Dachstein Rieseneishöhle Parzifaldom 20210918

An ice cave is any type of natural

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

(most commonly lava tubes or

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all year round, and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

must have traveled into the cave’s cold zone.

Terminology

This type of cave was first formally described by Englishman Edwin Swift Balch in 1900, who suggested the French term ''glacieres'' should be used for them, even though the term ''ice cave'' was then, as now, commonly used to refer to caves simply containing year-round ice. Among speleologists, ''ice cave'' is the proper English term. A cavity formed ''within'' ice (as in a glacier) is properly called a glacier cave.

Types

Ice caves occur as static ice caves, such as Durmitor Ice Cave, and dynamic or cyclical ice caves, such as Eisriesenwelt.

Temperature mechanisms

In most of the world,

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...

caves are thermally insulated from the surface and so commonly assume a near-constant temperature approximating the annual average temperature at the surface. In some cold environments, such as that surrounding

Mount Erebus Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent. With a summ ...

, average surface (and thus cave) temperatures are below freezing, and with surface water available in summer, ice caves are possible and are sometimes overlain by fumarolic ice towers. However, many ice caves exist in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

climates, due to mechanisms that result in cave temperatures being ''colder'' than average surface temperatures where they formed. ''Cold traps'': Certain cave configurations allow seasonal

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the c ...

to import cold air from the surface in winter, but not warm air in summer. A typical example is an underground chamber located below a single entrance. In winter, cold dense air settles into the cave, displacing any warmer air which rises and exits the cave. In summer, the cold cave air remains in place as the relatively warm surface air is lighter and cannot enter. The cave will only exchange air when the surface air is cooler than the cave air. Some cold traps may ensnare surface

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet ...

and shade it from the summer sun’s rays, which may further contribute to the colder cave temperature. ''Permafrost'': Even temperate environments can include pockets of bedrock that are below freezing year round, a condition called

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surfac ...

. For example, winter wind and an absence of snow cover may allow freezing deep enough to be protected from summer thaw, particularly in light-colored rock that does not readily absorb heat. Although the portion of a cave within this permafrost zone will be below freezing, permafrost generally does not allow water percolation, so ice formations are often limited to crystals from

vapor In physics, a vapor (American English) or vapour (British English and Canadian English; see spelling differences) is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature,R. H. Petrucci, W. S. Harwood, and F. G. H ...

, and deeper cave passages may be arid and completely ice-free. Ice caves in permafrost need not be cold-traps (although some are), provided they do not draught significantly in summer. ''Evaporative cooling'': In winter, dry surface air entering a moisture-saturated cave may have an additional cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation. This may create a zone within the cave that is cooler than the rest of the cave. Because many caves have seasonally-reversing draughts, the corresponding warming of the cave through condensation in summer may occur at a different location within the cave, but in any event a moisture-saturated cave environment is likely to experience much more evaporative cooling than condensative warming.

Types of ice

Different freezing mechanisms result in visually and structurally distinct types of perennial cave ice. ''Ponded water'': Surface water that collects and ponds in a cave before freezing will form a clear ice mass, and can be tens of metres thick and of great age. Large ice masses are

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

and can slowly flow in response to gravity or pressure from further accumulations. Sculpting from air flow and

sublimation Sublimation or sublimate may refer to: * ''Sublimation'' (album), by Canvas Solaris, 2004 * Sublimation (phase transition), directly from the solid to the gas phase * Sublimation (psychology), a mature type of defense mechanism * Sublimate of mer ...

may reveal ancient accumulation bands within the ice. ''Accumulated snow'': Compressed under the weight of ongoing accumulations, snow sliding or falling into a cave entrance may eventually form ice that is coarsely crystalline, akin to

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

ice. True underground glaciers are rare. ''Ice formations'': Water that freezes before ponding may form icicles, ice- stalagmites, ice columns or frozen

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

s. ''Airborne moisture (water vapor)'': Freezing vapor can form

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above- freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

crystals,

frost feather Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

s and two-dimensional

ice plate Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque ...

s on the cave walls and ceiling. ''

Needle ice Needle ice is a needle-shaped column of ice formed by groundwater. Needle ice forms when the temperature of the soil is above and the surface temperature of the air is below . Liquid water underground rises to the surface by capillary action, ...

