Gadime cave in Kosovo, its geotourist values and impacts

G e o J o u r n a l o f To u r i s m a n d G e o s i t e s ISSN 2 0 6 5 - 0 8 17 , ISSN-L 2 0 6 5 - 119 8 Year V I , no. 1, vol. 11, May 2 0 13 , p. 7 - 15 Article no. 1110 1- 12 2 GA D I M E CA V E I N K O S O V O , I TS GE O TO U R I S T V A LU E S A N D I M P A CTS S a b r i A V D U LLA H I * University of Prishtina, Faculty Geosciences and Technology, Str. Parku Industrial, No. NN, 40 0 0 0 , Mitrovice, Kosovo, e-m ail: sabriavdullahi@hotm ail.com Af a t S E R J AN I ProGEO-Albania, Geological Survey of Albania, Str, Kavajes No 153, Tirana, Albania, e-m ail: [email protected] I s a l m F F E J ZA University of Prishtina, Faculty Geosciences and Technology, Str. Parku Industrial, No. NN, 40 0 0 0 , Mitrovice, Kosovo, e-m ail: islam fejza@gm ail.com A h m e t TM A V A University of Prishtina, Faculty Geosciences and Technology, Str. Parku Industrial, No. NN, 40 0 0 0 , Mitrovice, Kosovo, e-m ail: ahm ettm ava@hotm ail.com Ab s tra c t: Th e form ation of n atural caves is due to an y n um ber of processes that result in th e h ollowin g out of rock, in cludin g dissolution , m ech an ical weath erin g, volcan ic activity, or even th e m eltin g of glacial ice. Karst areas cover of about 10 percen t of th e lan d surface of the wor ld, an d th ere is widespread con cern for th e effect that h um an activity h ave in karst ar eas. The n atu r al pr ocesses of form in g of th e Gadim e cave h ave con tin ued durin g wh ole geological periods, sin ce 20 0 m illion years. Th is paper it is focused m ain ly, on th e h um an an d n atural im pact to Gadim e cave. Th e h um an activities can n egatively im pact karst areas, in cludin g deforestation , agricultural practices, urban ization , tourism , water exploitation , m in in g an d quarryin g. The aim of this paper is focused on the stability of th e groun d, an d th e in tern al str ucture of the Cave Gadim e, th e im pact of con struction of water reservoir at th e top of th e cave. Am on gst th e geological an d h ydrogeological data, here there ar e in cluded, shortly, the results of th e study about th e h azards of th e cave on th e basis of in tern al structural con struction of th e carbon ate m assif, an d by th e degree of developm en t of karst processes. Natural h azards associated with floodin g from leakin g un dergroun d caves on th e streets of karst an d tecton ic faults by floodin g from risin g water level in th e river Klysyr an d the buildin g of water reser voir at th e top of the cave area. Based on th e results of laboratory research an d an alysis we can con clude th at th e water reservoir n ot h ave an y in effect Gadim e Cave. Som e sh ort data about tourist in terest an d geoecotourist values of Gadim e Cave are don e as well. Ke y w o rds : Gadime Cave, groundwater, water reservoir, impact * * * * * * * Corresponding author http:/ / gtg.w ebhost.uoradea.ro/ Sa b r i AVDU LLAH I , Afa t SE R J AN I , I s a lm F F E J ZA, Ah m e t TM AVA IN TROD U CTION There are m ore people visiting caves now than at any tim e in history and the trend is for further increases. In recent years, interest in the underground karst environm ent has grown, not only from a speleological or scientific viewpoint, but also from an econom ic perspective (Serjani, 20 11). The profits derived directly an d in directly from the tourist exploitation of caves can acquire substantial im portance at local level. H owever, in som e in stan ces, the lack of regulation of the visits, or of an adequate m ain ten an ce infrastructure can result in a serious threat to the underground environ m ent (Cign a, 1993). From the stan dpoin t of the cave itself, the oldest and the m ost com m on m ethodological approach is based on the con cept of a speleological network, which treats caves only as the m echanism of tran sference between the endokarst an d the exterior (Trom be, 1952; Eraso, 1969). Other authors consider a cave to be a closed system (Heaton , 198 6), using m odels based on physics to predict en viron m en tal variations induced by hum an presen ce (Villar et al., 198 4; 198 6; Cigna, 198 7). Mangin and D’H ulst (1995) treated the problem from a larger perspective, conceivin g caves within their hydrogeological context an d con siderin g them as a system in dyn am ic equilibrium , in which the energy in puts are equal to the outputs. Excessive hum an pressure upsets the balance, producing a progressive environm ental degradation. Th e un dergroun d exten t of caves is usually n ot apparen t from th e surface, an d th is som etim es leads to dam age bein g don e un wittin gly. As