Download PDF - Speleogenesis

Foreword
In 1998, the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) was established by a U.S. Congressional
mandate to facilitate and support cave and karst research, stewardship, and education. I am delighted to
introduce this new publication series, NCKRI Special Papers, as an essential part of NCKRI’s efforts to meet
that mandate. I’m equally pleased that this first book in the series is the highly important work of NCKRI’s
first visiting scholar, Dr. Alexander B. Klimchouk.
Caves are resources hidden from the view of the general public and most scientists. Their value often goes
unrecognized because they are either not seen or misunderstood. Historically, caves were ignored by many
geoscientists, in part because they did not “follow the rules” of groundwater behavior and thus “had” to be
anomalous features of little significance. While this view has mostly changed, many scientists who realized the
significance of caves had and still have the mistaken notion that areas of carbonate and evaporite rocks that
contain few or no caves are not karst. This book shatters those myths and makes great strides in explaining
what had been some of the most puzzling aspects of karst hydrogeology.
Dr. Klimchouk carefully explains the origin of hypogenic caves and karst, and demonstrates it with a rich,
international array of examples and data. While most karst literature focuses on epigenic karst, formed by
descending groundwater, hypogenic karst stems from ascending groundwater. Understanding the characteristic
set of hypogenic morphological and hydrological features, and the processes that create them, is crucial for
developing accurate models, and effective management plans for these karst systems. This is vital because
hypogenic karst is especially poorly expressed at the surface, and so its vulnerability as a public water supply,
risk of sinkhole collapse, and value as a mineral resource can be severely underestimated.
While this book focuses on karst hydrogeology and speleogenesis, it also has important implications for
many other disciplines, such as understanding the ranges and speciation of cavernicolous organisms, landscape
evolution, and the distribution of paleontological and archeological deposits, to name a few. At a
fundamentally crucial level, the great geographic breadth of hypogenic karst will soon be realized directly as a
result of this work. Certainly, some concepts presented here will be refined with continued research, but this
book firmly establishes a new paradigm that will guide much karst research for decades to come.
Dr. George Veni
Executive Director, NCKRI
April 2007
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