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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closed traverse	A traverse which begins and ends at survey points with known co-ordinates and orientation or at the same point [25].		View
cloud	Large masses of coralloid or botryoidal calcite, deposited under water, with each mass reaching 200-800mm in diameter. Famous examples hang ...		View
clusterite	See botryoid.		View
coarse	Composed of or constituting relatively large particles.		View
coarse sand	1. A geologic term for a sand particle having a diameter in the range of 0.5-1 mm (500-1000 microns, or ...		View
coarse silt	A geologic term for a silt particle having a diameter in the range of 1/32 to 1/16 mm (31-62 microns, ...		View
cockpit	(Jamaican.) 1. Any closed depression having steep sides. 2. A star-shaped depression having a conical or a lightly concave floor. ...		View
cockpit karst	(Jamaican.) 1. Term describing an area containing numerous scattered, yet closely spaced dolines; generally a tropical karst land form. The ...		View
coefficient of compressibility	Compressibility is the aptitude of the soil to be deformed. It is expressed by means of a coefficient which is ...		View
coefficient of permeability	An obsolete term that has been replaced by the term hydraulic conductivity [6].		View
coefficient of storage	See storage coefficient.		View
coefficient of transmissivity; coefficient of transmissibility	An obsolete term replaced by the term transmissivity.		View
coefficient of volume compressibility	The compression of a clay (aquitard) per unit thickness, due to a unit increase of effective stress, in the load ...		View
cohesion	Shear resistance at zero normal stress. An equivalent term in rock mechanics is intrinsic shear strength.		View
coliform organism	A microorganism, the concentration of which is used as an indication of the degree of biological pollution of water [16].		View
collapse breccia	A mass of rock composed of angular to rounded fragments of limestone or dolomite that has formed as the result ...		View
collapse chamber	An underground chamber containing notable quantities of collapsed material. The term is commonly abused in describing the origin of cave ...		View
collapse of caves	Collapse and breakdown of cave walls and ceilings are continuing aspects of cave development and modification. Massive unfractured limestone can ...		View
collapse sink; collapse sinkhole	1. A variety of closed depression that forms by collapse of the rock above an existing cave passage or chamber ...		View
collector well	A central well with horizontal sections of screened collector pipe arranged radially to increase yield [16].		View
colloid	Extremely small solid particles, 0.0001 to 1 micron in size, which will not settle out of solution. It is intermediate ...		View
column	1. A subsurface dripstone formation produced by the union of a stalactite and a stalagmite in a cave [20]. 2. ...		View
comminution	The reduction of a substance to a fine powder; pulverization; trituration.		View
community	All the plants and animals that live in a particular habitat and are bound together by food chains and other ...		View
compaction	A decrease in the volume of a mass of sediments from any cause. In general, compaction may be regarded as ...		View
compaction, residual	Compaction that would occur ultimately if a given increase in applied stress were maintained until steady-state pore pressures were achieved, ...		View
compaction, specific	The decrease in thickness of deposits, per unit of increase in applied stress, during a specific period of time [21]. ...		View
compass	An instrument with a magnetic needle which is free to point to magnetic north. For survey the needle is either ...		View
competition	The struggle between individuals or groups of living things for common necessities, such as food or living space [23].		View
complete well penetration, fully penetrating	1. The property of a well that penetrates an aquifer completely from the upper confining bed or water table to ...		View

Glossary references