Hypogene Speleogenesis

Hypogene Speleogenesis 

and Karst Hydrogeology 

of Artesian Basins 

Ukrainian Institute of Speleology and Karstology 

Special Paper 1 

Edited by 

Alexander Klimchouk 

Derek Ford

Hypogene Speleogenesis 

and Karst Hydrogeology 

of Artesian Basins 

Proceedings of the conference held May 13 through 17, 2009 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine 

Edited by 

Alexander B. Klimchouk and Derek C. Ford 

Ukrainian Institute of Speleology and Karstology 

Special Paper 1 

Simferopol 

2009

Ukrainian Institute of Speleology and Karstology, Ukraine 

Vernadsky Tavrichesky National University, Ukraine 

Fed’kovich Chernivtsy National University, Ukraine 

Institute of Geological Sciences, Ukraine 

National Cave and Karst Research Institute, USA 

Karst Water Institute, USA 

Silesian University, Poland 

Katowice Section of the Polish Geographic Society, Poland 

Ukrainian Speleological Association, Ukraine 

With support of: 

Union International of Speleology (UIS), 

UIS Commission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis 

International Geoscience Program 513 

“Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources” (UNESCO) 

International Year of Planet Earth (UNESCO-IUGS) 

Patronage Committee 

Bagrov N.V. – Rector of the Vernadsky Tavrichesky National University, corresponding member of the NASU 

Gozhik P.F. – Director of the Institute of Geological Sciences of NASU, corresponding member of NASU 

Mel'nichuk S.V. – Rector of the Fed'kovich Chertnivtsi National University, corresponding member of NASU 

Shelepnitsky I.O. – Head of the Chernivtsi Province Council 

Shestopalov V.M. – Academician-Secretary of the Department of Earth Sciences of NASU, academician of NASU 

Organizing Committee 

Klimchouk A.B. – UISK, Ukraine – Chairman 

Andrash V.V. – Ternopil' Speleo-Club "Podillya" 

Andreychuk V.N. – University of Silesia, Poland – UISK, Ukraine 

Apostoljuk V.A. – UISK – Ternopil' Speleo-Club "Podillya" 

Koptchinsky A. – Vienna University, Austria 

Rudenko V.P. – Fed'kovich Chernivtsy National University 

Ridush B.T. – UISK - Fed'kovich Chernivtsy National University 

Sokhatsky M.P. – UISK – Borshchiv Regional Museum 

Vakhrushev B.A. – UISK – Vernadsky Tavrichesky National University 

Zimel's J.L. – UISK – Ternopil' Speleo-Club "Podillya" 

Scientific Committee 

Shestopalov V. (NAS Ukraine) – Chairman 

Audra Ph. (University of Nice, France) 

Auler A. (Brazilian Institute for Karst and Caves, Brazil) 

Andrejchuk V. (University of Silesia, Poland – UISK, Ukraine) 

Dublyansky Yu. (Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Austria) 

Ford D. (McMaster University, Canada) 

Forti P. (University of Bologna, Italy) 

Frumkin A. (Jerusalem University, Israel) 

Kempe S. (University of Darmstadt, Germany) 

Klimchouk A. (UISK, Ukraine) 

Lowe D. (British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK) 

Osborne A. (University of Sidney, Australia) 

Palmer A. (University of Oneonta, USA) 

Veni G. (National Cave and Karst Research Institute, USA) 

White W. (Pennsylvania State University)

CONTENTS 

PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS 7 

Alexander Klimchouk 

HYPOGENE CAVE PATTERNS 17 

Philippe Audra, Ludovic Mocochain, Jean-Yves Bigot, and Jean-Claude Nobécourt 

MORPHOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF SPELEOGENESIS: HYPOGENIC SPELEOGENS 23 

Philippe Audra, Ludovic Mocochain, Jean-Yves Bigot, and Jean-Claude Nobécourt 

HYPOGENE CAVES IN DEFORMED (FOLD BELT) STRATA: OBSERVATIONS FROM EASTERN AUSTRALIA 

AND CENTRAL EUROPE 33 

R.A.L. Osborne 

IDENTIFYING PALEO WATER-ROCK INTERACTION DURING HYDROTHERMAL KARSTIFICATION: 