Zwah len (20 0 4) m en tion ed, sin ce caves form a part of karst aquifers, th e possibility of such dam age is in fluen ced by th e h ydrogeological characteristics of karst en viron m en ts th at are especially vuln erable to con tam in ation . An exam ple is given by Sloven ia, a coun try with a lon g tradition of karst con servation , wh ere th e first m easure for cave protection dates from 190 8 (Badiura, 190 8 ) an d in wh ich approxim ately 20 % of th e 740 5 caves recorded in th e 20 0 1 (Cave Survey) h ave been con tam in ated as a con sequen ce of h um an activity (Kepa, 20 0 1). Gadim a cave in 1969 was declared a protected area with a total area of 56.25ha and is listed by IUCN in the third category. Total length of all channels, corridors and halls in the Gadim e cave is 1.260 m. In the upper galleries, which have so far been discovered and other channels of assum ed length of all room s in the Gadim e cave should be about 3 km . Ornam ents inside the Gadim e Cave there are so m uch and so aesthetic giving to this geosite an international im portance. This study it is done for determ ination of the im pact to Gadim e Cave, by the water reservoir, which is building on the top of carbonate m assif above the cave (Avdullahi & Serjani, 20 12). For this reason the study was focused on two m ain issues: 1. Effect of the weight of the water reservoirs on Gadim a Cave, on the stability of the ground where the reservoir is located; 2. Effect of the water reservoirs on the inside structure of Gadim e Cave. During this study were done new observations on geology, hydrogeology, tectonically construction of carbonate m assif and surrounding m etam orphic rocks. Detailed observation and docum entation were done on litho logical content of the rocks and on the karst processes in carbonate rocks. Below there are presented data about regional geological position of the Gadim e Cave, geological construction of carbonate m assif around the Cave, morphology of Gadim e Cave and im pacts to this cave. TH E STU D Y AREA Lo calizatio n an d h yd ro ge o lo gical fe atu re s The cave known as Gadima cave it is located in the district of Gadim a, in Lipjan, Kosova. Gadim a Cave is placed in Lower Gadim a village, which is located to the east of Kosova Basin (Figure 1). This cave it is form ed in the Gllavica carbonate m assif, at level 8 Gadim e Cave in Kosovo, its Geotourist Values and Im pacts 656m , on the west slope of Gadim e (758m ), which sinks deeper in the northwest direction in the flat valley. On the right side of the Klysyr River appear three natural cave entrances in 6-10 m height above the riverbed, respectively in 576m , 582m and 584m above the sea level. On the left side of the Klysyr River, there is another entrance in the Cave, but with sm aller dimensions. The slope of Gllavica it is in a shape form as an isolated cone, towards the northwest is m ore extended, which in all three directions is surrounded by the m olasses of Neogen. Gllavica is separated from the hills of Gadim a with a short strait of the Klysyr River with a m axim um depth at 20 0 m . Figu re 1. Kosovo Relief Map and the location of Gadim a Cave The Klysyr River has a com plex and com posed valley, because after expansion in the upper Gadim e entered in a narrow valley, in low and narrow Gadim e, flows into the m ud valley of Gadim e. In the m onths with precipitation from the m ud valley of Gadim e leak large water and after 4 km discharged into the Nerodime River, near the bifurcation between the basin of Black Sea and Aegean Sea. In th e region of the Gadim e cave h ydrological ch aracteristics are very differen t. In terrain s that are built by m arble rocks, as are the Gllavica an d Gadim e h ills, th ere are n either sprin gs n or surface flows. These are dry terrain s. H owever, in side of these m easures is ch aracterized by large groun dwater. In th e wide region , in th e terrain s con stituted by Palaeozoic an d lake deposits of Neogen , water sprin gs displayin g often , with sm all outflow an d tem porary surface flow. Such is th e largest Klysyr River wh ich in th e bottom dries. There is no doubt that the waters of the Klysyr supply underground flow in the leaks and in a num ber of underground lakes in Gadim e cave. The level varies depending 9 Sa b r i AVDU LLAH I , Afa t SE R J AN I , I s a lm F F E J ZA, Ah m e t TM AVA on the am ount of water in the river bed (Avdullahi et al., 20 0 8). However, only part of water from Gadim e cave flow in the surface, in the western part of the Gllavica and Gadim e valley, others probably infiltrates into different horizons of Kosova Basin. The coldest m