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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 227–231Cite as

Cave

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  • First Online:

  • 26 Accesses

Definition

“A natural opening in the earth, large enough to admit a human being” (White 1998).

Description

Continuous subsurface void space detected by their morphology and thermal behavior that is distinct from the surrounding terrain.

Subtypes

  1. (1)

    Solution caves.

  2. (2)

    Volcanic caves.

  3. (3)

    Caves formed by mechanical processes (talus or tectonic caves).

  4. (4)

    Glacier caves.

  5. (5)

    Ice caves. For further types, see White and Culver (2012).

Formation

  1. (1)

    Solution caves that form as rocks (limestone, dolomite, gypsum) are dissolved by acids (e.g., carbonic or various organic and inorganic acids) (Katzer 1909; Vahrushev 2009), along fissures, cracks, joints, bedding planes, etc. (e.g., Grund 1910; Cvijič 1924; see also Ford and Williams 2007, for a detailed discussion).

  2. (2)

    Volcanic caves (e.g., lava tube caves (Fig. 1), also called lava tubes) are produced by the fast solidification of the upper (i.e., outer) surface of the moving lava while the inner part might flow out and leave a tunnel...

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References

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  • Dubljanskij VN, Dubljanskaja GN (2004) Karst science. Part 1. [in Russian] Perm.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology Group, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, 9040495, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan

    Mirona Chirienco

  2. Stable Isotope Laboratory, Ştefan cel Mare University, Universităţii 13, 720229, Suceava, Romania

    Aurel Perşoiu

Authors
  1. Mirona Chirienco
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  2. Aurel Perşoiu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aurel Perşoiu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Ames Research Center/NPP, Moffett Field, CA, USA

    Henrik Hargitai

  2. Konkoly Thege Miklos Astronomical Institute, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Ákos Kereszturi

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Chirienco, M., Perşoiu, A. (2015). Cave. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_32

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