Characteristics of perennial ice and cryogenic minerals from the Dark Star Cave (Uzbekistan)
The paper presents data on perennial ice in the Dark Star Cave (Uzbekistan). Studies in the cave over the past 25 years have allowed to establish the boundaries of perannial and seasonal glaciation. The largest perennial ice is located in the Polnolunie Grotto and has a dimension about 20 to 30 m and reaches thickness about 7 m. Winter ice evaporation and summer ice melting in the Polnolunie Grotto leads to the accumulation of a specific type of deposits - cryogenic flour. Its morphological characteristics are given. Flour is represented by calcite crystals, which are formed under conditions of rapid freezing of incoming water solutions.