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Glacier Caves

Image: a glacier cave in Greenland, featured in the IMAX Film amazing caves, © MacGillivray Freeman Films.

Caves inside ice are only possible in ice, which does not melt away every year. This kind of ice is called glacier, and is found all over the world. Huge glaciers cover the north and south pole. Other glaciers cover mountains in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Alaska and Washington.

Image: a glacier cave in Greenland, featured in the IMAX Film amazing caves, © MacGillivray Freeman Films.

To remove ice from inside a glacier, all we need is a little bit of energy (aka warmth). The ice melts, and if there are cracks in the ice, the water flows out of the glacier.

Many glaciers of the world are in areas with seasons. In the warm season the surface of the ice starts to melt and the water flows down the ice shield. As it is a little warmer than the ice it also melts a little bit of ice where it flows, and so the water soon forms a gorge. As the ice is able to flow, the gorge closes some time after the water stops to flow. Only water flowing continually will keep the passage clear. But as it flows on the bottom of the gorge, the upper part of the gorge closes and the gorge becomes a cave.

A very special thing are the glacier caves of Iceland. This island has many volcanic regions, so it is rather common that volcanoes or warm springs are located below glaciers. This volcanic warmth melts ice at the bottom of the glacier thus producing a cavern inside. If the water has a way to flow out, it is air filled, if not it is water filled.

Examples

Paradise Ice Caves

EXPLORATION HISTORY

Heavy snow during the 1920s prevented access into the Paradise ice caves until F. W. Schmoe, a park naturalist, dug an opening with his ice axe. His published his cave observations (Schmoe, 1926) describe a white-water river flowing through a large domed room with numerous waterfalls, bridges, tunnels, and dark passageways. By the end of the 1920s, the Mount Rainier Guide Service was conducting regular tours into the caverns. Tours continued through to the mid-1940s, until glacial retreat had all but destroyed the downslope reaches of Paradise Glacier and its ice caves.

New openings were discovered at the head of the Stevens lobe of Paradise Glacier in 1946, but further exploration did not occur until the mid 1960s. Activities of the Cascade Grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS) beginning in 1967 gave attention to newer openings on the Stevens Lobe snout, then located in the middle area of Stevens Basin (Anderson, et al., 1994; Halliday, 1976).

In the 1960s, exploration was confined to the main stream passage that followed Stevens Creek. By 1970, over 2 miles (1.2 km) of firn and glacier ice cave passages (cumulative measure) had been surveyed. Work was interrupted in 1971, due to record snowfalls that continued through 1972. It resumed in full force from 1973 through 1981, and then was carried on intermittently through 2001. By May of 1978, the combined length of mapped cave passages was 8.23 miles (13.25 km).

 Mount Rainier's Steam Caves

An early National Park Service photo showing climbers inside the steam caves In 1870, after Hazard Stevens and P.B. Van Trump wearily completed the first fully-documented ascent of Mount Rainier, an extensive network of steam caves at the summit saved their lives.

Lacking blankets for a bivouac or sunlight for a descent, they huddled in the eerie cavern for its wind shelter and relative warmth--though at just above freezing, they must have had one long, cold bummer of a night.

A few climbers since then have used the firn-snow caves for an emergency shelter. A few more have probably even ducked into the upper part of a cavern for some quality time in a makeshift outhouse. But after completing the grueling hike to the summit, few venture more than a quick glance into the icy, dark holes. As a result, not many know much about the caves--or even that they're there.

In 1970--exactly 100 years after Stevens and Van Trump huddled for life--Drs. Eugene Kiver and Martin Mumma, of Eastern Washington State College, made the first complete scientific examinations of the caves. Camping at the summit they explored and mapped the caverns with a tripod-mounted compass and measuring tape. Inside they found a main perimeter passage running parallel in an arc to the outer rims of each crater some 50-70 meters from the surface. Numerous exhaust passageways run perpendicular to the perimeter tunnel, up the crater slope to the rim.

The ground in the craters is mostly loose, igneous rubble, with some rocks as large as two meters across. Fumaroles--holes in the ground that exhaust the volcano's heat--are the engine that drives the melting process. The walls and ceiling are firn snow--the same age-hardened ice that comprises glaciers. This ice cycles like a glacier, accumulating on the surface and ablating (or, in English, melting) down lower.

