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Science in Burnsville Cove

 

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Current State

The "Science in Burnsville Cove 2018" report from Will White and the BCCS Science Committee:

BCCS Science 2018 Report

Interesting Potential Research Projects in Burnsville Cove

Will White, a long time BCCS member, cave explorer, and Geosciences Professor Emeritus at Penn State, put together a list of research projects that could be conducted in Burnsville Cove for presentation at the October 1, 2016 BCCS Annual Business Meeting. Here are his slides and a writeup on the potential science Dr. White has suggested.

BCCS Future Science slides Will White Feb 2017

BCCS Future Science Will White Feb 2017

 

Sinking Creek Grant

In 2016, the Butler Cave Conservation Society established a science grant program, the Sinking Creek Grant. Its purpose is to provide small monetary grants, typically on the order of a few hundred dollars, to help defray costs associated with carrying out cave and karst science research in and around Burnsville Cove, Virginia.

http://butlercave.org/science/sinkingcreekgrant.html

Previous Recipients:

2018    Emily Brent - Geology and geomorphology of Owl Cave

2017    Jennifer Macalady - Microbial cave slime research in Burnsville Cove

 

Major scientific publications dedicated to Burnsville Cove

 

Geologic controls on cave development in Burnsville Cove:

Swezey et al 2017 Burnsville Cove GSA FIELD GUIDE

The Caves of Burnsville Cove, Virginia. Cave and Karst Systems of the World, Springer Publishing Switzerland, 2015.

http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319143903

https://www.amazon.com/Caves-Burnsville-Cove-Virginia-Exploration/dp/3319143905/ref=mt_hardcover

Burnsville Cove Symposium, National Speleological Society Bulletin 44, number 3, 1982.

https://caves.org/nss-business/publications/JCKS/Bulletin/Vol%2044%20num%203.pdf (NSS Members only)

Deike, G.H., III, 1960, Origin and geologic relations of Breathing Cave, Virginia: Bulletin of the National Speleological Society, v. 22, pt. 1, p. 30-42.

http://ww.caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V22/v22n1-Deike.htm

 

Scientific papers and other publications relevant to the cave and karst of Burnsville Cove


Age of sediments in Sand Canyon, Butler Cave

Swezey et al 2021 Butler Cave Sediments GSA ABSTRACT

Quaternary history of Browns Pond (karst sinkhole on Tower Hill Mountain):

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2020SE/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/344348

Analysis of isotopes in stalagmites from Owl Cave

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2020SE/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/344849

Structural features in Burnsville Cove

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2020SE/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/344398

Geology and Geomorphology of Owl Cave (Siphon No. 1 Cave):

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2019SE/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/326421

Evidence of Silurian-age paleo-karst at Water Sinks reef:

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2018AM/webprogram/Paper322641.html

Conditions in Burnsville Cove during the last glacial maximum, work by Chris Bernhardt analyzing core samples in the Water Sinks:

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016SE/webprogram/Paper273006.html

USGS Core Sampling in the Water Sinks (Phil Lucas private communication summary).pdf

Cole, S.R., Haynes, J.T., Lucas, P.C. et al. Faunal and sedimentological analysis of a latest Silurian stromatoporoid biostrome from the central Appalachian Basin. Facies 61, 12 (2015).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-015-0440-x

Cole et al., 2015; Faunal and sedimentological analysis of a latest Silurian stromatoporoid biostrome from the central Appalachian Basin.pdf (posted with permission from P. Lucas, one of the authors.)

Haynes, John. (2014). The geological setting of Breathing Cave. In book: Breathing Cave, Bath County, Virginia, Edition: Monograph # 1, Publisher: Virginia Speleological Survey, Editors: Robert Zimmerman, pp.32-60

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305430539_The_geological_setting_of_Breathing_Cave

Lucas, Philip C., et al., International Congress of Speleology 2009 (Texas, USA), p. 2100, A Method for Detecting Cave Connections by Inducted Air Flow.

