CAILHOL , Didier

Numerous traces of bear visits have been found in caves. They generally correspond to claw marks on walls or to cave bear wallows. Sometimes, these clues are not always well preserved and do not allow the confident identification of the presence of bears. The differential preservation of clue on limestone walls can hamper speleologists and...

Grotte de Saint-Marcel: a major French cave system for Speleology, Sciences, Tourism and Education Located in Ardèche (South east of France), grotte de Saint-Marcel is actually a 56 km long cave system with more than 18 km explored by cave diving. The cave, was discovered by the locals on 1835, the cave explorations started a few years later....

The Camou springs (Arbailles Massif, French Western Pyrenees) display an unusual close association of a typically cold karstic spring that drains the Urgonian western limb of the Arbailles, and a thermo-mineral spring (33.5°C; salinity 17.7 g/L). The latter gains its mineralization while crossing the Triassic evaporites mainly through a deep...

The Camou springs (Arbailles Massif, French Western Pyrenees) display an unusual close association of a typically cold karstic spring that drains the Urgonian western limb of the Arbailles, and a thermo-mineralized spring (33.5 °C; salinity 17.7 g/L). The latter gains its mineralization at the contact of Triassic evaporites mainly through a...

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The Prehistoric Cave at Azé (France) was divided in two parts by calcite flowstone. This isolated the innermost parts of the cave from the entrance, which remained connected to the surface. Since the closure, bats have not been able to access the cave beyond the flowstone blockage. They have been present only in the cave entrance. The...

Several sinkhole collapses were occurred in the many sites in urban areas and/or their rural periphery; in NE Algeria, in the last few years. The abrupt collapse causes damages to properties, infra-structures, and even lives. The most spectacular oneoccurred in February 2009 inside the Cheria city, Northwest of Tebessa department, with a...

The little known impact of bats and bat guano in the late stages of cave morphogenesis. Bats are considered as symbolic caves inhabitants. The colonies, sometimes huge, may occupy caves through long periods. Large guano deposits were accumulated. Some have been mined for phosphates, either by hand or at the industrial scale. Bats impact is...

The condensation-corrosion process occurs when airflow cools at the contact with colder cave walls. Condensed water becomes aggressive for soluble rocks and corrodes the walls. This process is particularly active close to cave entrances in high thermal gradient zones where external air enters caves. Condensation appears to be important where...

Val di Scerscen is located in the Central Italian Alps (Northern Lombardy), in the scenic setting of Valmalenco. This area is not very rich in caves, especially due to the abundant presence of oceanic metamorphic rocks, which where uplifted during the Alpine orogenesis, dominate the terrains. A thin lens of whitish dolomitic marbles belonging...

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