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ScienceQuiet 5d · day 7

Study links Nullarbor's mysterious surface trenches to deeply buried collapsing caves

Researchers show long, shallow trenches across Australia's Nullarbor Plain are surface traces of ancient cave systems collapsing upward through rock.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 5d ago5 pieces28 likes & upvotes2 comments Google NewsBlueskyMastodon

What to know

  • Long, shallow trenches on the Nullarbor Plain, once of unknown origin, are now explained as surface traces of deeply buried, slowly collapsing cave systems.
  • Researchers combined drone/satellite imaging, borehole data and geophysical subsurface scanning to trace the trenches to broken-rock zones and known caves below.
  • The method offers a new way to detect hidden caves on Earth and could inform searches for similar cave features on other planets.

Study authors Researchers publishing in Communications Earth & EnvironmentMirning People Traditional owners of the Nullarbor and Great Australian Bight

Study links Nullarbor's mysterious surface trenches to deeply buried collapsing caves
theconversation.com

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 1 piece in two hours at Sep 17, 4 AM; 5 pieces over 7 days (3 articles · 2 posts) Sep 17, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Sep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quiet 12
Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 2:56 AM ET
  1. 2

    Coverage of the Nullarbor cave study spreads on social platforms

    The Conversation's explainer on the study circulated further via reposts on Bluesky and Mastodon.

    “the sort of place one gets into in bad dreams…”
    — colonial Victorian-era explorers, historical description quoted in the article · source
  2. background

    Researchers say method could find hidden caves on other planets — The authors argue the combined drone, borehole and geophysical technique used to trace buried Nullarbor caves offers a new way to identify hidden voids elsewhere on Earth and beyond, informing the search for cave-like features on other worlds.

  3. 1

    Researchers publish study explaining Nullarbor's hidden trench-cave link

    A study in Communications Earth & Environment shows that long, shallow, north-south trending trenches on the Nullarbor Plain — previously of unknown origin — are muted surface expressions of deeply buried cave systems collapsing upward over millions of years.

    “collapsing upwards…”
    — study authors

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Australia's vast Nullarbor Plain hides deep caves that can teach us about alien worlds

    first by phys.org, 4d ago · also The Conversation