Salt cave cross-sections and their paleoenvironmental implications

Abstract

Salt caves respond rapidly to environmental changes. Direct measurement and 14C dating show that complex cross-sections may develop in a few hundred years. Two basic forms are discussed: (1) ingrowing vadose canyons where changing width may correspond to changing discharge; (2) wide low passages with flat ceilings, developed by upward dissolution, which may indicate rising base level. Some cross-sections are deformed by Holocene tectonics.