The Project
The Gomantong Caves on the island of Borneo, Sabah in Malaysia, consist of more than 4 km of large passages that are of notable geomorphological, biological and cultural significance. Enormous colonies of millions of swiftlets and bats are dwelling in these caves. The edible nests of the swiftlets have been harvested for centuries and are the main ingredient for Chinese brid's nest soup.
The Cave Maps
These maps are based on the Lidar data measured during the 2012 and 2014 campaigns. The resulting digital point cloud is extremely detailed and allows for new techniques that we have applied here in this topo.
The map contains correct contour lines every five metres and are based on horizontal digital sections of the point cloud. In order to visualise this more clearly, we have assigned a colour map to the contours. This results in a visually attractive map where at a glance the ground relief is obvious.
There are also precision vertical cross-sections of the giant passages of the Gomantong Caves. Normally this is not possible, as the surveyor cannot possibly view the ceilings in detail at a height of 80 metres. A classic section is therefore always an artistic interpretation. With the lidar, however, we obtain perfect digital sections.
And every rock larger than one metre is marked on the map. If you visit the cave, the rock will actually be there.
Enjoy the Gomantong Caves maps!
The first surveys of the Gomantong Caves
The first surveys of the Gomantong Caves were made by Pastor Orolfo in 1930. He was a Filipino senior forest ranger in the employ of the North Borneo Forest Department, operating at Sandakan.
Publications
Here you can discover some scientific articles published by members of the survey teams about the Gomantong Caves and other cave systems in Borneo.
Videos
Our educational videos about different parts of Borneo. The places of interest are:
The Gomantong Caves, the Niah Great Caves and Deer Cave
Considerations to make when using Lidar in caves
Scanning caves and processing resulting point cloud data into something useful is not a simple task and can be a costly and time consuming affair. So, before starting such an endeavour, time should be spent determing the goal of the final product. This will define the most important parameter of your scanner: the scan resolution.
About using reference spheres while scanning
Caving and certainly scanning caves can be a risky business. So the shorter the time spent in the cave the better. In the picture we see daredevils Manfred and Benjamin traversing an ancient rattan bridge over a 70 m deep abyss (Kuris entrance, Simud Puteh). This rattan ropework is still used by local nesters for collecting the valuable edible swiftlet nests.
