SALT CAVE CROSS-SECTIONS AND THEIR PALEOENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Salt caves respond rapidly to environmental changes. Direct measuremen t and C-14 dating show that complex cross-sections may develop in a fe w hundred years. Two basic forms are discussed: (1) ingrowing vadose c anyons where changing width may correspond to changing discharge; (2) wide low passages with flat ceilings, developed by upward dissolution, which may indicate rising base level. Some cross-sections are deforme d by Holocene tectonics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved.