the Reappearing River karst recreation sites which were formerly part of the Alice Lake Loop have since been decommissioned.

33Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site

in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

recting visitors toward or into caves. This “cave-centric” bias is often reflected in BC’s tourism literature, which tends to direct visitors to karst sites for the purpose of caving, whether or not the karst recreation sites are designed for, or appropriate for, this purpose. (Ramsey & Griffiths, 2018)

Interpretation at these karst recreation sites is often limited to brief referen-ces to surface features one can see along the trail en route to a cave or caves and often contains inaccuracies and misinformation. (P. A. Griffiths & Associates, Inc., 2013; Ramsey & Griffiths, 2018) Such interpretation, coupled with an emphasis on cave-centred recreation, is not especially helpful in explaining karst phenomena or enhancing visitor appreciation of karst and caves as sensitive and easily-damaged natural resources.

Karst Creek Trail, located in Strathcona Provincial Park, is a rarity on Vancouver Island because it is one of very few sites on the island that is not “cave-centric” in its focus. It is also one of very few easily accessible karst sites in a BC park that has in-frastructure and amenities in place to support public viewing.

Karst in Strathcona ParkVancouver Island’s Strathcona Provincial Park, established in 1911, has the distinc-tion of being the first provincial park established in British Columbia. Much of the 2,458 km2 park is undeveloped affording a wilderness experience accessible to hikers or backpackers by trails leading into the back country.

A number of karst areas fall within the park boundaries but accessing the most impressive karst is difficult for many people. For example, the alpine karst at Marble Meadows, situated on the west side of Buttle Lake is well worth seeing, but accessing the area entails crossing the lake by boat and then hiking for 4 – 5 hours on a steep trail. Though a round-trip hike from the west shore of the lake is only about 13.2 km, getting to Marble Meadows from the lake shore involves an elevation gain of about 1250 m. There is no on-site interpretation of the karst at Marble Meadows and the only infrastructure is a small wilderness hut. Visitors must carry in food and camp-ing gear if they intend to stay overnight.

The lack of infrastructure at Marble Meadows ensures that it provides visitors with a true wilderness experience, and the pristine, uncrowded nature of this excep-tional alpine karst area is one of its best attributes. While the difficulties involved in getting to Marble Meadows help to ensure this attribute will be preserved, they also limit its feasibility as a karst viewing site for many people. By comparison, Karst Creek Trail, situated in a valley bottom on the eastern shore of Buttle Lake, provides a much more easily accessible option for the majority of park visitors wishing to view karst in Strathcona Provincial Park (see Figure 2, below).

34 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

Figure 2: Image showing the relative positions of Marble Meadows and Karst Creek Trail. North is towards the top of image. Accessing the alpine karst at Marble Meadows entails

making arrangements to cross Buttle Lake by boat, followed by a six-kilometer wilderness hike through an elevation gain of about 1250 m. By contrast, Karst Creek Trail and Day Area are located on the shore of Buttle Lake, adjacent to the paved Westmin Mine Road. Google

Earth imagery.

Karst Creek Trail The Karst Creek Trail and its associated Day Area were established by Western Mines Ltd. in 1983 – 1984 (Griffiths, 2015). The Karst Creek Day Area is located on the west side of Westmin Mine Road next to the lakeshore. Visitors need only take a short walk from the parking spaces in the Day Area to cross the highway and access the Karst Creek trailhead. Unlike the other karst areas in the park, the Karst Creek Trail and its associated Day Area have infrastructure and amenities in place to sup-port public viewing of the karst (see Figure 3, below). These include:

1. Paved road access 2. An existing trail3. A parking area4. Interpretive sign kiosk5. Picnic area with tables

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6. Toilets 7. Bear-proof garbage bins 8. Boat launch

Figure 3: Map showing the Karst Creek Trail and Day Area. The Karst Creek Day Area, comprised of a parking area, picnicking area, toilets and boat launch, is located on the west side of the road next to Buttle Lake. The Karst Creek Trail, a 1.5-km closed loop footpath, is

situated on the east side of Westmin Mine Road.

