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Science 20 March 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5358, p. 1874
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5358.1874
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Research Commentaries

Also see the archival list of Science's Compass: Research commentaries

CAVE FORMATION:
Enhanced: Determining the Age of What Is Not There

Ira D. Sasowsky

How old is a cave? This is not an easy question. A cave is not an actual object but is rather the absence of material, and ascertaining the age of what is not there is difficult. In his research commentary, Sasowsky discusses results presented in the same issue by Polyak et al. in which a new strategy has been developed for dating caves created by the dissolving action of acidic ground water in limestone. In particular, the method has been applied to two of the most famous caves in the world: Carlsbad and Lechuguilla caves in New Mexico, USA.

The author is in the Department of Geology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4101, USA. E-mail: ids{at}uakron.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Pennsylvanian paleokarst and cave fills from northern Illinois, USA: A window into late Carboniferous environments and landscapes.
R. E. Plotnick, F. Kenig, A. C. Scott, I. J. Glasspool, C. F. Eble, and W. J. Lang (2009)
Palaios 24, 627-637
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Buoyancy-driven dissolution enhancement in rock fractures.
P. E. Dijk and B. Berkowitz (2000)
Geology 28, 1051-1054
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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