Instead of melting as it slides to a lower, warmer elevation like a glacier, ablation on the summit comes as the mountain's heat melts the underside of the ice plug. The majority of this melted water escapes into the crater and finds its way down the mountain as groundwater.

The caves hid plenty of surprises for the explorers, however. Two passages led to large rooms. One room, over a hundred feet across, held a large reservoir of melt-water--in effect, a lake at the summit of Mount Rainier.

Another large room, this one dry, contained debris left on the summit that had subsided--that is, sunk through the firn snow through its accumulate-melt cycle --and fallen into the room. Among this included 50-year-old cans and wool gloves. They named it "the bird room" for the skeletal remains of long dead birds, fallen at the summit.

In general, the caves are extremely stable. Slight variation in width and shape occurs from season to season, but on an annual basis the snowpack and heat are in remarkable

Crater Ice Caves Mount St. Helens

History

• 2002 explored by an International Glaciospeleological Survey expedition.

The crater floor has been progressively covered by a layer of snow, firn, and glacier ice since as early as 1986. Heat, steam, and volcanic gases from the crater fumaroles have melted over 2,415 m (7925 ft) of cave passage in the crater ice mass.  The caves are in approximate balance with the present geothermal heat release. Geothermal activity influences the dimensions, location, ceiling, wall, and wall ablation features of these caves. Cave passages are located above fumaroles and fractures in and adjacent to the dacite dome.  Cave passages gradually enlarge by ablation, caused by outside air circulation and by geothermal sources beneath the ice.  The passages form a circumferential pattern around the dome, with entrance passages on the dome flanks.

Photos By Charles H. Anderson Jr.

 Descending passages have vertical sides and ceilings that are convex upward. Passages paralleling the slope contours are often shaped like right triangles with the 90-degree angle located at the junction of the downslope ice wall and the ice ceiling. Floors are composed of mud with up to boulder-size volcanic rubble and slope about 30 degrees. Against the Lava Dome flanks, the slope may exceed 40 degrees.

Kverkfjöll

 History

• 198? explored by an French expedition.

Description

This is maybe the most famous glacier cave in the world. It was formed by hot water from volcanic spring below the Vatnajökull glacier.

The cave was explored by a French expedition in the eighties. They were able to follow the cave about 2 km.

Glacier caves are always dangerous. So it is warned to enter the cave as the entrance is rather unstable. Blocks of ice may fall down.

Glacier caves are formed very fast, especially if they are formed by hot springs as in this case. On the other hand they are destroyed very easy by movements or collapses of the ice. So they are the shortest living caves at all.

	longest and deepest        glacier caves. ( )
Mise à jour le 5-5-2001
Renseignements :
	Philippe AUDRA	e-mail : audra@unice.fr

Les moulins
		moulin: aven-perte dans un glacier, alimenté par une bédière, ruisseau de fonte coulant à la surface (Choppy, 1985)
Dénivellation de + de 100 m
	Cavités	Pays	Prof.	Références
1.	Perito mecanico	Argentine	-180 m	Atlas non calc
2.	Moulin Isortoq	Groënland	-173 m	Atlas non calc
3.	Moulin Kapisigdlit	Groënland	-157 m	Atlas non calc
4.	Moulin	Pakistan	-140 m	Atlas non calc
5.	Eimfjellethaven	Spitzberg	-135 m	Atlas non calc
6.	Moulin d'Anorip Putua	Groënland	-130 m	Atlas non calc
7.	Moulin du Gorngletscher	Suisse	-130 m	Atlas non calc
8.	Puits-volcan de Phrihnüg kagipu	Islande	-121 m	Atlas non calc
9.	Crystal Cave	Spitzberg	-120 m	Atlas non calc
10.	Gouffre Félix	Spitzberg	-120 m	Atlas non calc
11.	Moulin	Pakistan	-120 m	Atlas non calc
12.	Moulin de la Mer de Glace	France	-105 m	Atlas non calc
13.	Puits du glacier Loven-est	Spitzberg	-105 m	Atlas non calc
14.	Moulin	Pakistan	-100 m	Atlas non calc
15.	Glaciologeraven	Spitzberg	-100 m	Eraso & Pulina
Développement de + de 1 000 m
	Cavités	Pays	Dével.	Références
1.	Perito mecanico	Argentine	1 021 m	Atlas non calc
2.	Cueva Piramida	Spitzberg	2 000 m	Eraso & Pulina

Les grottes sous-glaciaires
Dénivellation de + de 100 m
	Cavités	Pays	Prof.	Références
1.	Kverkfjöll	Islande	-525 m	Atlas non calc
2.	Riv. du glacier de Grise-Fjord	Ile Ellesmere	-147 m	Atlas non calc
3.	Gouffre de Vesletuva	Spitzberg	-112 m	Atlas non calc
Développement de + de 1 000 m
	Cavités	Pays	Dével.	Références
1.	Paradise ice cave	USA	24 000 m	Atlas non calc
2.	Kverkfjöll	Islande	2 850 m	Atlas non calc
3.	Summit steam cave		1 600 m	Atlas non calc
4.	Grotte de Tupilaq Sulloq	Groënland	1 400 m	Atlas non calc
5.	Riv. du glacier de Grise-Fjord	Ile Ellesmere	1 046 m	Atlas non calc

Ice Cave

en: ice cave 
es: cueva (f) de hielo (m) 
de: Eishöhle (e) 
fr: grotte (f) glacée 
hu: jégbarlang 

An Ice Cave is cave which contains ice, not a cave formed in ice. Those are called Glacier Caves.

Ice cave may be caves of any type, karst caves, primary caves or tectonic caves. What they have in common is the fact, that there is ice inside the cave. The ice is formed by dripping water and the low temperature of the cave itself.

But it is not that easy: If the cave temperature is below zero, why did the water not freeze inside the rock? The rock must be above zero, the cave air below zero.

There are two mechanisms working together:

1.     The shape of the cave works as a trap for cold air.
Very often, a ice cave has a special shape, a high entrance and now exit at the bottom. The entrance allows cold air, which is heavier than warm air, to flow down into the cave. So the cave temperater gets colder than the temperature of the rocks. In summer the cold air stay inside the cave because of its specific weight. It is the same principle used in supermarket refrigerators to keep the cold inside.

2.     The average temperature outside is not too much above zero and there are warm and cold seasons.
The average long term temperature outside is also the temperature of the rocks and normally that of the cave. If there are cold winters, there is cold air to catch in the "temperature trap".

Ice caves are very cold, always below zero, the paths are often very difficult to go. It is normally not possible to build paths in the areas with ice, as the ice moves every year and tends to destroy anything in its way. The paths across the ice are often rebuild every year using wooden planks. Ice caves often have no electric light, as the same problems with moving ice apply to electric installations.

It is essential to wear warm clothes and good shoes. The cave is not suitable for people with health problems.

Examples

Eisriesenwelt

The World of the Ice Giants

History

• 1849 discovered.
• 1912 first expedition into the cave.
• 1920 developed as show cave.

Description

TheEisriesenwelt is the largest ice cave of the world. The halls are decorated with all kinds of ice formations, gigantic columns and towers of ice, ice waterfalls and glaciers.

This cave is a so called dynamic icecave. The cave is located in a height were the average temperature is below zero. Several entrances to the cave allow chilly air currents to flow in. So the ice formations change slightly every year.

It is located in the west wall of the Hochkogel in the Tennengebirge. On days with good weather there is a spectacular view of the surrounding mountain ranges of the Hohe Tauern from the huge cave entrance.

The caves were formed during the late Tertiary.

The entrance to the caves is not visible from the valley. Since this steep, tricky rock was very hard to accede in former times, the cave was not discovered until 1849. Even though an enthusiastic report was published about the exploration, the world did not take notice of the caves for another 30 years. Currently about 200,000 tourists come here every year.

A mountain road from Werfen leads up to the cablecar station. You should be aware, that a visit to this natural monument takes about 5-6 hours, including

• the ride up to the cablecar from Werfen,
• the walk to the entrance of the cave
• and a guided tour of two hours.

There is no electric light in the cave. Visitors wear carbide lamps and the most spectacular sights are illuminated with magnesia.

Peştera Scarisoara

Ghetarul de la Scarisoara - Scarisoara Ice Cave

History

Description

The entrance to Peştera Scarisoara is a shaft, 48 m deep. The hall at the ground of this abyss is filled with ice all year round. The reason for this strange situation is the height of the cave, where the winters are rather cold, and the form of the entrance: like refrigerators in supermarkets, the caves stores the low temerature, as the cold air is heavier than the warm air outside.

