Tourists and their effects on the temperature changes inside the ali sadr cave, Hamedan

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/04/2015
Views (328) Download (12)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Tourists and their effects on the temperature changes inside the ali sadr cave, Hamedan

Peyman Karimi Soltani, Abbas Aeini
J. Bio. Env. Sci.6( 4), 491-497, April 2015.
Certificate: JBES 2015 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

Caves are so vulnerable and fragile that manipulating them without careful investigation , planning and inclusive understanding of their characteristics is impossible because ignoring these facts leads to unpleasant consequences for microorganisms living in the cave and damages the dead carbonate forms. One of the ways that humans damage the caves and disturb the ecological elements inside the cave is uncontrolled presence of tourists inside the caves to visit these sites. Based on these realities of the caves, this study aims at investigating the changes in the temperature inside Ali Sadr Cave in Hamedan and daily and monthly effects of tourism in rising the temperature inside the cave. To this end, the inside part of the cave was divided into two areas: the experimental area (where tourists’ accumulation is observed) and the control area (the prohibited area for the visitors and the recently discovered corridors). The temperature inside the cave has been measured using a three-functional (dimensional) carbon dioxide detector, model AZ (77535). This has been done three times a day in the morning (before the arrival of tourists) in the low, medium, and high areas inside the cave. The results showed 1 to 2ᵒC increase in temperature inside the cave that can be attributed to the presence of the tourists. In addition, the results showed that increase in temperature and more daily fluctuations in temperature are observed during the weekends when more tourists visit the cave.

VIEWS 6

Calaforra JM, Fernández-Cortés A, Sánchez-Martos F, Gisbert J, Pulido-Bosch A. 2003. Environmental Control for Determining Human Impact and PermanentVisitor Capacity in Potential Show Cave before Tourist Use”. Environmental Conservation 30, 160-167.

Fernandez-Corte´s A, Calaforra JM, Jime´nez-Espinosa R, and Sa´nchez-Martos F. 2006. Geo, Statistical Spatiotemporal Analysis of Air Temperature as an Aid to Delineating Thermal Stability Zones in a Potential Show Cave: Implications for Environmental Management: Journal of Environmental Management 81, 371–383.

Giliesen D.1996. Ecosystem at risk: Limestone cave”. Available: www.caves.org/, 7.

Hotzl H. 1999. Industrial and Urban Produced Impacts”. UNESCO project IGCP379. Karst Processes and the Carbon Cycle, 178-183.

Lario J, Solar V. 2010. Microclimate monitoring of Pozalagua Cave (Vizcaya, Spain)”, Application to Management and Protection of Show Caves. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 72(3), 169–180.

Pulido-Bosch W, Martín-Rosales M, López-Chicano C, Rodríguez-Navarro M. 1997. Human Impact in a Tourist Karstic cave (Arecena, Spain). Environmental Geology 31,142-149.

Sanchez-Moral S, Soler V, Can˜ averas JC, Sanz E, Van Grieken R, Gysells K.1999. Inorganic deterioration affecting Altamira Cave”: Quantitative Approach to Wall-Corrosion (SolutionalEtching) Processes Induced by Visitors: Science of the Total Environment 243, 67–84.

Sarbu SM, Lascu C. 1997. Condensation Corrosion in Movile Cave, Romania”: Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 59(3), 99–102.