Hypogene Cave Morphologies 2014 : selected papers and abstracts of the symposium held February 2 through 7, 2014, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Abstract

The main thematic activities of the conference are to examine and discuss the unique cave morphologies and speleogens associated with hypogene caves, from the scale of 100 km+ cave maps down to centimeter size wall rock shapes and forms. Hypogene caves can be argued to represent a laminar flow regime that is quite different from the turbulent flow found in epigenic stream caves coupled to surface hydrology. Can these morphologies be uniquely characterized to identify hypogene caves? What effect do these laminar flow regimes have on geochemical models of dissolution drive in hypogene settings? Do flank margin caves fall in the hypogene flow environment? ... About 30 invited participants from 13 countries, all of whom have demonstrated interest and expertise in hypogene caves, are participating. This volume presents their written contributions as abstracts and papers.