May 2017 – Earth Space Science

Probably you have been to one of those artificial caves at the science centre before or even a real one. I never been to a real one before but I would love to because there is so much too see!

Before I only thought of caves like the ones from fantasy novels which were mystic, magical and similar to a lost paradise. However, real caves aren’t really that different excluding the magical part.

Here’s a comparison of a fantasy cave to a real cave:

http://en.feengrotten.de/pic/1496112D366.jpg

http://www.royalshoreexcursions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Aquarium-Crystal-Caves-Bermuda.jpg

Caves not only look amazing but their formation and interior is fascinating to research about. It is like a journey into a very dark place with all sorts of creatures, crystals, art, and water.

I have read about many fictional caves where people get lost, find a secret hideout, and discover some ancient artifact that gifts supernatural powers. Sadly, those stories are not true. But what you will find in caves are explained below.

—- First of all, lets talk about the formation of a cave —-

It is a process where limestone dissolutes, the process is a lot more complicated than formations of rocks, volcanoes, and mountains.

To keep it as simple as possible here is a small explanation to the formation of a cave: Rain that falls down from the sky contains CO2 and dissolves once it hits the soil that then turns into a weak form of acid. The acid then dissolves limestone that is present, forming a cave.

https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/assets/pix/caves_and_springs.jpg

—- Now what is really in a cave is interesting —-

Finding #1 Creatures:

Most likely you will find bats in a cave. Why?

http://justviral.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/bat-in-the-cave.jpg

Bats are nocturnal species meaning they stay awake at night and sleep at day. To travel they use echolocation so the darkness of a cave is perfect for their habitat conditions.

*** Echolocation is the ability to avoid obstacles or locate anything using sound waves that bounce back from objects and could not be heard by regular humans

Troglobionts & Stygobionts:

Troglobionts are land mammals that never leave the cave while sygobionts are water-based mammals that never leave the cave.

Examples of troglobionts & stygobionts would be:

Blind Cave Fish http://news.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/news/2015/12/cavefish.jpg

The Kauai Cave Wolf Spider https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Adelocosa_anops.jpg/220px-Adelocosa_anops.jpg

Snails http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52376317eab8eaa6518ca735-800-/image_1381e-zospeum-snail.jpeg

These species are adapted to the darkness from the loss of vision and are usually colourless being non-exposed to the outside world.

There are other creatures that use the cave for “temporary” use as their homes.

Finding #2+#3 Crystals & Lakes:

Another thing you will find when you enter deep in a cave are crystals, small, medium, and large in sizes.

In Mexico, there is cave well known for the beautiful underground scenery. This cave is called Cave of Crystals and it was accidentally discovered by a geologist named Stewart.

Like the name says, Cave of Crystals is a cave filled with crystals, similar to a forest filled with trees. These crystals are about half a million years old and approximately 25-30 feet in length. It is truly an amazing sight to see.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy287/stevep1031/San%20Diego%20Balboa%20Museums/_MG_0143.jpg

The formation of these giant crystals involves the cooling of magma. When the temperature of magma reached below 58 degrees celsius, a certain type of mineral called anhydrite starts dissolving. Over a long period of time, they become gigantic crystals by absorbing other molecules present in the cave.

Most caves have lakes in them but rarely a whole lake like the Melissani Cave in Greece. Inside the cave, visitors could actually take boat rides and explore the cave further.