A stair of steep wooden and iron steps spiralles around the shaft until it reaches the bottom. This first chamber is already filled with ice. But the most impressive ice structures are found in the second chamber of the cave.

The cave is very cold, the paths are very difficult to go. It is essential to use warm clothes and good shoes. The cave is not suitable for people with health problems.

Grotte de la Glaciére

History

• 1910 damaged by flood
• 1953 damaged by flood

Description

The most spectacular fact about this cave is the low temperature of about 0° Celcius.

It is caused by the form of the cave, a single room with a large opening on the top. The same effect occurs, everybody knows from the supermarket: as cold air has a higher density (is heavier) than warm air, it has no possibility to escape from the refrigerator, if there is just an opening at the top.

In winter cold air flows into the cave, in summer there is no possibility for the cold air to escape or for warm air to enter.

Many caves contain ice flowstones in winter, but it is very rare if they stay all the year. Beneath the Grotte de la Glaciére there is just one other cave of this type in Europe.

Classification of Caves

Definition: A cave is an airfilled underground void, large enough to be examined in some way by man.

There are several ways to classify caves:

1.     by the rocks they are in

o       limestone caves (limestone, dolomite, marble)

o       gypsum caves

o       lava caves

2.     By the morphology of the cave, the geometric structure

o       horizontal caves consist of some nearly horizontal tubes.

§        fissure caves consist of a single fissure in the rock.

o       vertical caves consist of shaft(s) and short links inbetween.

o       cave systems are rather large a contain many different features.

The discrimination in horizontal and vertical caves is useful only in areas with rather small caves. This caves consist normally of a single tunnel or shaft. In other karst areas with larger caves any cave is a cave system.

3.     by the time they were formed, in relation to the forming of the rocks they are in:

o       primary caves formed together with the surrounding rocks. This are typically lava tubes or gas bubbles ortufa caves.

o       most caves are secondary caves. After the formation of the rock there is a time when part of the rocks are removed. This secondary stage formed the cave. The mechanism of the transport of removed material is not relevant for this classifikation.

o       tertiary caves are the result of the collapse of other caves.

4.     by the way they were formed:

o       solutional caves or Karst caves: Most caves are in rocks which can be dissolved by a weak natural acid (usually carbonic acid). This acid forms when rainwater absorbs CO₂ from the air and the upper layers of the soil.
The forming of Gypsum Caves does not require CO₂, Gypsum has a very high solubility.

o       lava caves or lava tubes: First a crust hardens on a lava flow. When the crust gets thick enough, the lava flow is underground. When the eruption end, the lava keeps flowing and the empty tunnel-like passage remains. The length of this tubes depends on the distance from the lava source to the drain, a depression or the sea. It can be hundreds or even thousands of Meters long.
Example:  Hana Cave

o       tufa caves: When limestone rich water emerges from a spring, the limestone
Example:  Olga Cave

o       sea caves: This caves are created by the erosion of waves. The waves force water into cracks in the rock, breaking of the rock and forming caves. Often this caves follow less resistant rock layers.
Example:  Sea Lion Cave

o       talus (ta'les) caves: Huge rockfalls from cliffs can create large spacious chambers within the resulting boulder piles.
Example:  Polar Caves Park

o       earthquake cave: Formed by the movement of rock along a fault. Its just a natural crack in the rock and the big ones are very rare.
Example:  Seneca Caverns

o       glacier caves: Melting water moving through glaciers creates glacier caves. This caves are formed inside the ice. But: Ice caves on the other side are caves that are filled with ice, but the cave itself is formed in rock. Most ice caves are formed as solutional caves in limestone! Examples can be found in Canada, Alaska, Mt. Ranier, Mount St. Helens Crater, Mount Baker and in Washington ALSO on Mount Hood in Oregon.

o       soil tubes: In desert areas, flash floods can move through the soil and hollow out openings. Examples can be found in the Mohave Desert in California.

5.     by the age of the rock: This is useful for limestone caves. Limestone is a sedimentary rock and is characterized by the time it was formed.

The most common limeston formations are:

o       Recent Limestone or Tufa is found all over the world.

o       Jurassic Limestone.

o       Devonian Limestone.

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