New Book: "Cave Geology" by Art Palmer

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New Book: "Cave Geology" by Art Palmer

Postby driggs » Jul 11, 2007 1:04 pm

Dr. Arthur N. Palmer's long-awaited new book, Cave Geology, has finally been published by Cave Books (CRF).

You can currently purchase it from SpeleoBooks (he'll even autograph it at Convention if you like), and probably from Cave Books themselves (though their website needs updated). The NSS Bookstore still doesn't have it! (Edit: now available from NSS Bookstore)

This is a 454 page, hard cover book for $38, by one of the most respected scientists in the field of speleology - an amazing bargain!

Image

Table of contents (from the LOC):

CONTENTS
Preface

1 Speleology the science of caves
Cave types
Cave exploring
Nationwide speleological organizations
Searching for caves
Cave mapping
Preparation of a cave map
Cave science
Underground photography
Show caves
Cave preservation and stewardship

2 Cave country
Geologic time
Landscape development
Surface karst features
Paleoleokarst
Pseudokarst
The scale of karst features
Distribution of karst and caves
The longest and deepest known caves

3 Cavernous rocks
Rock types
Soils and sediments
Stratigraphy
Highly soluble rocks
Rock structure
Rock and mineral analysis
A brief guide to rock identification

4 Underground water in karst
Types of underground water
Vadose flow patterns
Phreatic flow patterns
Aquifers
Nature of the karst water table
The freshwater-seawater interface
Groundwater hydraulics
Flow measurements
Use of flow equations in cave interpretation
Measuring the flow of springs and streams
Groundwater tracing
Interpreting groundwater character from tracer tests and flood pulses
Quantitative dye tracing

5 Chemistry of karst water
Simple dissolution
Dissoltion of limestone and dolomite
How much rock has dissolved?
pH
Undersaturation and supersaturation
Epigenic and hypogenic acids
Chemical interactions
Dissolution rates
Dissolution of poorly soluble rocks
Microbial effects on chemistry
Isotopes and their use
Analysis of spring chemistry
A chemical cave tour
Chemical field studies

6 Characteristics of solution caves
Cave entrances
Passage types
Passage terminations
Cave rooms
Cave levels
Cave patterns
Minor solution features in caves
Interpreting flow from scallops
Cave sediments
Bedrock collapse
Cave biology

7 Speleogenesis: the origin of caves
Basic concepts
Development of ideas about cave origin
Comprehensive views of cave origin
Rates of cave enlargement
Insight from computer modeling
Life cycle of a solution cave

8 Control of cave patterns by groundwater recharge
Sinkhole recharge: branchwork caves
The problem of maze caves
Floodwater caves
Caves formed by diffuse flow
Hypogenic caves
Polygenetic caves
Influence of climate

9 Influence of geology on cave patterns
Distribution of soluble rocks
Influence of rock type
Influence of geologic structure
Relation of caves to landscape evolution
A guide to cave patterns

10 Cave minerals
Origin and growth of cave minerals
Origin of common cave minerals
Speleothem types
Speleothem growth rates
Speleothem decay

11 Caves in volcanic rocks
Volcanic processes and landscapes
Types of lava caves
Origin and character of lava-tube caves
Speleogens and speleothems in lava caves
Time scale of lava caves

12 Cave meteorology and internal
weathering
Composition of cave air
Cave temperatures
Air movement
Evaporation and condensation
Weathering in the cave atmosphere
Chemical zones in air-filled caves

13 Caves and time
Relative and numerical ages
Determining cave ages
Studies of past climates
Caves through the ages

14 Geologic studies of caves
Field mapping
Calibrating survey instruments
Geologic interpretions
Testing interpretations for validity
Detailed analysis of a cave
Further goals

15 Application of cave geology to other geosciences
The problem of sampling bias
Water supply
Engineering applications
Land management
Interpretation of geologic processes
Petroleum geology
Mining
Scientific frontiers
The limits of discovery

Glossary
References
Index
Conversion between U.S. and metric units
Last edited by driggs on Jul 31, 2007 3:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 11, 2007 1:13 pm

Sweet! Another thing to add to my convention shopping list.
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Postby George Dasher » Jul 29, 2007 6:36 pm

Art's book includes a fantastic number of pictures, schematics, maps, and sidebars. It is an incredible book.

