Abstract
Studies of cave morphologies and cave sediments may provide unique insight into landscape evolution throughout geological history. Here we present a study from Veternica Cave located within the isolated karst area of Medvednica Mt. in the northern part of Croatia, a tectonically active region that recently experienced several strong earthquakes. Cave morphology together with paleomagnetic dating of the cave clastic sediments and U-Th dating of speleothems were evaluated and correlated to the present-day topography and features of the active tectonics of the area. Sediment dating provides a temporal context for the paleohydrologic history of this system, which is proven to cover >600 ky, and probably a much longer period. Several phases of speleogenesis were identified and attributed to changing intensity of regional tectonic movements during the Pleistocene to the present day. A maximum rate of water table drawdown of 6 m/10 ky was calculated, which is comparable to the rates determined in other caves in tectonically active and/or glaciated regions. Additionally, our study reveals new evidence for unsteady dynamics of cave evolution characterized by an interchange of long stable periods with periods of rapid adjustments of the cave morphology as a result of tectonic uplift and base level lowering.
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