A STABLE ISOTOPE APPROACH 45 

Yuri Dublyansky and Christoph Spötl 

MICROORGANISMS AS SPELEOGENETIC AGENTS: GEOCHEMICAL DIVERSITY BUT GEOMICROBIAL UNITY 51 

P.J.Boston, M.N. Spilde, D.E. Northup, M.D. Curry, L.A. Melim, and L. Rosales-Lagarde 

SIDERITE WEATHERING AS A REACTION CAUSING HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS: 

THE EXAMPLE OF THE IBERG/HARZ/GERMANY 59 

Stephan Kempe 

SIMULATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOLUTION CONDUITS IN HYPOGENE SETTINGS 61 

C. Rehrl, S. Birk, and A. B. Klimchouk 

EVOLUTION OF CAVES IN POROUS LIMESTONE BY MIXING CORROSION: A MODEL APPROACH 67 

Wolfgang Dreybrodt, Douchko Romanov , and Georg Kaufmann 

SPELEOGENESIS OF MEDITERRANEAN KARSTS: A MODELLING APPROACH BASED 

ON REALISTIC FRACTURE NETWORKS 75 

Antoine Lafare, Hervé Jourde, Véronique Leonardi, Séverin Pistre, andNathalie Dörfliger 

GIANT COLLAPSE STRUCTURES FORMED BY HYPOGENIC KARSTIFICATION: 

THE OBRUKS OF THE CENTRAL ANATOLIA, TURKEY 83 

C. Serdar Bayari, N. Nur Ozyurt, and Emrah Pekkans 

ON THE ROLE OF HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS IN SHAPING THE COASTAL ENDOKARST OF SOUTHERN MALLORCA 

(WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN) 91 

Joaquín Ginés, Angel Ginés, Joan J. Fornós, Antoni Merino and Francesc Gràcia 

HYPOGENE CAVES IN THE APENNINES (ITALY) 101 

Sandro Galdenzi 

STEGBACHGRABEN, A MINERALIZED HYPOGENE CAVE IN THE GROSSARL VALLEY, AUSTRIA 117 

Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, and Christoph Steinbauer 

HYPOGENE CAVES IN AUSTRIA 121 

Lukas Plan, Christoph Spötl, Rudolf Pavuza, Yuri Dublyansky 

KRAUSHÖHLE: THE FIRST SULPHURIC ACID CAVE IN THE EASTERN ALPS (STYRIA, AUSTRIA) 129 

Lukas Plan, Jo De Waele, Philippe Audra, Antonio Rossi, and Christoph Spötl 

HYDROTHERMAL ORIGIN OF ZADLAŠKA JAMA, AN ANCIENT ALPINE CAVE IN THE JULIAN ALPS, SLOVENIA 131 

Martin Knez and Tadej Slabe 

ACTIVE HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS AND THE GROUNDWATER SYSTEMS AROUND THE EDGES 

OF ANTICLINAL RIDGES 137 

Amos Frumkin 

SEISMIC-SAG STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS IN TERTIARY CARBONATE ROCKS BENEATH SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA, USA: 

EVIDENCE FOR HYPOGENIC SPELEOGENESIS? 151 

Kevin J. Cunningham and Cameron Walker 

HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS IN THE PIEDMONT CRIMEA RANGE 159 

A.B. Klimchouk, E.I. Tymokhina and G.N. Amelichev

STYLES OF HYPOGENE CAVE DEVELOPMENT IN ANCIENT CARBONATE AREAS OVERLYING NON-PERMEABLE ROCKS 

IN BRAZIL AND THE INFLUENCE OF COMPETING MECHANISMS AND LATER MODIFYING PROCESSES 173 

Augusto S. Auler 

MORPHOLOGY AND GENESIS OF THE MAIN ORE BODY AT NANISIVIK ZINC/LEAD MINE, BAFFIN ISLAND, CANADA: 

AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF PARAGENETIC DISSOLUTION OF CARBONATE BEDROCKS WITH 

PENE-CONTEMPORANEOUS PRECIPITATION OF SULFIDES AND GANGUE MINERALS IN A HYPOGENE SETTING 181 

Derek Ford 

THE INFLUENCE OF HYPOGENE AND EPIGENE SPELEOGENESIS IN THE EVOLUTION 

OF THE VAZANTE KARST MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL 193 

Cristian Bittencourt, Augusto Sarreiro Auler, José Manoel dos Reis Neto, Vanio de Bessa and Marcus Vinícios Andrade Silva 

HYPOGENIC ASCENDING SPELEOGENESIS IN THE KRAKÓW-CZĘSTOCHOWA UPLAND (POLAND) 

– EVIDENCE IN CAVE MORPHOLOGY AND SURFACE RELIEF 201 

Andrzej Tyc 

EVIDENCE FROM CERNA VALLEY CAVES (SW ROMANIA) FOR SULFURIC ACID SPELEOGENESIS: 

A MINERALOGICAL AND STABLE ISOTOPE STUDY 209 

Bogdan P. Onac, Jonathan Sumrall, Jonathan Wynn, Tudor Tamas, Veronica Dărmiceanu and Cristina Cizmaş 

THE POSSIBILITY OF REVERSE FLOW PIRACY IN CAVES OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN BELT 211 

Ira D. Sasowsky 

KARSTOGENESIS AT THE PRUT RIVER VALLEY (WESTERN UKRAINE, PRUT AREA) 213 

Viacheslav Andreychouk and Bogdan Ridush 

ZOLOUSHKA CAVE: HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS OR REVERSE WATER THROUGHFLOW? 221 

V. Коrzhyk 

EPIGENE AND HYPOGENE CAVES IN THE NEOGENE GYPSUM OF THE PONIDZIE AREA 

(NIECKA NIDZIAŃSKA REGION), POLAND 223 

Jan Urban, Viacheslav Andreychouk, and Andrzej Kasza 

PETRALONA CAVE: MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON ITS SPELEOGENESIS 233 

Georgios Lazaridis 

HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS IN MAINLAND NORWAY AND SVALBARD? 241 

Stein-Erik Lauritzen 

VILLA LUZ PARK CAVES: SPELEOGENESIS BASED ON CURRENT STRATIGRAPHIC AND MORPHOLOGIC EVIDENCE 245 

Laura Rosales-Lagarde, Penelope J. Boston, Andrew Campbell, and Mike Pullin 

HYPOGENE KARSTIFICATION IN SAUDI ARABIA (LAYLA LAKE SINKHOLES, AIN HEETH CAVE) 247 

Stephan Kempe, Heiko Dirks, and Ingo Bauer 

HYPOGENE KARSTIFICATION IN JORDAN (BERGISH/AL-DAHER CAVE, UWAIYED CAVE, BEER AL-MALABEH SINKHOLE) 253 

Stephan Kempe, Ahmad Al-Malabeh, and Horst-Volker Henschel 

ASSESSING THE RELIABILITY OF 2D RESISTIVITY IMAGING TO MAP A DEEP AQUIFER 

IN CARBONATE ROCKS IN THE IRAQI KURDISTAN REGION 257 

Bakhtiar K. Aziz and Ezzaden N. Baban 

FEATURES OF GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE ORDINSKAYA UNDERWATER CAVE, FORE-URALS, RUSSIA 267 

Pavel Sivinskih 

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ГИПОГЕННОГО СПЕЛЕОГЕНЕЗА ГОРНО-СКЛАДЧАТОЙ ОБЛАСТИ ЗАПАДНОГО КАВКАЗА 271 

Б.А.Вахрушев 

ГЛУБИННОЕ СТРОЕНИЕ ГИДРОГЕОСФЕРЫ: МОДЕЛЬ ВЕРТИКАЛЬНОЙ ЗОНАЛЬНОСТИ 277 

В.Н. Катаев 

РОЛЬ КАРСТА В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ СОЛЕНЫХ ВОД И РАССОЛОВ ОЛЕНЁКСКОГО БАССЕЙНА 287 

Александр Кононов, Сергей Алексеев, и Сергей Сухов

PETRALONA CAVE: MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 

AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON ITS SPELEOGENESIS 

Georgios Lazaridis 

Department of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, geolaz@math.auth.gr 

ABSTRACT 

Petralona Cave is one of the most important caves in Greece, due to the abundant paleontological findings of Middle 

Pleistocene age. 

