Surgencias de aire fresco desde cuevas fisurales
- Mario Sánchez-Gómez
- Diego Gil
- José Miguel Gómez-López
- Joaquín Tovar-Pescador
- José Luís Pérez-García
- Tomás Fernández
- Theo Guerra
- Guillermo Garrido
- Luís Nieto
- Juan Roberto Jiménez-Pérez
ISSN: 1696-1897
Year of publication: 2021
Issue: 16
Pages: 16-24
Type: Article
More publications in: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Espeleología y Ciencias del Karst: SEDECK
Abstract
The downward (relatively cool) air flow (DAF) in caves is a phenomenon described but little considered in papers if compared with the upward air flow. We found that DAFs are a widespread occurrence in crevice caves (from tectonic or gravitational origin) with multiple entrances at different altitudes, whenever daily and seasonal thermal contrasts are present. We study the DAFs in two cave sites in Sierra Mágina (Jaén, Spain) with several openings each. The surveyed sites present contrasting geological characteristics. We acquire temperature and wind speed in situ measurements, as well as thermal infrared imaging. Topographically low cave openings expelled relatively cool air during the warm season with an almost constant temperature, although temperature can vary few degrees between nearby entrances. The season of continuous DAF is prolonged over time for more than 4 months a year. DAF becomes visible in thermal images as cool air springs under weather optimal conditions. The expelled cool airflow is spread down the slope as falls over several meters. The analysis of this phenomenon has direct applications in speleology, among others, through the location of entrances.