Glossary of Karst and Cave Terms

Field, M.S., 1999, A lexicon of cave and karst terminology with special reference to environmental karst hydrology: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, EPA/600/R-99/006, 201 p.

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Term	Description
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subpermafrost water	Ground water below the permafrost [16].		View
subsequent river	1. A river flowing along the strike of a weak formation [16]. 2. A tributary to a consequent river [16].		View
subsidence	Lowering of the surface of the ground because of removal of support. Caused in karst areas by subterranean solution or ...		View
subsidence doline	A closed karst depression formed due to local subsidence of the surface rocks and/or soil into cavities formed by widespread ...		View
subsidence/head-decline ratio	The ratio between land subsidence and hydraulic head decline in the coarse-grained beds of the compacting aquifer system [21].		View
subsoil karst	Karst covered by soil, usually residual soil [17]. Synonyms: (British.) soddy karst; (French.) karst vert, karst subcutane; (German.) bedeckter Karst, ...		View
subsurface divide	See underground divide.		View
subsurface flow	See subsurface runoff.		View
subsurface runoff, storm seepage, subsurface flow, subsurface storm fl	Runoff due to infiltrated precipitation moving laterally under the surface.		View
subsurface water	All water that occurs below the land surface [22].		View
subterranean	Beneath the land surface [16].		View
subterranean cut-off	The diversion underground of a surface watercourse beneath a surface meander neck, marked by a swallow hole on the upstream ...		View
subterranean river, subterranean stream	Underground stream of flowing water in caves and caverns, but not necessarily large [10]. See also underground stream.		View
suction	See moisture tension.		View
suffosion	Undermining through removal of sediment by mechanical and corrosional action of underground water [20]. Synonyms: (French.) soutirage karstique; (German.) Anzapfung; ...		View
suffosion doline	More accurate synonym for a type of subsidence doline, indicating formation by the suffosion, or downwashing, of the soil into ...		View
sulfate	A mineral compound characterized by the sulfate radical SO4 2-. Anhydrous sulfates, such as barite, BaSO4, have divalent cations linked ...		View
sulfate minerals	Minerals containing the SO4 2- radical, formed by precipitation from water. The most common are the anhydrous and hydrated calcium ...		View
sulfate-reduction karst	Karst topography developed in the subsurface where solution of bedrock is chiefly a result of sulfate reduction by petroleum hydrocarbons ...		View
sulfide	A mineral compound characterized by the linkage of sulfur with a metal or semimetal, such as galena, PbS, or pyrite, ...		View
sulfide minerals	Minerals that are composed of one or more metals combined with sulphur. The most common is pyrite. They are believed ...		View
sulfuric acid	An acid (H2SO4).		View
sumidero	(Spanish.) 1. A swallow hole. 2. In Latin America, any closed depression caused by solution [10].		View
summation curve	A curve of cumulated values [16].		View
summit	The highest point of a physiographic feature [16].		View
sump	1. In caves a sump is a section of flooded passage. This may be a perched sump, probably quite short, ...		View
sunken pan	An evaporation pan buried in the ground for equal elevation of the water surface with the ground surface [16].		View
superimposed valley	A valley established on the land surface with a pattern that is independent of the underlying rock structure.		View
supersaturated	Referring to water that has more limestone or other karst rock in solution than the maximum corresponding to normal conditions ...		View
supersaturation	A liquid that is over saturated with respect to whatever particles may be contained in the fluid.		View

Glossary references