Is Petralona Cave a typical karst cave? For almost half a century it was considered to be so.. In the present study, 

a new view of the Petralona Cave speleogenesis is proposed. A brief description of the cave and an analysis of its 

morphology are given, based on micro- and meso-scale morphology of the passages as well as the horizontal pattern 

of the cave. Morphological parameters are also estimated. Discriminant analysis is used to separate caves formed in 

unconfined setting by those formed by transverse speleogenesis. Discriminant functions extracted from the analysis (for 

2-D and 3-D data) could be used to classify new cases. 

The present study introduces a new approach to the Petralona Cave speleogenesis, which is interpreted to be the 

result of transverse speleogenesis, based on cave morphology and the geological setting of the broader area. 

INTRODUCTION 

Petralona Cave is located in Chalkidiki, 55 km away 

from the city of Thessaloniki (Macedonia, Northern Greece). 

It is a show cave that was found accidentally in 1959 by 

the local people. Afterwards, a number of explorations by 

members of the Hellenic Speleological Society took place, 

most of them under the leadership of Ioannis and Anna 

Petrochilou (1964). In 1960, a well-preserved skull that is 

considered to be a transitional form from Homo erectus to 

Homo sapiens, as well as fossils from 22 species of large 

mammals, were found. The existence of two different faunas 

has been noted in the cave, of late Middle Pleistocene and 

of Late Pleistocene age. On the other hand transitional 

forms have been detected (TSOUKALA, 1989). 

The cave is developed in the late Jurassic limestone 

of Mt. Katsika, that overlies phylites and the granodiorite 

of Monopigado (Figure1). The limestone consists of two 

layers different in age. The lower one, of Kimmeridian age, 

is characterized by the presence of Cladocoropsis mirabilis 

and Clypeina jurassica. The upper layer is of Portlandian 

age with Parugonia sp. (CHRISTARAS, 1984). Both layers 

rest conformably on the underlying phylites. At the northwestern 

part of Mt. Katsika, an intrusion of Monopigado 

Granodiorite outcrops. Sediments of Neogene age cover 

the above-mentioned basement rocks. 

In the southern part of the mountain there are travertine 

deposits related to inactive springs. SYRIDES (1990) infers 

that the drainage of the limestone of Mt. Katsika is to the 

southern part the mountain where the boundary of the 

limestone and the overlying impermeable sediments is lower 

in altitude. Furthermore, thermal water has been found by 

a shallow borehole in sediments south of the Petralona. 

This borehole is referred as the “great artesian borehole”. 

The karst water is found to be of meteoric origin (based 

on oxygen-18 and deuterium), but labelled by components 

of deep-seated origin such as CO 2 

and trace elements 

(fluoride and boron among others). In other boreholes the 

water is found to be a mixture of both karst and porous 

(Neogene sediments) aquifer systems (LOHENERT AND 

PAPAKONSTANTINOU, 1988). 

Three different groups of groundwater have been 

identified in the broader Mt. Katsika region with: a) 

extremely high arsenic concentrations (1.6–1.9 mg/L) 

and high temperature (33–42 ◦C, geothermal wells); b) 

relatively high arsenic concentrations (>0.050 mg/L), lower 

temperatures and relatively high concentrations of major 

ions, iron and manganese; c) low arsenic concentrations. 

In the southern part of the area, in the coastal wells, the 

influence of seawater has been detected from the high 

values of conductivity (KOURAS et al., 2007). The origin of 

the arsenic concentration is geogenic. 

In the Epanomi area that is located in the broader 

Mt. Katsika region, a gas field was discovered in 1988 by 

the borehole Epanomi-1. The reservoir is composed of 

Mesozoic limestone that overlies granodiorite. Turbidites 

of Eocene-Lower Oligocene comprise the cap rock of the 

gas field. 

