io9: caves

Lava Caves Filled with the Most Beautiful Excrement in the World

Lauren Davis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:30:00 PST

For years, scientists believed that the colorful deposits found in lava caves around the world were mineral deposits, but more recently they've discovered that the collections — ranging from blue-green drips to shimmering pink hexagons — are actually microbe poop.

At a recent meeting of the Geological Society of America, researchers announced that the colorful deposits, found in lava caves all over the world, are in fact biological in origin. Previously undetected microbes excrete waste inside the caves and the buildup of what one geomicrobiologist terms "bug poop" creates these impressive displays.

This discovery — that something long thought to be mineral turned out to be biological — has implications for researchers looking for life on Mars. Based on photos of the surface, it appears that Mars holds, or at one time held, lava caves similar to those where the microbe waste was found, and similar microbes might have thrived inside those caves. Mars researchers may want to consider taking samples of apparent mineral deposits to determine if those deposits are, in fact, "bug poop."

Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop [National Geographic via Neatorama]

Giant Crystals Create an Alien Landscape

Ed Grabianowski — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:10:17 PDT

This photo looks like it could have been taken on another planet - miners harvesting dilithium, perhaps. But this cave full of monstrous crystals is located in Mexico, and the crystals themselves are a form of gypsum, one of the most common elements on Earth. What geologic processes caused the crystals to get so freaking big?

The key to the crystals' formation is an upwelling of magma beneath the cave system. The heat caused the anhydrite in trapped pockets of groundwater to form selenite (a form of gypsum), which formed into crystals. Usually, something eventually disrupts this process. There are crystals all over the world, some of them quite large, but none quite as enormous as these. This particular cave remained in total isolation, with a steady temperature from the magma and a static environment in which the crystals were constantly bathed in water. This allowed them to grow for tens of thousands of years. Some crystals are more than 30 feet long and weigh more than 50 tons.

In the mid 1980s, the cave was drained (accidentally) by miners, but it wasn't discovered until 2000. Today, Cueva de los Cristales is protected by a steel door, put in place by the mining company that owns the cave. Visitors are limited, but the lack of water means the crystals could eventually collapse under their own weight, or lose their translucent beauty as gases infiltrate the cave. Image by: Carsten Peter, Speleoresearch & Films.

Cavern of Crystal Giants. [National Geographic]

The Sheet Metal Retail Caves of Tokyo

Lisa Katayama — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:20:33 PDT

In Tokyo, retail stores are turning into enormous metal caves. Here's one, installed by artist Kimihiko Okada on the ground floor of the Diesel store in Aoyama. Okada took a giant sheet of metal just millimeters thin and molded it into stalactite shapes. It looks like what you'd imagine nature might become 100 years from now when we all live in domes and are trying to recreate the natural world from industrial waste. More pretty caves below.

The exhibit, called Another Geography, is on view until May 11th.

Diesel Denim Gallery main page via Designboom