CAVES

Many people find shape-rich dripstone caves or glittering ice caves beautiful. But what makes them so valuable for science? Unlike the land surface, which is subject to constant changes, naturally formed caves can be extremely long-living. Traces of the past are sometimes preserved for millions of years.

We know a lot about ice-age large mammals like the cave bear or cave lion because they hibernated in caves or brought their prey there. Animals like the proteus and several arthropods are interesting because of their special adaptation to these extreme habitats. Caves were also very important for prehistoric people: they were protected places of retreat, but also places of worship. Much of our knowledge about human development is based on finds from caves.

Cavities in the rock allow minerals to grow or serve as a depositional space for sediments. Dripstones store information about the climate. They are valuable archives when it comes to comparing past climate changes with the current climate change. Areas built up of water-soluble rocks such as limestone are important drinking water reservoirs. These so-called karst areas host the most and the longest caves. Exploring them can help to ensure the quality of drinking water.

The International Year of Caves and Karst was declared by the International Union of Speleology (and extended from 2021 to 2022) with the aim of informing the general public more about the issues and the great value of caves for mankind.
The Karst and Caves Group at the NHM Vienna is part of the Geology & Palaeontology Department and is engaged in applied as well as basic research on a wide variety of scientific topics related to caves and karst, which will be presented as part of the thematic pathway as well as an extensive supporting programme at the museum this year.

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