Abstract: Nitrogen and phosphorus analyses from the limestones and floor deposits of Dixon Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky (a saltpeter cave), and New Cave, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico (a bat guano cave), indicate that cave saltpeter derives from seeping groundwater and not from bat guano. Limestones at the surface and in sinkholes exposed to rainfall are leached of nitrate (a few ppm) whereas protected limestones in caves are enriched in nitrate (thousands of ppm). Groundwater dissolves nitrate in organic surface soils and transports it through the limestone bedrock and toward the dry cave.
Publication Year: 1981
Publication Date: 1981-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 27
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