onth is J anuary with tem perature of -1.11oC, while the highest tem perature is in J uly with 19.9 oC. High extrem e tem peratures there are in sum m er, beyond the 34.5 oC, while during the winter can fall below -23 oC. With annual rainfall average of 610 m m the Gadim a region is classified into the areas with sm all am ounts of rainfall. The snow falls in the Kosova Basin in Novem ber, until March, but the highest quantity it is in December and J anuary m onths. During the winter with strong winds in the basin snow reaches the height 1.5m . In Klysyr River basin sn ow has great sign ifican ce for surface an d ground waters, especially for underground flow and for the lake system in the Gadim e cave. Because of very steep terrain , in adequate clim atic con dition s, prim arily sm all precipitation an d dism antled m arbles hill is covered with a thin layer of diluvium . At the top of the hill, there are outcrops of Gllavica lim estone rocks, while soil is placed on ly on the surfaces and in to the cracks. At the en d of the slope the thickness of the soil cover reaches up to 25cm . Klysyr River with a n um erous cracks has built a den se system of river valleys. The largest num bers of these valleys are com ing from the first expansion direction of the Nerodim ka erosion . In difference from the part of source basin which is built in the old Palaeozoic rocks and volcanic rocks. Valley in the upper Gadim e is filled by Neogene lake sedim ents. This m ean s that it is created at the sam e tim e with Kosova Basin , respectively before Neogene. Ge o lo gy o f th e carbo n ate m as s if o f Gad im a are a Geological construction of Gadim e cave region it is constituted by different kind of rocks of different m ineralogical-petrographical content, and of different ages. The oldest rocks belong to the oldest Palaeozoic Era. They are metam orphised, transform ed in schist rocks, m ica schist’s, phyllites and as the m ost im portant there are m arbles (Petrovic, 1972). The last coverage belongs to the Quaternary Era, which consists of Klysyr stream flows and other stream s nearby the mountains that brings large quantities of clay, sand and gravel. The youngest sedim ents there are placed on the new alluvium and lake sediments (Figure 2). Palaeozoic series in the eastern edge of the Kosova Basin, there are com posed m ainly by metam orphic rocks. Gadim e Cave it is placed inside the m arble lim estone rocks of the Mesozoic age. The age of metam orphosed limestone, respectively m arbles is not com pletely defined yet. There are opinions of geologists that marble rocks, where is formed Gadim e Cave, m ay be belong to the Late Palaeozoic age. Metam orphised lim estone represents m assive and com pact rocks, but they have secondary cracks and there are divided into blocks by tectonic faults. Secondary cracks are often very dense, form ing a dense network. Lim estones there are totally m etam orphosed, what seem s clear from the textures of the schist rocks and from the secondary colours ingredient of rocks. In m ost cases observed blocks of m etamorphic and volcanic rocks have clear-cut contacts with lim estone and m arble rocks, with irregular contour, with m utual links, but com pact. The karst processes there are m ainly developed in prim ary system of cracks, and in fissures in the carbonate form ations, while the water penetration and filtration is done through secondary fractures and through the contacts of schist rocks, especially through the disjunctive faults. The orientation of the branches in the cave in southeast-northwest direction correlates with the orientation of tectonic fracture, which are always served as a m ajor route for infiltration of water from upper levels to depth. 10 Gadim e Cave in Kosovo, its Geotourist Values and Im pacts Figu re 2 . Geological Map of the Gadim e Region ( Source: Avdullahi & Serjani, 20 12) Mo rp h o lo gy o f Gad im a cave The today's en try in to the cave con sists of two horizon s. The lower horizon is very com plex and con sists of two parallel corridors, in the south-north direction , three tran sverse channels an d curved corridors, in the west-east direction . The upper horizon con sists of two lin ked corridors, located above 12m in the west-east direction (Muratagic, 1973). Total len gth of all channels, corridors an d halls in the Gadim e cave is 1.260 m (Figure 3). Western gallery - with SE-NW direction , represents the essence of the discovery of parts of the Gadim e Cave. It is built right alon g the contact between m arbles and Palaeozoic schist. This gallery is con sisted by m ain chan n el an d several sm all an d large room s. North galleries - have a big num ber of corridors, channels and linked halls. Three m ain channels which begin from the western gallery have SW-NE direction. 