'': Infiltrating water that freezes within the bedrock can sometimes be forced into the cave passage. ''Intrusions'': The weight of a surface glacier perched atop a cave entrance can force glacial ice a short distance into the cave. The only known examples of this phenomenon are the several 'ice plugs' at the back of Castleguard Cave in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Examples

* Bandera Volcano Ice Cave (New Mexico, USA) *

Bixby State Preserve Bixby State Preserve is a nature reserve located in southwestern Clayton County, Iowa, in the midwestern United States. It is located north of Edgewood. It is operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as one of the Iowa state pr ...

(Iowa, USA) *

Booming Ice Chasm Booming Ice Chasm is an ice cave, located in the Crowsnest Pass area of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. The entrance to Booming Ice Chasm was initially found by accident by members of the Alberta Speleological Society while attempting ...

(Alberta, Canada) * Bortig Pit Cave (Apuseni Mountains, Romania) * Canyon Creek Ice Cave (Alberta, Canada) * Castleguard Cave (Alberta, Canada) *

Coudersport Ice Mine The Coudersport Ice Mine is an ice cave located in Sweden Township, Pennsylvania, Sweden Township, Pennsylvania, (east of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, Coudersport) that forms icicles in the spring and summer but not in the winter. Ice formations app ...

(Pennsylvania, USA) *

Decorah Ice Cave State Preserve Decorah Ice Cave State Preserve has one of the largest ice caves in the Midwestern United States. It consists of a parcel of land at the edge of Barbara Barnhart VanPeenen Memorial Park in the northern portion of the city of Decorah, in Winneshe ...

(Iowa, USA) *

Demänovská Ice Cave Demänovská Ice Cave or Demänovská ľadová jaskyňa (in Slovak) is an ice cave in the Demänovská Valley ( Low Tatra) in Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is ...

(Slovakia) * Dobšiná Ice Cave (Slovakia) UNESCO World Heritage site (2000) * Eisriesenwelt (Werfen, Austria) * Grotta del Gelo (Sicily, Italy) *

Grotte Casteret The Grotte Casteret, also known by its Spanish names Gruta de Casteret or Gruta Helada de Casteret, is a limestone ice cave, located high in the Spanish Pyrenees, within the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. Discovered in 1926 by Norbert ...

(Aragon, Spanish Pyrenees) * Ice Mountain (West Virginia, USA) *

Kungur Ice Cave Kungur Ice Cave is a karst cave located in the Urals, near the town Kungur in Perm Krai, Russia, on the right bank of the Sylva River. The cave is noted for its ice formations and is a popular tourist landmark. History and archaeology Kungur ...

(Perm Krai, Russia) *

Narusawa Ice Cave The Narusawa Ice Cave (, ''Narusawa Hyōketsu'') is a lava tube located in the Aokigahara forest, in the part that belongs to Narusawa Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the three larger lava tubes at the northern foot of Mount Fu ...

, (Mount Fuji, Japan) *

Niter Ice Cave The Niter Ice Cave is a geological feature approximately 3 miles south of the small southeastern Idaho town of Grace, Idaho. History The most probable explanation for the Niter Ice Cave is that thousands of years ago, a volcanic eruption forme ...

(Idaho, USA) *

Sam's Point Preserve Sam's Point Preserve, or Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve, is a preserve in Ulster County on the highest point () of the Shawangunk Ridge in New York, on the Wawarsing, New York- Shawangunk town line. It is owned and managed by the New York ...

(New York, USA) * Scărișoara Cave (Romania)Scarisoara Ice Cave – the biggest underground glacier in Romania
Travel Guide Romania website, December 24, 2014, retrieved 17 January 2016. * Shawangunk Ridge (New York, USA) * Speilsalen (Norway) collapsed in 2007 *

Víðgelmir Víðgelmir () is a lava tube situated in the Hallmundarhraun lava field (formed around 900 AD) in west Iceland, around 2 km southeast of Fljótstunga farm in Hvítársíða, Borgarfjörður. The roof of the lava tube has collapsed, crea ...

(West Iceland)

References

External links

goodearthgraphics.com
Video of an ice cave in the Big Snowy Mountains of Montana
YouTube video *Rod Benso

For Montana website, selfpublished, 2009, retrieved 17 January 2016.

Eisriesenwelt Austria, undated. retrieved 17 January 2016
Kungur Ice CaveDurmitor Ice Cave

Speleoglacio Ice Cave Research Group
University of Milano, Italy *Marco Pleban
GROTTE DI GHIACCIO
Marco Plebani website, June 2009, 3pp (in Italian), retrieved 17 January 2016. {{Authority control