Discovered Datasets
Cave Data Visualization
Wetland Data Visualization
What are Caves?
Caves are natural holes or openings extending from the surface of the earth to the underground, big enough for a person to enter that are formed over millions of years by various geological processes. They include any natural pit, sinkhole, underground passage, and other features extending from a cave entrance. Caves are major components of karst landscape which are typically made up of soluble bedrock such as limestone dissolved by acidic surface and/or groundwater.
Caves provide life support systems such as freshwater, food, and shelter needed by humans and other species. They are important sites of biodiversity as they are irreplaceable homes for unique, rare and even unknown flora and fauna. Caves are also vital sources of groundwater and may contain rivers, pools and even waterfalls.
What are Wetlands?
Wetlands are lands that are either permanently or seasonally inundated with water, supporting species that are adapted to live there. They host a wide range of biodiversity and provide a myriad of ecosystem services, ranging from food, fiber, and freshwater supply to flood control, and climate change mitigation. It is also their natural feature to have cultural and spiritual importance.
Wetlands are divided into three (3) categories: coastal and marine, inland or freshwater, and human-made wetlands. These can be freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, freshwater swamps and marshes, and peatlands; or coastal and marine areas like tidal flats, salt marshes, estuaries, lagoons, mangrove swamps, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. Human-made wetlands are fishponds, saltpans, wastewater ponds, rice paddies, dams, and reservoirs.