The Karst Creek Trail consists of a closed loop footpath about 1.5 km in length in a forested setting.5 Starting at the trailhead interpretive sign kiosk, visitors can get a brief introduction to karst before following the trail past a number of different karst features (please refer to Figure 4, above). Principal karst features visible along the Karst Creek Trail include:

– Epikarst exposures, grikes and smaller dolines; – A sinking stream which disappears underground into a karst cavity enclosed

by a doline (i.e., the “Disappearing Creek Cave”);– A stream emerging from a karst spring (i.e., the “Appearing Creek”);

5 This forested site falls within the Coastal Western Hemlock (CWHxm2 biogeoclimatic subzone variant) according the provincial ecological classification system based on Meidenger & Pojar (1991) and the associated online data sets.

Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

36 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

– An 8-10 m high waterfall;– A losing stream segment where the base water flow of Karst Creek is abstrac-

ted into a karst cavity (“Karst Falls Cave”); and– A karst canyon with a seasonally dry streambed downstream. (Griffiths, 2015)Some of these features are illustrated in Figure 4, below.

Figure 4: Figure showing selected karst features along Karst Creek Trail: A– Disappearing Creek Cave; B– The Appearing Creek spring; C–Karst Creek waterfall; D– Karst Falls Cave.

Geology of the Karst Creek SiteMost of the bedrock underlying the Karst Creek Trail site consists of a 150-360 m thick unit of light grey massively bedded Permian-age Mount Mark Formation lime-stone (Fischl, 1992). Figure 5 (below) shows the distribution of the carbonate bedro-ck in the area. Crinoid fossils and occasional chert nodules can easily be observed at bedrock outcrops and exposures on the surface. The limestone is generally dip-ping to the northeast with the strike running approximately parallel to Buttle Lake. Griffiths (2015, p. 1) notes that, “The contiguous limestone unit ranges in elevation from an indeterminate level beneath the lake shoreline to about 400 m above sea level (asl).”6

6 “The limestone is mapped provincially as a Karst Potential Area (KPA ID 33036) polygon covering 3.9 km2 and measuring 8.5 km long and 500 m wide.” (Griffiths, 2015, p. 1)

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To the east, the site is bounded by basaltic volcanic rocks of the Karmutsen Formation.

Much of the limestone of the Karst Creek Trail area is covered by a thin blanket of fluvial and colluvial materials (Jungen, 1972). The presence of this surficial cover, coupled with site vegetation, accounts at least in part for the subdued surface expres-sion of the karst features.

HydrologyThe hydrology of the Karst Creek area is not well understood and has never been for-mally studied. Surface watercourses flowing onto the karst from the steep volcanic bedrock uplands to the east of the trail loop sink when they reach the geological contact with the limestone, but aside from the small “Appearing Creek” spring on the Karst Creek Trail, the only notable karst springs are situated about 1000 m to the south (see Figure 5, below). It is unknown whether these springs share any hy-drological connections with the features at Karst Creek Trail. As noted below, Buttle Lake was impounded for a hydroelectric project in 1958. The original high-water level shoreline of the lake was to the west of the present-day shoreline. It is therefore possible that the lake has submerged springs that formerly emerged at the surface. Dye tracing would be required to confirm this.

Figure 5: Map showing distribution of carbonate bedrock and known karst springs in the vicinity of Karst Creek Trail. No dye tracing or other formal karst hydrology research has

been undertaken in this area, so the karst hydrology remains poorly understood.

Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

38 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

Human Land-use DisturbancesDespite being located in BC’s oldest provincial park, the area in which the Karst Creek Trail site is located is not pristine. A number of land-use activities and hu-man-caused disturbances have affected this site, including:

– The raising of the level of Buttle Lake by five metres in 1958, when construc-tion of a hydroelectric dam downstream was completed.

