22nd International Conference on Subterranean Biology

The 22nd International Conference on Subterranean Biology will be held on 31 August to 5 September 2014 in Juriquilla, Querétaro, México. 

This meeting is held every two years and I believe this may be the first time it is held in Mexico. 

Juriquilla is about a 2-hour drive northwest from Mexico City and surrounded by beautiful and diverse karst and non-karst landscapes. 

Registration and more information for this conference is available at http://sistemas.fciencias.unam.mx/~22icsb/html/.

First Barcelona Technical & Cave Diving Conference: BCN TEK 2013

On 18th & 19th May, the First Barcelona Technical & Cave Diving Conference will take place   focusing on cave diving explorations. 

Topics presented include :

• recent explorations at the terminal sumps of Sistema Huautla -1545m (Mexico)
• Pozo Azul (over 9km diving distance)
• Lamina'ko Ziloa (Saint Georges system resurgence in the Pyrenees)
• Fuentona de Muriel, Escuain, Cotiella, also explorations in Portugal and Bosnia, ...

Click on the image on the left for the full details about the talks.

More information can be found on the BCN TEK 2013 facebook group, subscription form can be downloaded here.

21 st International Karstological School: Classical Karst: Hypogene Speleogenesis (Between theory and reality...)

Since 1993, International Karstological Schools have been organised, covering many aspects of karst research. The basic idea of the School has been to present the state of the art in selected topics and promote discussion between participants via set of lectures, poster sessions and related field trips to the area of Slovene Classical karst.

In the last decade, hypogene speleologenetic processes have attracted attention of speleological community. Many previously epigenic caves have been reinterpreted as hypogene. Some basic publications on the topic have triggered doubts and debates because similar cave patterns and wall rock features considered as hypogene can be formed also under other conditions. Therefore, the aim of the 21'st IKS is to present basic hydrogeological and chemical principles and processes of hypogene speleogenesis as well as geological conditions leading to it. Special attention will be paid to the geometry of cave passages and wall rock features which are often interpreted as hypogene, but could have as well formed otherwise, such as in meteoric flood-water conditions or by dissolution in contact with sediment.

Info: http://iks.zrc-sazu.si/en/

Shippensburg university to host 2013 national caving convention

John Boswell, treasurer of the Franklin County Grotto,
crawls through a tight space in Persistence Cave in Williamson.

Some 1,000 cave explorers — “spelunkers” to the uninitiated — from around the world are expected to come to Shippensburg next summer for the 2013 National Speleological Society Convention.

The convention, the first in Pennsylvania in recent history, will be Aug. 4-10 at Shippensburg University. Typically, the society’s conventions attract cavers from across the United States, as well as from Eastern Europe.

Randy Hurst, public relations chairman for the event, said nearly 1,300 people attended the 2012 convention in Lewisburg, W.Va.

“That area has some of the biggest caves in the country,” Hurst said. “They have the same limestone we have in Pennsylvania, but it’s thicker — so the caves can get really huge.”

Call for abstracts -- National Cave and Karst Management Symposium

The National Cave and Karst Management Symposium (NCKMS) is now accepting abstracts for its next meeting, which will be held on 4-8 November 2013 at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. 

This is the 20th of this internationally attended conference series. 

For details about the conference and to submit an abstract, go to https://sites.google.com/site/nckms2013/home.

Event: 53nd Caving Week, Poland

The 53rd Caving Week of the Slovak Speleological Society

August 1st to 5th, 2012

High Tatra Mts. near the city of Zakopane (Poland) 

See the detailed programme here or visit the website of the event where you can also find a Polish and Slovakian version.

The Sinkhole Conference

We are excited and happy to announce that the website is up and the call for abstracts has begun for the 13th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst! More commonly called “The Sinkhole Conference,”

Since 1984 this excellent series of meetings has been pivotal in bringing together engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and regulators to exchange ideas and enhance everyone’s understanding of the challenges of living in karst areas.

The National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) is honored to have been given management of this conference series, and it still operated by the Organizing Committee made up of people who have hosted this conference for years, including representatives of sponsoring organizations like P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, U.S. Geological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, and many others. If your organization is interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor, please contact us.

