Abstract
Abstract. The change of hydrological conditions during the evolution of caves in carbonate rocks often results in a complex subterranean geomorphology, which comprises specific landforms such as ceiling channels, anastomosing half tubes, or speleothems organized vertically in different levels. Studying such complex environments traditionally requires tedious mapping; however, this is being replaced with terrestrial laser scanning technology. Laser scanning overcomes the problem of reaching high ceilings, providing new options to map underground landscapes with unprecedented level of detail and accuracy. The acquired point cloud can be handled conveniently with dedicated software, but applying traditional geomorphometry to analyse the cave surface is limited. This is because geomorphometry has been focused on parameterization and analysis of surficial terrain. The theoretical and methodological concept has been based on two-dimensional (2-D) scalar fields, which are sufficient for most cases of the surficial terrain. The terrain surface is modelled with a bivariate function of altitude (elevation) and represented by a raster digital elevation model. However, the cave is a 3-D entity; therefore, a different approach is required for geomorphometric analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate the benefits of high-resolution cave mapping and 3-D modelling to better understand the palaeohydrography of the Domica cave in Slovakia. This methodological approach adopted traditional geomorphometric methods in a unique manner and also new methods used in 3-D computer graphics, which can be applied to study other 3-D geomorphological forms.
Highlights
The caves are specific geomorphological forms typically developed in limestone rocks under appropriate hydrologic conditions
We demonstrate the benefits of high-resolution cave mapping and 3-D modelling to better understand the palaeohydrography of the Domica cave in Slovakia
The aim of this paper is to present a novel methodology of deriving morphology information for the identification of ceiling channels using a high-resolution digital cave surface model and geomorphometric analysis
Summary
The caves are specific geomorphological forms typically developed in limestone rocks under appropriate hydrologic conditions. More specific cave landform can form, such as ceiling channels. These channels incised in the cave roof evolve under a specific hydrological regime, which can be inferred from the channel morphology and associated features. Morphology of these speleoforms can indicate how the whole cave system developed and what the water stream parameters were at that time (Ford and Williams, 2007). Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is especially suitable since it uses its own source of electromagnetic energy, which makes it capable of mapping the surface with a high resolution in the darkness of the underground world (Buchroithner, 2015). Simpler methods exploiting laser distance measurers were used for capturing ceiling morphology (Lundberg and McFarlane, 2012), but the level of detail recorded does not reach the capabilities of TLS
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