– The construction of Westmin Mine Road with evidence of possible roadside quarrying and, subsequently, the development of the Karst Creek Trail co-upled with the Day Area. The paved haulage road passes through the karst unit. Subsequent development of the Day Area and Karst Creek Trail may have been undertaken without much study of how the karst system behaves. Griffiths (2015, p. 4) notes that,

“Construction, use and maintenance of the facility structures have caused some impact to the site. The access trail and wooden retaining structures within the “Disappearing Creek” have disturbed the natural contours and vegetation wit-hin the doline. An abandoned sign and signpost for the “Disappearing Creek” were found in a small doline near the feature.”

– The 1982 human-caused Auger Point fire covered 234.4-ha, with an estima-ted 40.6 ha of that area on karst terrain. Disturbances to the karst site itself and some of its component karst features may have been compounded by ancillary fire suppression and/or salvage activities. The effects of the Auger Point fire can still be observed on older dominant Douglas-fir veterans along the Karst Creek Trail, some of which were scorched or scarred. Some post-fire windthrow has since occurred among trees along the trail. Most of the fallen trees were subsequently bucked and trunk segments were then moved to the sides of the trail, or in some cases near some. (Griffiths, 2015)

Current Safety and Management ConcernsCurrent safety and management concerns with the Karst Creek Trail loop, in order of priority, include:

· Rockfall at the waterfall area;· Seasonal flooding;· Parts of the trail are in disrepair; and· Visitor impacts.Each of these concerns is described in more detail below.

Rockfall at the waterfall area:A portion of the southern wall of the canyon near the waterfall has been collaps-ing in recent years. This ongoing natural process is occurring almost exactly at the place where the best photographs of the waterfall are taken by visitors. It therefore presents a significant hazard in terms of visitor safety. Signs alerting visitors to the

39

hazard were immediately deployed July 2017 after a major new rockfall was noticed and reported to park area supervisor in July 2017 (see Figure 6, below).

Figure 6: A– As one of the most scenic areas along the Karst Creek Trail, the Karst Creek waterfall and associated Karst Falls Cave is a natural photo stop for visitors. Unfortunately,

the best vantage point for taking photos of the waterfall is very close to an area where a major new rockfall occurred in the 2016-17 period); B– Evidence of recent rockfall near

the waterfall; C– Sign alerting visitors to the rockfall hazard; D–Image of rockfall area some years ago. Visitors used to walk through this area to approach the waterfall and the Karst

Falls Cave entrance, a practice that now puts visitors at potential risk.

Seasonal flooding:Seasonal flooding unrelated to the site’s karst hydrology has occasionally caused da-mage to sections of the Karst Creek Trail and its associated Day Area during winter storm events (see Figure 7, below). Woody debris, cobbles, gravel, and other materi-als transported by Karst Creek during stormflow events damaged a footbridge and part of the trail. In the winter of 2014 a culvert intake directing Karst Creek under the Westmin Mine Road became obstructed during a stormflow event. The creek then overflowed onto the highway, washing away part of the entrance road at the

Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

40 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

Karst Creek Day Area and carrying cobbles and other debris through the forest as far as the public toilets. (Griffiths, 2015, p. 4) Culverts under the highway have since been replaced and the access road to the Day Area has been repaired. The public to-ilets damaged in 2014 have since been decommissioned. New toilets located farther away from the area affected by flooding were installed in 2018.

The loss of the footbridge in the seasonally dry creek bed is hardly noticeable during most of the year. However, when seasonal flooding does occur, visitors cannot safely cross the creek and therefore cannot complete the trail loop. Backtracking along the section of the trail to return to the parking area is a potential seasonal inconven-ience, but not necessarily a high safety priority or management issue. Trail erosion caused by seasonal flooding of Appearing Creek is perhaps a more urgent concern.

