Poster Number 26
See more from this Division: General Discipline Sessions
See more from this Session: Geomorphology (Posters)
Abstract:
Incision of the Bullpasture River Gorge, which continues today, has caused regional karstic drainage patterns to rearrange, and significant portions of the system have either reversed their flow direction or been pirated by new discharge points along the Bullpasture River. This change from phreatic to vadose conditions may have been caused by tectonic uplift, nick point migration, and (or) a change in climate that resulted in relatively rapid incision and lowering the base-level of the Bullpasture River.
In addition, the caves contain mineralogical evidence that is suggestive of hydrothermal fluid migration. In the Butler Cave-Sinking Creek Cave System, for example, one or more of the following minerals are generally exposed in faults, sheared bedding planes, tension gashes, and tight fold axes: (1) calcite, (2) singly and doubly-terminated quartz crystals, (3) milky quartz and (4) lithiophorite [(Al,Li)MnO2(OH)2]. These observations suggest that many early conduits may have developed along proto-conduits from early hydrothermal fluid migration.
See more from this Division: General Discipline Sessions
See more from this Session: Geomorphology (Posters)