Speleologists described Petralona Cave as a typical 

karst example (a cave formed in an unconfined setting) for 

almost half a century, but its morphology can be interpreted 

as a result of transverse speleogenesis (present article). 

233 

HYPOGENE SPELEOGENESIS AND KARST HYDROGEOLOGY OF ARTESIAN BASINS 

Ukrainian Institute of Speleology and Karstology, Special Paper 1, 2009

Lazaridis 

Figure 1. Geological sketch-map and cross section of the broader area of Petralona Cave. The stratigraphical column of Epanomi-1 

borehole is added to the western part of the cross-section. (Based on I.G.M.E., 1978; I.G.S.R., 1969 and ROUSSOS, 1992). 

METHODOLOGY 

The horizontal pattern analysis of the cave follows 

PALMER (2000; 2005) in order to relate the cave pattern to 

its host aquifer. The micro- and mesoscale morphology is 

based on BÖGLI (1978), WHITE AND DEIKE (1989), LAURITZEN 

AND LUNDBERG (2000), LUNDBERG (2005). The geometrical 

distinction of caves, formed in unconfined or confined 

(including artesian, hydrothermal or hypogenic caves) 

setting follow KLIMCHOUK (2003, 2007), FORD (2000) and 

FORD AND WILLIAMS (2007). Morphological parameters such 

as cave length, area of cave, area of cave field (by the 

polygon method), passage density and areal coverage are 

estimated according to KLIMCHOUK (2003). In addition, the 

mean breadth and the length to mean breadth ratio were 

calculated (FRUMKIN AND FISCHHENDLER, 2005). 

To separate caves developed in confined and 

unconfined settings discriminant analysis (DA) has been 

chosen. This analysis is based on data that have been 

previously divided into two groups (HAMMER AND HARPER, 

2006). For this purpose raw data of these two categories 

given by KLIMCHOUK (2003: Table 1) are used. Their division 

is ideally based on independent evidence (e.g. based on 

morphology not morphometry). DA projects multivariate 

data onto a single axis that maximizes the separation 

234 



PETRALONA CAVE: MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON ITS SPELEOGENESIS 

between two given groups. This 

analysis assumes multivariate normality 

in order to achieve better results. PAST 

1.81 software (HAMMER et al., 2001) 

was used for the DA. Additionally, the 

equality of the multivariate means 

for the given groups was tested by 

Hotelling’s T-squared. 

Morphology of the Petralona Cave 

Petralona Cave (Figure 2) is mostly 

developed horizontally, covering an 

area of 11.688 m 2 , and with 2.795 m 

in total length. The longest passages 

of the cave are of NE-SW striking 

and connected with each other by 

secondary passages trending NW- Figure 2. Ground-plan of Petralona Cave (based on POULIANOS, 2007) 

SE. Considering the tectonic setting 

of the area (CHRISTARAS, 1984) and 

the orientation of the cave passages the cave is fracture 

guided (after BÖGLI, 1978). The bulk of the main passages 

are abruptly termianted. Based on its horizontal pattern, 

the cave should be defeined mainly as a ramiform maze. 

Vertical shafts in various places of the cave are noticeable, 

but vadose entrenchments are not observed in any of 

them. 

In the central area of the cave there are large chambers 

caused by breakdown. Breakdown morphology at the 

south-eastern chamber of the cave is characteristic due to 

a breakout dome and a cone of debris that are formed. 

Above the cone of debris there is a sediment-filled vertical 

passage (circular in cross-section) that is considered to be 

a probable closed (choked) entrance (TSOUKALA, 1989). 

Other micro-scale features (Plates 1 and 2) in the 

chamber and passage morphology are the following: 

pendants that are remnants from removal of intervening rock 

by eddy dissolution; walls sculptured by cupolas that grade 

downward into sloping sidewalls (facets); ceiling cupolas, 

feeders and half tubes (Plate 2). Usually, speleogens in the 

cave are covered by abundant speleothems. 