Figure 7: Seasonal flooding impacts at the Karst Creek Trail and Day Area. A – Access road to the Karst Creek Day area. B – Access road to Karst Creek Day Area after a seasonal

flooding event in December 2014; C – Public toilet at Karst Creek Day Area after the December 2014 flooding event. The toilets have since been removed and decommissioned, with new toilets built in 2018 in a new location less likely to be affected by such floods; D – Seasonal flooding washed out the footbridge in the karst canyon portion of the Karst Creek Trail in 2014. Though the absence of the bridge does not impede foot traffic during much

of the year when the creek bed remains dry, visitors cannot safely cross to complete the trail loop during flood events.

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Parts of the trail are in disrepair:Sections of the Karst Creek Trail are currently in poor repair (see Figure 8, below). Wooden retaining walls shoring up sections of the trail leading down into the Karst Creek Canyon have failed. Seasonal flooding has also caused significant trail erosi-on between the Karst Creek trailhead/interpretive sign kiosk area and Appearing Creek.

Figure 8: Parts of the Karst Creek Trail are currently in disrepair. A – Erosion of a section of trail caused when the Appearing Creek surged over its banks during storm events; B –

Failure of wooden retaining wall on a section of the trail switchback leading down into the karst canyon.

Visitor impacts:Visitor impacts at the Karst Creek Trail are minimal. Litter is seldom observed and there is no evidence of people deviating off the established trail. Visitors generally appear to respect park rules by keeping their dogs leashed, thereby minimizing disturbances to wildlife and other visitors. At present, the main visitor impact con-cern is graffiti scratched on the limestone/marble wall near the base of the waterfall and the entrance to Karst Falls Cave.

Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

42 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

Interpretation at Karst Creek TrailThe existing onsite interpretation is limited to a single location at the trailhead. Figure 9, below, shows the current interpretive sign in the kiosk at the Karst Creek trailhead. The narrative content briefly describes the trail and site history. It also pro-vides a short general overview on how karst forms. The content contains a number of minor errors, including a description of “sinkholes” as “sunken caves”, a reference to “Karst formations” and the statement that “Geologists call this Karst Topography, named after the Karst Plateau in Slovenia”.

Figure 9: Interpretive poster at the Karst Creek trailhead kiosk.

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DiscussionBritish Columbia provides limited opportunities for the public to see and learn about karst. Karst Creek Trail is easily accessible and already has some infrastructure and karst interpretation in place. Given that the surface karst features at Karst Creek Trail are modest in size and not particularly spectacular compared to those in other karst areas in BC, one might question whether Karst Creek Trail has much potential for increasing public appreciation for karst. A related question is whether anything could be done to improve its potential in this regard.

Despite the subdued expression of the surface karst features, they collectively represent all the basic elements needed to illustrate the hydrological functions of typical karst systems in a relatively compact area. What is needed to increase pub-lic understanding and appreciation of this particular site is expanded interpreta-tion that explains the subsurface hydrological linkages between the various surface karst features, as well as the mitigating role forest cover plays on the karst hydrology. Without this information, most visitors probably see Karst Creek Trail as little more than a short, pleasant walk in a forest that happens to have some odd water features.

Although no dye tracing or water chemistry work has been undertaken at this site to date, a modest investment in these types of research would allow for some more detailed site-specific interpretation of the karst hydrology. Other potential top-ics for interpretation that might enrich the educational value and visitor experience at Karst Creek Trail include: ecology and/or botany; disturbance history; and other points of interest along the trail.

Ecology and/or Botany Karst Creek Trail is in a temperate rainforest biogeoclimatic zone of a drier variety. Temperate rainforest karst in general is rare globally, so explanations of the plant life and site ecology and its significance should be of interest to visitors. (See Figure 10, below)

Karst Creek Trail: a self-guiding, directed-access karst site in Strathcona Park, British Columbia, Canada

44 Carol Ramsey & Paul Griffiths

Figure 10: Karst Creek Trail is situated in a dry variant of globally rare temperate rainforest karst. Expanded interpretation could include ecology and botany, a