Induced Air Flow Lucas ICS paper 09 0103

Chess, Daniel et al., Acta Carsologica 39(1), 11-26 (2010), CLASTIC SEDIMENTS IN THE BUTLER CAVE – SINKING CREEK SYSTEM, VIRGINIA, USA

https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/carsologica/article/view/109/99

Schwartz, Benjamin F. and Doctor, Daniel H. GEOMORPHIC AND HYDROGEOLOGIC EVOLUTION OF KARST IN THE BURNSVILLE COVE, VIRGINIA, USA in the 2009 ICS Proceedings

Schwartz and Doctor_2009 ICS_Geomorphic and Hydrogeologic Evolution of Karst in the Burnsville Cove

Doctor, Daniel H., et al. PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT OF A STATISTICALLY-BASED KARST
CLASSIFICATIO SYSTEM, PHORMS

Doctor et al_PHORMS paper at 15th ICS

Ray, et al. Stable Isotopoes of a speleothem from Helictite Cave

Ray et al 2013 Helictite Cave spleothem stable isotopes

Behr and Crowell, Subterranean, surface, and Lidar-derived bedding orientations refine the structural features in the Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340101363_Subterranean_surface_and_Lidar-derived_bedding_orientations_refine_the_structural_features_in_the_Burnsville_Cove_Bath_and_Highland_Counties_Virginia

Stalagmite Paleoclimate Record of Helictite Cave (Ray et al., 2017)

Ray et al Stalagmite Paleoclimate in Helictite 2017 GSA ABSTRACT

Ages of Sediment in Butler Cave (Swezey et al., 2023)

Swezey et al 2023 GSA ABSTRACT Butler Cave Sediment Ages

Ages of Sediment in the Pancake Field (Colip et al., 2023)

Colip et al 2023 GSA ABSTRACT Pancake Field Sediment Ages

Black Dust Coating Sediments in Butler Cave (Woodward et al., 2023)

Woodward et al abstract Black Dust Coating GSA 2023

 



Scientific papers and other publications relevant to the flora and fauna in and around the cave and karst of Burnsville Cove

 

Edwards, A., 2019, Water bear hunting in West Virginia and Virginia cave and karst: NSS News, v. 77, no. 5 (May 2019), p.9-11.

Holsinger, J.R., Culver, D.C., Hubbard, D.A., Jr., Orndorff, W.D., and Hobson, C.S., 2013, The invertebrate cave fauna of Virginia: Banisteria, v. 42, p. 9-56.

Hubbard, D.A., Jr., 1994-1995, Update on the invertebrate cave fauna of Burnsville Cove, Va.: Butler Cave Conservation Society (BCCS) Newsletter, v. 20, p. 29-30.

Holsinger, J.R., 1982, A preliminary report on the cave fauna of Burnsville Cove, Virginia: NSS Bulletin, v. 44, p. 98-101.

Cooper, J.E., 1962, Cave records for the salamander Plethodon r. richmondi Pope, with notes on additional cave-associated species: Herpetologica, v. 17, no. 4, p. 250-255.

 

 

Compiled list of the rare animals of Virginia, included a number found in Burnsville Cove.:

Rare Animals, Natural Heritage Technical Report 16-07, February 2016

 

 

 

Publications about the exploration of the caves in Burnsville Cove

Caves and Karst of the Water Sinks Area By Philip Lucas. This is a free ebook; hardcopy is also available on lulu.com.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/philip-lucas/caves-and-karst-of-the-water-sinks-area/hardcover/product-1k8pje7w.html

 

[The website editor welcomes any additions or corrections to this list.]

 

ResearchGate suggested search

https://www.researchgate.net/search/publications?q=burnsville

 

 

Fictional publications about caving in Burnsville Cove

The webmaster apologizes for including a fictional publication on the "Science" page, but there didn't seem to be a better place for this at the time.

https://smile.amazon.com/Where-Dont-Shine-Underground-Thriller/dp/0966354710/