Science

Ogof Draenen is recognised as a site of great scientific importance because of its size, location and time of discovery. It has a chapter in the Caves and Karst of Great Britain, and a special edition of Caves and Karst Science devoted to papers about Draenon is being planned. It is in process of being listed as a Site of Special Scientific Importance.

Biology

Bats have been noted, but guano appears to indicate that there has been a significant decline in populations. Parts of the cave have accumulations of guano unmatched in other British caves, and studies indicate that this was a summer roost of Lesser Horseshoe bats. A radiocarbon date of around 1883 years before 1950 (ie 67AD) has been obtained by Prof Suzanne Leroy when at Queen's University, Belfast.

Records are kept of current residents and of fossil finds, some of which are now in museum collections.

There have been suggestions that some depressions in the sediment of passsage floors represent bear nests, backed up by the finding of bear bones.

Rhian Hicks has contributed Biology - a geologist's view

Geology

Geomorphology

Flow markings on sediment indicate that the direction of drainage has changed during the course of the cave's history. This has led to an understanding of several episodes of flow-switching and has a significant bearing on the understanding of the relative timing of the development of the Clydach Gorge, and the River Usk. The oldest parts of the system are older than the 500Ka limit of U-Th dating and, through comparison with calculated incision rates for the Yorkshire dales and Cheddar Gorge, may be 2-3Ma old.

Sediment structure and content has been investigated in an University of Bristol undergraduate project by John Pash. There has been a suggestion that subglacial drainage is responsible for some of the sediment this project has not disagreed with this.

Hydrology