The cave decoration includes, besides the common 

speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites, columns, cave coral 

et.c.), a great variety of shields, helictites, gours, cave 

pearls, spar etc. A considerable occurrence of cave clouds 

on the ceiling of the cave is an indicator of phreatic stagnant 

water (Plate 1). 

The morphometric parameters of Petralona Cave are 

given in Table 1. 

Table 1 

Two-dimensional geometry of the Petralona Cave 

Length(km) 

Cave 

area(km2) 

Area of 

cave 

field(km2) 

Passage 

density(km/ 

km2) 

volume of rock and of cave porosity is impossible. Thus, 

two-dimensional geometrical parameters have been used 

to discriminate these given groups as well as to classify 

Petralona Cave in a sample group. For the analysis 

all values are transformed to logarithms for log-normal 

distribution and better results. The sample of caves selected 

contains four cases of caves formed in unconfined settings 

and twenty-one in confined settings. 

The division of the two groups by the combination of 

passage density and areal coverage is acceptable for all 

cases used (100% both for original grouped cases correctly 

classified and for cross-validated grouped cases correctly 

classified). The null hypothesis that the multivariate means 

of the two sets are equal is rejected (p(same)= 8.6E-9, 

Hotelling’s T 2 ). Multivariate normality is equal to 0.961 and 

the prerequisite for equivalence of the covariance matrices 

holds good (Box’M: 2.0799, p(equal)=0.67). The resultant 

discriminant function V 1 

can be used for new cases, such 

as Petralona Cave: 

V 1 

= -20.054(log(passage density))-15.859(log(areal 

coverage))+51.5206 

Zero is used as a cut-off point, which means that 

negative scores will be calculated for caves formed in 

confined settings. 

When 3-dimensional data of cave geometry are 

available the variable of cave porosity is added in a 

second analysis; the following discriminant function is then 

extracted: 

V 2 

= -17.258(log(passage density)) -10.654(log(cave 

porosity)) -13.351(log(areal coverage))+44.7785 

Areal 

coverage(%) 

Mean 

breadth(Km) 

2.795 0.011688 0.032522 85.94 35.94 0.004182 668.34 

Length to 

mean breadth 

ratio 

DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS 

Many cave maps are not accompanied by crosssections, 

including the Petralona Cave map. As a result, 

estimation of the volume of the cave, specific volume, 

Caves with negative scores are attributed to confined 

setting, as noted. The hypothesis that the two groups 

separated by V 2 

have equal multivariate means is rejected 

235 



Lazaridis 

Plate 1. Petralona Cave: A and B) cave clouds on cave walls and ceiling; C) cupolas connected upwards; D) walls sculptured by 

cupola that grade downward into sloping sidewalls. 

(p=1.03E-8). Equivalence of covariances cannot be 

rejected (Box’M: 5.6682, p(equal)=0.73), but multivariate 

normality is equal to 0.14. Although, v 2 

classifies well in 

100% of cases used for the analysis, it is considered to be 

less valid than v 1 

. 

APPLICATION OF V 1 

The discriminant function V 1 

was also used for the 

Maaras Cave (Greece) and the Frasassi Cave (Italy) in 

order to be tested. The former is a branchwork cave (the 

longest underground river of Greece) formed in unconfined 

setting, and the later is a ramiform cave (hypogenic). Both 

cases are classified correctly (Table 2). 

Petralona Cave has negative score for V 1 

equal to 

-11.94, which assigns its classification to caves formed by 

transverse speleogenesis in confined settings. 

New data added to DA and the resultant discriminant 

function V 1 

recalculated as 

V 3 

= -15,616(log(passage density))-20,102(log(areal 

coverage))+48,0915 

The sample of caves used for V 1 

consists mostly of 

network caves that present high values of passage density. 