The conference will be held in Carlsbad, New Mexico, at NCKRI Headquarters, on 6-10 May 2013. This is the most westerly venue for the conference to date, and an excellent opportunity for the field trip and sessions to focus on evaporite karst and karst management in arid environments, as well as the wide range of other topics.

You can access the website through the NCKRI website’s“Events” tab or directly at the conference website. To submit an abstract, click on “Call for Abstracts” in the upper right side of the home page. The abstract deadline is August 15th!

Over the next month or so we’ll add much more information to the website and begin registration. We’ll send another message at that time. Please share these messages with any you think may be interested.

If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know.

See you in Carlsbad in one year!

George Veni and Jim LaMoreaux
Co-chairman, 13th Sinkhole Conference

The Sinkhole Conference--Call for Papers

Dear Friends,

We are excited and happy to announce that the website is up and the call for abstracts has begun for the 13th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst! More commonly called “The Sinkhole Conference,” since 1984 this excellent series of meetings has been pivotal in bringing together engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and regulators to exchange ideas and enhance everyone’s understanding of the challenges of living in karst areas.

The National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) is honored to have been given management of this conference series, and it still operated by the Organizing Committee made up of people who have hosted this conference for years, including representatives of sponsoring organizations like P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, U.S. Geological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, and many others. If your organization is interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor, please contact us.

The conference will be held in Carlsbad, New Mexico, at NCKRI Headquarters, on 6-10 May 2013. This is the most westerly venue for the conference to date, and an excellent opportunity for the field trip and sessions to focus on evaporite karst and karst management in arid environments, as well as the wide range of other topics.

You can access the website through the NCKRI website’s “Events” tab at http://www.nckri.org or directly at http://sites.google.com/site/sinkholeconference2013/. To submit an abstract, click on “Call for Abstracts” in the upper right side of the home page. The abstract deadline is August 15th!

Over the next month or so we’ll add much more information to the website and begin registration. We’ll send another message at that time. Please share these messages with any you think may be interested.

If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know.

See you in Carlsbad in one year!
George Veni and Jim LaMoreaux
Co-chairman, 13th Sinkhole Conference
***************************
George Veni, Ph.D.
Executive Director
National Cave and Karst Research Institute
400-1 Cascades Avenue
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA
Office: 575-887-5517
Mobile: 210-863-5919
Fax: 575-887-5523
[email protected]
http://www.nckri.org

Last call for papers: Speleodiversity 2012

You still have 2 weeks (your last chance) to propose your presentation/article for the 2nd EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium that will be held during next EuroSpeleo Forum "Speleodiversity 2012" in Muotathal-Switzerland on the 29-30 September 2012.
To submit it, all the information is included in the 2nd multilingual circular of the symposium, that you can also download on :
English : www.eurospeleo.eu/ESPS2_2circ_EN.pdf
Français : www.eurospeleo.eu/ESPS2_2circ_FR.pdf
Deutsch : www.eurospeleo.eu/ESPS2_2circ_DE.pdf
Italiano : www.eurospeleo.eu/ESPS2_2circ_IT.pdf
Español : www.eurospeleo.eu/ESPS2_2circ_ES.pdf

The final date for the submission of your abstract is the 1st of June 2012.
For that you just need to fill the following form :
http://www.eurospeleo.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42&Itemid=54
and to send it to : [email protected]

According to FSE rules, the articles can be submitted in English, French (FSE languages) and German (national language).
Everything is explained on this 2nd circular.
Should you have any furhter question, please let us know at :
[email protected]

See you soon at www.Speleodiversity.ch

Session submission in 34th Annual Conference of the Theoretical Archaeology Group

Dear Colleges,
I send this message in order to inform you about our session submission in 34th TAG 2012.
We plan to submit a proposal for a half- day session under the topic:

The Morning Twilight of Cave Archaeology. Theoretical approaches and methodological perspectives in the Cave Archaeology of 21rst century.
If would you like to join in, please send an email with your paper’s title and short description (max 100 words) at [email protected] until the 20th of May 2012.

