USING ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY TO CONSTRAIN A NEWLY DISCOVERED CAVE SYSTEM

Electrical Resistivity Tomography is a non-intrusive geophysical detection method useful for identifying subsurface features such as groundwater conduits and void spaces. We used this method to constrain the extent of a recently discovered cave system in Highland County, Virginia. Our study area lies within the Burnsville Cove Region, an area with substantial karst and karst related features such as maze caves, springs, and sinkholes. In a previous project, resistivity was used to identify the subsurface path for groundwater flow through the study area. It also uncovered the existence of a previously unknown cave system along the subsurface flow path between the previously known Water Sinks and Aqua cave systems. Our work confirms the existence of this maze cave system and provides important constraints regarding the extent of the subsurface void passages. We also have identified the connection between the Water Sinks and Aqua Cave systems and the presence of a near-surface cave passage that might provide access to this cave system in the future.