11 Sa b r i AVDU LLAH I , Afa t SE R J AN I , I s a lm F F E J ZA, Ah m e t TM AVA Figu re 3 . The horizontal plan of galleries of Gadim e Cave (Source: Petrovic, 1972) East gallery - in difference to the above m entioned galleries, which consist by m any channels and corridors, eastern gallery is sim pler. This gallery consists of two channels: the long channel and blue channel. With a length of about 95m long, this channel extends in NE-SW direction. Exit corridor-this corridor is about 30 m long and begins at deep lake and ends in one of the oldest natural exit. This corridor have direction SW-NE and is connected with the entry gallery through a support channel. GEOTOU RIST VALU ES OF GAD IMA CAVE The 80 million years old cave was discovered randomly by a farmer of the area, in 1969 and from 1976 was opened for tourism. Currently 1350m 2 of the cave are explored and can be visited by tourists. According to experts there are more than 25 permanent lakes. Most of the lakes are located in the compact marbles and those are the deepest lakes. Figu re 4 . Stalactites and Stalagm ites 12 Figu re 5. Aragonite crystals in cave Gadim e Cave in Kosovo, its Geotourist Values and Im pacts The m arbles cave is a unique karst phenom enon in our country and is very rare in the world. It has a large num ber of decorations in differenet colors and shapes. The fact that it is set in colorful m arbles, with shades of white crystals, followed by blue, green to red, gives this cave a special significance and extraordinary beauty. One of the m ost interesting features in the m arble cave is stalactites and stalagm ites that are in most of the cave's corridors. They appear in different shapes and sizes. Stalactites and stalagm ites have been established at all stages of development of the cave and are still active. Dirty decorations occure oftenly in the cave m ost of them are stalagm ites. In those stalagm ites there are rhythm ic layers of red clay and kalcitit. For 30 thousand years it grows one m illimetre (Figure 4). A special attention to the m arbles cave is the aragonite crystals. There are a sm all number of caves in the world in which aragonite crystals appear so large in volum e and diverse form s. They are oriented in all directions and som e crystals have a length up to 30 cm (Figure 5). H U MAN IMPACTS IN TH E CAVE This study was intended to determ ine the im pact of water reservoir in Gadim a Cave, which is building on the top of the lim estone m assif, above the Cave. For this reason the study was focused on two m ain issues: 1. The effect of the weight of the water reservoirs on Gadim a Cave, on the stability of the ground where the reservoir is located; 2. Effect of the water reservoir inside structure of Gadim e Cave. The com plex of the hydro geological studies is based in the geological documentation of the field data of this region with com plex geological construction. During the field study following observations and docum entations were m ade: geom orphologic, geological, hydrological and hydro geological observation of the region and Klysur River Valley. Figu re 6 . The position of the reservoir and the cave galleries plan ( Source: Avdullahi & Serjani, 20 12) The geodetic m easurements are perform ed in the place (x, y, z), where it was planned to build water reservoir. Also are m easured a geodetic points at the entrance of 13 Sa b r i AVDU LLAH I , Afa t SE R J AN I , I s a lm F F E J ZA, Ah m e t TM AVA the Gadim e cave in order to set absolute quotas of these two objects. At the beginning we have m easured the reference point in Lipjan. From this point then we m easured the position of reservoir in four points and we have determ ined the coordinates. We have also m easured a point at the entrance of the Gadim e cave (Figure 6). The field m easurem ents show that the distance from where ends all galleries of Gadim a Cave to the first point from where water reservoir began to be constructed is 20 5.50 m . The height difference between the reservoir and cave is 58.9m . Sam ples of rocks have been taken in the place of construction of the water reservoir (Figure 7). For these types of objects is im portant defining the general condition of the geological-engineering and determ ination of physical-m echanical features of rocks, involved in the active area. The carbonate m assif of Gadim e form s the nearly closed aquifer, lim ited by the form ation from m etam orphic schist of Palaeozoic on the east side and west side, while