The addition of ramifying caves results in a higher coefficient 

of areal coverage for the discriminant function V 3 

, than V . 1 

236 




Plate 2. Petralona Cave: Meso-scale morphology A) sidewall feeder terminated upward in cupolas-like forms; B) a complex of small 

and larger cupolas on the ceiling; C) ceiling half-tube connected to cupolas; D) chain of cupolas. 1) feeder; 2) cupolas. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 

Cave morphology is a strong tool to investigate 

cave history and speleogenesis. The morphology of the 

Petralona Cave can be summarized as follows: network 

horizontal pattern; fracture-guided passages; abruptly 

ended passages, vertical shafts formed in the phreatic 

zone (notible is a shaft in the NW part of the cave that 

ends at a ‘laügdecken’ at the top and appears to be a 

rising shaft, although little is known about these shafts), 

feeders, half tubes and small cupolas. The mixing of two 

waters of contrasting chemistry can result in a network 

pattern. Various parts of the cave resemble the ramiform 

pattern that is also usually the product of rising thermal 

water (PALMER, 2000). The horizontal pattern of the cave 

is strongly related to the permeability structure of the cave 

formation, which is common in caves formed by ascending 

water. In addition, blind terminations of cave passages are 

usually related to hypogene speleogenesis (KLIMCHOUK, 

2007). Feeders sculpted on cave walls, ceiling cupolas and 

half tubes, present in various places in Petralona Cave, are 

common in hypogenic caves. 

Cave clouds that occur on the ceiling of the cave is 

a speleothem found commonly in hypogenic caves. Cave 

cloud formation is usually developed in a shallow phreatic 

environment. This speleothem has been reported in caves 

formed by rising thermal water such as Devil’s Hole, 

Lechuguilla Cave, Carlsbad Caves, Giusti Cave etc. (HILL 

AND FORTI, 1997). 

237 



Lazaridis 

Table 2 

Two-dimensional morphometric parameters of caves used to test the validation of the discriminant function V 1 

; 

their horizontal pattern and the V 1 

-score. 

Cave Length(km) Cave area 

(km2) 

Area of cave 

field (km2) 

Passage 

density 

(km/km2) 

Areal 

coverage 

(%) 

Mean 

breadth 

(Km) 

Length 

to mean 

breadth ratio 

Horizontal pattern 

Score 

(V1) 

Maaras 

(Greece) 

Frasassi 

(Italy) 

9.444 0.346 2.704 3.49 12.79 0.0366 4916.71 Branchwork cave 

pattern(unconfined 

settting) 

13* 0.093 0.353 36.8 26.32 0.0072 1817.2 Ramiform cave 

pattern(hypogenic) 

(GALDENZI AND 

MARUOKA, 2003) 

23.07542 

-2.40346 

*According to the official site of the Frasassi Cave (www.frasassi.com, accessed on January 2009) GALDENZI AND MARUOKA (2003) 

refer >20 km cave length that gives score


Palmer, A. N. 2005. Passage growth and development. In 

Encyclopedia of caves D.C. Culver and W.B. White (Eds.), 

Elsevier Inc. pp. 440-444. 

Petrochilou, A. 1964. The Kokkinon Petron Cave of Petralona, 

Chalkidiki (No 1044). Bulletin de la societé spéléologique de 

Gréce, 7:6, 157-167. 

Poulianos, N.A. 2007. The cave of the petralonian 

archanthropinae (8 th edition), ISBN 960-86804-3-3, 97 pp. 

Roussos, N. 1992. The gas field of Epanomi (Thessaloniki). An 

example of a fractured reservoir. Bull. Geol. Soc., 28:2, 507-523 

(in Greek with English abstract). 

Syrides, G. 1990. Lithostratigrahic biostraigraphic and 

paleogeographic study of the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary 

deposits of Chakidiki Peninsula, Macedonia, Greece. Thesis, 

Scientific Annals, School of Geology, university of Thessaloniki, 

1:11, 243pp. (in Greek). 

Tsoukala, E., 1989, Contribution to the study of the Pleistocene 

fauna of large mammals (Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla) 

from the Petralona Cave (Chalkidiki, N. Greece). Thesis, 

Scientific Annals, School of Geology, university of Thessaloniki, 

1(8), 360pp. (in Greek). 

White, B. W., and Deike III, H. G. 1989. Hydraulic geometry of 

cave passages. In Karst Hydrology White, W. and White, E. 

(Eds.), Concepts from the Mammoth Cave Area, Van Nostrand 

Reinhold, pp. 223-258, New York. 

239

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