Karstbase Bibliography Database

Schneealpe is a heavily karstified massif located 80 km south of Vienna. As a catchment area of the First Vienna Water Main it is of great importance. In this study caves and dolines at Schneealpe are investigated regarding their geological structures from field measurements as well as from map ana lysis. In the field nine dolines and 20 caves were investigated and 385 fault planes were measured. Additionally, the elongation directions of 226 caves and 210 dolines were analysed from cave maps and a karstmorphological map. Karst morphological data show preferred orientations of caves and dolines, yet the dominant directions of these two do not coincide. The structural data obtained show that the extension of the karst features follows in general well the orientation of the locally dominant fault and joint planes. The other results were partly unexpected: structures at the caves show highly variable orientations which mostly do not seem to be affected by regional fault systems. The orientation of shear planes and fractures, which were measured in dolines, yielded consistent results for the entire plateau of the Schneealpe but differ from the regional fault system. The com parison of structural data from caves and dolines shows a moderate agreement within the area of investigation. Therefore the structures and the preferred orientation of karst features of Schneealpe differ from nearby Hochschwab massif where most structures are influenced by the SEMP-fault system.