Monitoring Network Installed in Abkhazia’s Krubera Cave

SUKHUM / AQW'A — An international expedition has installed a monitoring network in Abkhazia’s Krubera Cave, the world’s deepest known cave, to study atmospheric conditions far beneath the surface. Expedition leader Gennady Samokhin described the system as the first of its kind in the world.

The expedition began on 1 August and brought together speleologists from Russia, Mexico and Serbia, alongside members of the New Athos Speleological Club and representatives of Abkhazia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations. Samokhin, who heads the Russian Union of Speleologists and the Crimean regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, told TASS that the team had successfully completed its principal task.

Three monitoring stations are now operating at depths of 60, 1,200 and 1,400 metres, transmitting data that researchers can access online. Four further stations are planned for 2027, extending the network to the bottom of the cave. The team also intends to replace a damaged section of fibre-optic cable, which Samokhin believes was broken by powerful underground floods. 

According to Samokhin, high-precision sensors recorded rising air temperatures with increasing depth: approximately 3°C at 700 metres, 4.65°C at 1,400 metres and 7.5°C at 2,000 metres. He attributed the warming to geothermal influence.

Researchers also detected elevated carbon dioxide concentrations deep inside the cave. One possible explanation is that gas enters through a fissure in the surrounding rock, although further monitoring will be needed to establish its source.

Krubera, also known as Krubera–Voronya, lies in the Arabika massif of Abkhazia’s Gagra Range. Survey work in 2024 put its depth at 2,224 metres, placing it ahead of neighbouring Veryovkina. The latter’s revised depth is 2,209 metres, following more precise measurements of the difference in elevation between its entrance and deepest section. New Athos Cave: Veryovkina

Abkhazia is home to the four deepest known caves in the world. Krubera, Veryovkina and Sarma are situated in the Arabika massif, while the Snezhnaya cave system lies in the Bzyb Range. Sarma ranks third at 1,830 metres, followed by Snezhnaya at 1,760 metres. 

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Depths represent the vertical extent of the explored cave systems and may be revised following further surveys.