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Table 1. Economic impact of tourism in cave-centered national park units in 2010 (Stynes, 2011)
Park Visitors
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM) Total
Jewell Cave National Monument (SD)
Mammoth Cave National Park (KY) 428,524
Oregon Caves National Monument (OR) 103,462
Russell Cave National Monument (AL) 497,225
Timpanogos Cave National Monument (UT)
Wind Cave National Park (SD) 86,335
Totals 23,374
120,241
557,141
1,816,302
GSA TODAY | JANUARY 2015 The presence and characteristics of karst impacts a number of
key scientific and infrastructure topics. Most karst studies require
a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach.
• Because sediments and speleothems (mineral deposits) in caves
are, in many respects, isolated from surficial processes on both
short and long time scales, they provide valuable resources to
study Earth’s conditions recorded in them. Careful study
provides information on fluctuations in regional temperature,
atmospheric gases, rainfall, glaciation, sea-level change, flora,
and fauna (cf. Granger et al., 2001).
• Karst terrane, like many other areas, is valuable for the
economic resources it provides. The beer brewing and bourbon
whiskey industries rely heavily on water from karst areas. The
rock that hosts karst (e.g., limestone, dolomite, marble,
gypsum, travertine, and rock salt) are quarried throughout the
world. Paleokarst areas (areas containing karst that has been
decoupled from the surface) contain many of the world’s largest
economic reserves of lead, zinc, aluminum, oil, and natural gas
(cf. Barton et al., 2012, for a linkage between limestone and
bourbon).
• Cave fauna, adapted to low energy and low- to no-light condi-
tions, exist in highly specialized, unique, and extremely fragile
ecosystems. Many cave species can exist in perhaps a single cave
or a single region, and many are listed as rare or endangered
both in the United States and worldwide. Biologists often study
cave species to gain insight into ecosystem development and
evolution. Further, many cave microbes are extremophiles, and
studying them assists in understanding crucial geomicrobio-
logical processes and the interplanetary search for life (cf. Engel citations are spread across multiple disciplines and GSA publica-
et al., 2004). Bats, one of the most well-known species to
depend on caves, eat prodigious amounts of insects on a daily
basis. Boyles et al. (2011) estimate the value of bats to the agri-
cultural industry in the continental U.S. alone to be roughly
$22.9 billion/year.
• Cave environments preserve and protect archaeological mate-
rial that otherwise would have been destroyed by surface
processes. As a result, many of the most important archaeo-
logical sites in the world are found in caves. For example, enjoy
a virtual tour of Chauvet Cave at http://www.culture.gouv.fr/
culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/ or Husted and Edgar (2002) for an
excellent example of a multidisciplinary study with archaeology
at its heart.
• Due to the cavernous nature of many karst areas, infrastructure
can be severely impacted by ground subsidence and
40
Impacts of non-local visitor spending
Spending Jobs Labor income Value added
generated
$23,328,000 $7,225,000 $11,843,000
$5,146,000 346 $1,955,000 $3,224,000
$32,841,000 82 $12,290,000 $19,826,000
$4,113,000 530 $1,559,000 $2,529,000
$1,163,000 62
$7,775,000 18 $363,000 $589,000
$51,500,000 124 $3,647,000 $5,996,000
925 $22,350,000 $37,231,000
$125,866,00
2,087 $49,389,000 $81,238,000
catastrophic collapse. Fortunately, deaths are rare when sink-
holes form, but they can be extremely costly in terms of prop-
erty damage. According to Pearson (2013), “insurance claims
submitted in Florida alone between 2006 and 2010 totaled $1.4
billion.” Flooding is also a serious problem in karst terrane, and
can also be extremely damaging and costly. Consequently, the
ability to document the presence of karst terrane and properly
design structures accordingly is crucial.
• Water is the most commonly utilized resource in karst areas,
which contain some of the largest volume wells and springs in
the world. Very large volumes of water are stored as ground-
water in karst terrane; however, utilizing water from karst
terrane is not without severe risk. Movement of water from
Earth’s surface into a karst aquifer is rapid and without any
filtration. Whatever is on the ground will flow unmitigated into
karst aquifers, making them highly susceptible to pollution (cf.
Goldscheider, 2005; Jagucki et al., 2011).
WHY CREATE THE GSA KARST DIVISION?
Karst terranes have been important to distinguished GSA
members since the 1890s. The GSA Bulletin includes landmark
karst research, such as “Origin of Limestone Caverns,” by William
Morse Davis (1930), and “Origin and Morphology of Limestone
Caves,” by Arthur N. Palmer (1991). Other important research
articles can be found throughout GSA’s publications. For illustra-
tion, a simple search of GSA publications for any article with the
word “cave” in its title or abstract resulted in 186 citations, while a
similar search for the term “karst” resulted in 125 citations. These
tions, indicating a broad interest in karst within the GSA
membership.
Despite this, no single division within GSA encompassed the
interdisciplinary and multifaceted subject of karst. This wide-
spread, fragile, and troublesome landscape absolutely requires a
multidisciplinary forum where all aspects of karst studies can
converge and share research and results. Further, there is no single
organization dedicated to the scientific study of karst in the
United States. The National Speleological Society does publish a
journal, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (formerly The NSS
Bulletin), quarterly. However, its public persona is primarily one
of cave exploration, mapping, and conservation. The American
Geophysical Union has seen increased activity in karst science in
recent years, with many karst scientists voicing a desire “simply to
have a professional home.”