RT Journal Article
T1 Development and collapse of karstic cavities in folded marbles: Geomorphological and geophysical evidences in Nerja Cave (southern Spain)
A1 Martínez Moreno, Francisco José
A1 Galindo Zaldívar, Jesús
A1 Liñán Baena, C.
A1 González Castillo, María Lourdes
A1 Benavente Herrera, J.
A1 Martínez Martos, M.
A1 Rosal Padial, Y. del
A1 Fernández Rodríguez, L.E.
A1 Tendero Salmerón, Víctor
A1 Madarieta Txurruka, Asier
AB Karstic evolution leads to the growth and collapse of cavities by the interaction between geological structures and the hydrogeological framework. Nerja Cave developed within marbles belonging to the Alpujarride complex of the Internal Zones in the Betic Cordillera of Spain. The residual gravity anomaly map of the karstified areas –surrounding the known Nerja Cave– may indicate a likely elongated parallel cave system, N-S oriented, unknown up to present, and formed by both small shallow and large deep caves below a nearby hill located north-westwards to the known cave. At the east hillside, a moderate gravity anomaly minimum and geomorphological evidence (vertical walls and sunken terrains) suggest the presence of an old collapsed cave. At the west hillside, a marked gravity minimum is associated with a strongly folded marble layer without evidence of collapse. An electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profile across the hill –in the E-W direction– supports an interpretation of several voids, two of the bigger ones located on either side of the hill. The combination of geomorphological, ERT and gravity forward modelling indicate the location of unknown caves, one of them partially collapsed. These caves, located at a higher topographic level than the known Nerja Cave, may represent an early stage of cave development, and suggest the preferred dissolution of some layers in the folded marbles. This field example provides new insights on the interaction of structure in the karstic evolution that determines the cavity stability.
PB Elsevier
SN 0926-9851
YR 2021
FD 2021-04
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/114735
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/114735
LA eng
NO Martínez-Moreno, F. J., Galindo-Zaldívar, J., Baena, C. L., González-Castillo, L., Herrera, J. B., Martínez-Martos, M., Del Rosal Padial, Y., Fernández Rodríguez, L.E., Tendero-Salmerón, V., Madarieta-Txurruka, A. (2021). Development and collapse of karstic cavities in folded marbles: Geomorphological and geophysical evidences in Nerja Cave (southern Spain). Journal of Applied Geophysics, 187, 104287.
NO Nerja Cave Foundation
NO Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal)
NO Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
NO Junta de Andalucía
DS Docta Complutense
RD 19 abr 2025