on the northwest side and the north is covered by clay-sandstone and m olasses, which closes the water basin in the north, not so far. Figu re 7. Sam pling place Figu re 8 . Sam ples during testing The total loads of water reservoir filled with water and covered with soil is 83.72kN/ m 2 . To determine the sustainability of marbled lim estone’s during this field survey we took a sam ple. The sam ple was sent to the laboratory for analysis. At the beginning the sam ples were cut into cube shape with dim ensions 5x5x5cm . The prepared sam ple is set in equipm ent to determ ine the pressure resistance (Figure 8). Test resulted that the pressure resistance of the m arbled lim estones is 81310 kN/ m 2 . The length of the water reservoir is 23.23m , width 12.20 m and height of about 5m , with water volum e 10 0 0 m 3. The water reservoir is constructed from concrete and will be used to collected water. From here water with gravity will supply of 19 villages in the area. CON CLU SION S The Gadim e cave with large size and rare natural ornam ents is form ed in Gadime m arble carbonates rocks. The m arbled lim estones are m assive and with schist-layer textures that are separated into blocks by tectonic faults, fractures and cracks. Karst processes there are intensively on the surface of carbonate rocks and in depth. Based on field observation s, geodetics m easurem en ts an d an alysis of rock’s sam ples we can con clude th at th e large size of th e carbon ate m assif n orth of th e river, th e h igh h ardn ess an d com pressive resistan ce of th e rock, we believe th at total loads of water reservoir has n o effect on the rocks wh ere the water reservoir was built n eith er in th e Gadim e cave. Technical conditions of construction of the water reservoir and its operation without leaking water on carbonate rocks of the hill above the cave, guarantees a lack of 14 Gadim e Cave in Kosovo, its Geotourist Values and Im pacts com m unication with the carbonate m assif, where it is constructed and therefore there is no direct connection or influence in the cave structure. The risks for the northern part of the m assif, where the m ain stretch of the cave is, can come from interventions in the river bed raising barrier, excavations and construction in the slope and the whole north part of the river. The influence of hydrological and hydrogeological condition in the karst channels in some areas of cave have been observed slide of clay. There are significant hydrogeological changes, which is significantly manifested in the reduction of groundwater flow. It is assumed except the impacts of the hydrological cycle; changes in water flow reduction have been affected from the use of groundwaters by residents in the area around the cave. In the cave were found, musk and yellow appearance of speleological jewelry, which might have serious impacts on the further development of the cave. Gadime Cave represents the most important tourist object in Kosovo. A lot of tourist groups especially student’s groups, from Kosovo, Albania and other neighboring countries are visiting every year this cave. Gadime cave with its astonishing ornaments and colloide forms has complex education and geoecotourist values. Akn o w le gm e n ts This research has been supported by the IRD` s Sm all infrastructure for Water Sanitation (IRD/ SIWS) in collaboration with USAID/ Kosova funded program . The authors are thankful to the Hidroing-DK Com pany, Ministry of Environm ent and Spatial Planning and Lipjan Municipality for cooperation during the entire research. REFEREN CES Avdullahi, S., Serjani, A., (20 12), Report on the im pact of Gadim e Cave by w ater reservoir, HIDROING-DK. Avdullahi, S., Feza, I., Syla, A., (20 0 8), W ater resources in Kosova, J ournal of International Environm ental Application & Science, 6 (3): 51-56. 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Villar, E., Bonet, A., Díaz, B., Fernández, PL., Gutiérrez, I., Quindós, LS., Solan a, J R., and Soto, J ., (1984), Am bient tem perature variations in the Hall of Paintings of Altam ira Cave due to the presence of visitors, Cave Sci Vol. 11, p. 99– 10 4. Villar, E., Fernández, PL., Gutiérrez, I., Quindós, LS., Soto, J ., (1986), Influence of visitors on carbon concentrations in Altam ira Cave, Cave Sci Vol. 13, p. 21– 23. Zwahlen, F., (20 0 4), Vulnerability and risk m apping for the protection of carbonate (karst) aquifers, Final report (COST Action 620 ), European Com m ission, Directorate-General XII Science, Research and Developm ent, Brussels, p. 297. Subm itted: 27.11.20 12 Revised: 0 1.0 3.20 13 Accepted and published online 0 4.0 3.20 13 15