I am hard pressed to remember ever seeing a more comprehensive book on anything, and it is clearly a “must own” for anyone with a serious interest in speleology and caves.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 29, 2007 7:45 pm

This book was completely sold out, at all the vendors, when I got around to shopping. Dang.
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Postby Squirrel Girl » Jul 30, 2007 4:08 am

Scott McCrea wrote:This book was completely sold out, at all the vendors, when I got around to shopping. Dang.
Oh, no. When I heard about the book coming out, I requested a friend pick up a copy for me so Art could sign it for me. We'll see if I get one! Sigh! Oh, well, I guess there's always "tomorrow"!
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Postby hewhocaves » Jul 31, 2007 3:20 pm

Art was so busy signing on Tuesday that he forgot to eat lunch. The sandwich was a semi-permanant fixture in his non-writing hand; one lonesome bite taken out of it. I held up the line to get my book(s) signed until he took a second bite. Others did the same *grin*.
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Postby KENTO » Aug 6, 2007 7:39 pm

hewhocaves wrote:Art was so busy signing on Tuesday that he forgot to eat lunch. The sandwich was a semi-permanant fixture in his non-writing hand; one lonesome bite taken out of it. I held up the line to get my book(s) signed until he took a second bite. Others did the same *grin*.
That is thoughtful of you, Art is such an open generous individual and it has always been clear the NSS is so important to him.
Oh man, another book I have GOT to get for my personal library.
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Postby Squirrel Girl » Aug 7, 2007 5:49 am

My friend *did* get a copy for me. It arrived yesterday. Yay! I, of course, didn't read it yet, but I'm glad to have the copy!
:-)
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Baby partial review

Postby Teresa » Aug 7, 2007 10:24 am

I haven't read the whole thing yet, (and I didn't start at the beginning) but I did sit down and read all the sections on cave patterns and speleogenesis. The writing level hits somewhere about the "I've had a geology class or two, but don't have a degree in the subject" -- really easy reading for most self-geologically-educated cavers, but above someone needing Moore and Sullivan's Introduction to Speleology.

The Introduction to Cave Geology sort of says it all: "...I have tried to make the book accessible to non-scientists, but at the same time provide details which will be useful at all levels."

Every so often in a fairly technical section, Palmer will add in little tidbits which shows how the discussion applies to things which cavers have actually seen. That's neat, because it keeps you reading over the strings of geology words if you're not a geologist --and which are defined in a very extensive glossary in the back, if not in the text itself.

In the speleogenesis section, he does a really good job of reviewing all the major approaches and the literature, both in breadth and chronologically without belaboring any view with extensive details. It also points you where to go if you want the gory scientific paper details.

I have a special interest in what 'the experts' know and think about dolomite cave genesis-- I also did a read through based on the index, looking at all the dolomite entries, and found it generally edifying, without being overwhelmingly geochemical (yay!).

It's a geology book you actually can read without fear of falling asleep, not just consult. It asks that the reader bring some basic knowledge to it, but not too much, and then it painlessly takes you further up the learning curve Kudos!
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Postby Keith K » Aug 7, 2007 1:51 pm

Don't know if I can wait but this one is going on my birthday list.
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Postby glassgnom » Aug 15, 2007 6:54 am

great idea keith! i just emailed the scc bookstore link to my wife. cant leave the poor girl guessing about what i want on my birthday.
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Re: Baby partial review

Postby hewhocaves » Aug 18, 2007 8:52 pm

Teresa wrote:I haven't read the whole thing yet, (and I didn't start at the beginning) but I did sit down and read all the sections on cave patterns and speleogenesis. The writing level hits somewhere about the "I've had a geology class or two, but don't have a degree in the subject" -- really easy reading for most self-geologically-educated cavers, but above someone needing Moore and Sullivan's Introduction to Speleology.


Henry Rauch who does the Karst class for seniors and grads at WVU asked Art about the book. The book is designed for the undergrad level - though there are parts of it that would make it into a grad level class. I'm finidng it a good reference for the basic tenets of karst geology, hydrology and geochem. It strikes an excellent balance between theorey and practice and I'm finding myself referencing it again and agian as I plan my master's thesis.
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