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Karst of Sicily - A Journey Inside and Outside the Island’s Mountains PDF

484 Pages·2022·98.216 MB·English
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Cave and Karst Systems of the World Rosario Ruggieri Karst of Sicily A Journey Inside and Outside the Island’s Mountains Cave and Karst Systems of the World Series Editor James W. LaMoreaux, P.E.LaMoreaux and Associates, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA This bookseriesfurthers theunderstandingof caveand karst related processesand facilitates the translation of current discipline-specific research to an interdisciplinary readership by dealing with specific cave or karst systems. Books in this series focus on a specific cave or karst system, on the cave or karst systems of a specific region, on a specific type of cave or karst system, or on any other perspective related to cave and karst systems of the world. The book series addresses a multidisciplinary audience involved in anthropology, archaeology, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, paleontology, sedimentology, and all other disciplines related to speleology and karst terrains. Rosario Ruggieri Karst of Sicily ’ A Journey Inside and Outside the Island s Mountains 123 RosarioRuggieri CIRS—Hyblean Center of Speleo-Hydrogeological Research Ragusa,Italy ISSN 2364-4591 ISSN 2364-4605 (electronic) Cave andKarstSystems of theWorld ISBN978-3-031-07405-9 ISBN978-3-031-07406-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07406-6 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2022 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialis concerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnot imply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsand regulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthors,andtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbookarebelieved tobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty, expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeen made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Don’t flee anywhere. Instead of trying to escape, try to become more aware. Thatwillbetherealvanishingpoint.Withouttakingrefugeanywhere,youwill create a cave in your heart and begin living in it. (Osho) To my Sister Maria Rita Preface In Sicily, given the widespread distribution of karst outcrops, both of carbonate and gypsum composition,karstphenomena,bothonthesurfaceandunderground,arepresentinalmostthe entireisland.Infact,thekarstareasoccupy21%oftheterritoryovertheentiresurfaceofthe region, of which 800 km2 from gypsum formations alone (Cimino 1986). In general, the most important karst features are located in the Jurassic limestone terms of the allochthonous strata of theApennine-Maghrebid chain, outcropping innorthern Sicily, intheMessinianevaporiticrocksofthegypsum-sulfurousseriesemergingincentral-southern and north-western Sicily in the tertiary limestones of south-eastern Sicily. The surface and underground forms developed in the aforementioned three main “karst areas” have different characteristics from each other, in relation both to the intrinsic litho-structural conditions of the rock formations and, in particular, to the various paleo-geographical events that have affected the geological history of Sicily from the end of the Mesozoic to present times. Theresult isakarstwithpeculiaranddifferent characteristics inthedifferent geographical contexts of the island, such as in the allochthonous outcrops of northern Sicily, characterized by mostly vertical caves, whose morphogenesis reflects the complex fold tectonics and overlapsthatoccurredduringtheneogenicplacementofthenappesonautochthonoussoils;in the gypsum formations of central-southern and north-western Sicily where there is a karst contact with blind valleys, between the clayey bases surmounted by the often tectonically disrupted and fragmented Messinian gypsum formations; while in the quieter sector of south-eastern Sicily,only inamore mild way involved by theaforementioned orogeny, karst has developed into an autochthonous carbonate complex, and speleogenesis has recorded the effects of isostatic uplifts and Quaternary eustatic cycles. With these premises, which anticipate the presence in Sicily of a great geo-karst- speleodiversity,IamgoingtointroducethereadertosomeofthemainkarstaspectsofSicily, bothsurfaceandunderground,withoutpretendingtowanttoshowanexhaustivepictureofthe entire Sicilian karst-geomorphological scenario currently known, for which in-depth analysis ofthevariousaspectsthereaderisdirectedtoconsultthevariousbibliographyincludedinthe text. As regards the structuring of the text in its various sections, after a description of the general physical-geological context of the island (Chap. 1) and some statistical data on the nomenclature of Sicilian karst areas and statistical distribution of its caves (Chap. 2), we will begin our journey starting from the Sicilian south-eastern sector, mainly occupied by the Hyblean Meso-Cenozoic Carbonate Plateau (Chap. 3); proceeding clockwise, we will then enter the central-southern sector mainly characterized by the outcrops of the Messinian gypsum-sulfur series (Chap. 4); from here, continuing further west, we will enter the north-western sector, occupied by the Mesozoic carbonate reliefs of the Sicani Mountains (Chap.5)andtheTrapaniMountains(Chap.6);therefore,turningeastwards,ourjourneywill continue in the northern sector of the island dominated by the Mountains of Palermo and, further east, by the Madonie massif (Chap. 7); leaving this sector, we will continue still approaching the north-eastern sector with the Nebrodi Mountains first and the Peloritani Mountainsfurthereastafter(Chap.8).Finally,althoughnotkarst,wecouldnotconcludeour ix x Preface journey on karst and its caves, without a mention of the lava flow caves generated by the majestic volcano Etna (Chap. 9). This description is the result of my personal research conducted over several decades in different parts of Sicily with my Hyblean Center of Speleo-Hydrogeological Research (C.I.R.S.Ragusa)andasynthesisofresearchandexplorationsconductedbynumerousother researchersandspeleologists,whoseworksarementionedinthetextandinthebibliography, who like mehavedevotedperhaps thebest years oftheir livestochasingkarst features, both above and below the mountains of our wonderful island of Sicily and to ensure that these magicalkarstmorphologieswereknown,valued,protectedandwherepossible,insomecases open to the public visit. Ragusa, Italy Rosario Ruggieri Reference Cimino A., 1986, Anomalie geoelettriche su cavità ipogee della Sicilia. Atti 5 Conv. Annuale G.N.F.T.S., Roma,17–18novembre1986:1203–1215. Acknowledgements I owe a debt of gratitude to the friends listed below who in various ways contributed to the enrichmentofthecontentsofthisvolume,somewithphotosandmaps,somewithsuggestions or indications of their works, some with field trips and more. Therefore, hoping not to have forgotten anyone, I extend my warmest thanks to friends: Serafina Carbone, Joanna Smart, Davide Messina Panfalone, Saro Abbate, Antonello Ingallinera,GiovanniGianninoto,AntonioBambina,MicheleTermine,JanetFoxVhràmberk, Carmela Modica, Giovanni Buscaglia, Marco Interlandi, Natale Gioitta, Roberto Sammito, Agatino Reitano,GiovanniMannino,PadreGiovanni Lombardo,Gaetano Giudice,Salvatore Piccitto,VincenzaMessana,GiuliaCasamento,GiovanniScuderi,AngeloIemmolo,Giuseppe Spitaleri, Peppe Lombardo, Giuseppe Priolo, Andrea Belfiore, Giuseppe Ippolito Alberto Terranova, Vincenzo Sottosanti, Vincenzo Belfiore, Corrado Nastasi, Paolo Vultaggio, Giorgio Sammito, Riccardo Orsini, Gaetano Buscaglia, Giuseppe Garro. Photos All photos are by the author except those where a different author has been mentioned. xi

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