We will inform you about the abstract submission as soon as possible.

For any queries please drop a message in my academia/facebook account.

Kind regards,
Konstantinos Trimmis

Philippine Cave congress opens in Roxas City

The 12th National Caving Congress officially opens in Capiz today.

Undersecretary Manuel D. Gerochi for Staff Bureaus and Project Management of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will grace the opening ceremonies of the week-long congress with the theme, “Strengthening Cave Conservation for Sustainable Eco-Tourism.”

Philippine Speleological Society, Inc. (PSSI) president Reynaldo Bagayas Jr. along with DENR 6 Regional Executive Director Julian D. Amador, Roxas City Mayor Angel Allan Celino, and Capiz Gov. Victor A. Tanco will greet participants during the opening ceremonies.

The program will also include a presentation on the updates on Cave Management Program in the Philippines that will be delivered by Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) director Theresa Mundita S. Lim.

This year’s host of the congress will be the Western Visayas Caving Association (WVCA) in partnership with the DENR 6 and the Capiz provincial government.

The activity that will be attended by participants from all over the country representing the different outdoor and caving clubs which are members and non-members of the Philippine Speleological Society Inc. (PSSI), environmentalists, academe, and local government units, among others.

The Caving Association is one of the few organizations that formed the Speleological Society which is a non-stock, non-profit non-government organization and a national network of caving groups which has been very instrumental in the enactment of Republic Act 9072 or The Cave Resources Management and Protection Act.

The congress which started in 2001 promotes responsible caving through cave-related trainings and seminars. It also provides a platform for reviewing and assessing the ecological and environmental status of caves all throughout the country.

Source: PIA

Carbon and Boundaries in Karst 2013 - Second Circular

A Karst Waters Institute Symposium on

Carbon and Boundaries in Karst

January 7 to 11, 2013

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Co-sponsored by the National Cave and Karst Research Institute

Background

There is growing interest in the dynamics of both inorganic and organic carbon in karst systems, and especially in the flux of carbon and nutrients between the surface and subsurface and between different components in the karst subsurface. This symposium is about these and other questions connected to carbon in karst and boundaries in karst. It is especially timely both because of rapid advances in the field and the importance of carbon sequestration in global climate change The symposium will highlight recent advances in biology, geology, and hydrology that are helping us understand the dynamics of karst ecosystems, especially with respect to carbon. There will be both invited lectures and contributed posters covering the following topics: The Upper Boundary — Epikarst The Lower Boundary — Phreatic Zone Lateral Inputs — Insurgences Lateral Outputs — Resurgences CO2 — Processing and Storage Organic Carbon — Sources and Quality Synthesis and Large Scale Models.

As is the tradition with KWI meetings, the symposium will be aggressively interdisciplinary and international. More information about KWI and past meetings can be found here.

2nd International Cave Monitoring Workshop

Three years after the 1st International Cave Monitoring Workshop held in Gibraltar (26 February - 1 March 2009) a second workshop is planned along the lines of the initial concept of two days of informal presentations with discussion and a joint cave trip.

The planned dates for this workshop are April 18-22, 2012.

The workshop will focus entirely on the practical aspects of environmental monitoring in caves, and will encompass strategies for monitoring of the hydrology and meteorology of cave systems, instrumentation and data logging, sampling and analysis protocols, and in-situ studies of carbonate precipitation and other cave processes.

More details can be found by following this link.

See some nice pictures of installing an automatic cave water sampler in Bärenhöhle by Robbie Shone.

5th International Workshop on Ice Caves

Barzio (LC), Valsassina, Grigna, Italy

September 16 - 23, 2012

First circular

http://users.unimi.it/icecaves/IWIC-V/

Crete Cave Photography Conference/Workshop

30th March - 2nd April

Crete Cave Photography Conference

More information in English can be found on Robbie's blog.

20th International Karstological School "Classical karst" Karst Forms and Processes

The web page of 20th International Karstological School is now accessible at:
http://iks.zrc-sazu.si/en/index.html

There you can find basic information on the upcomming school, archives of the past schools, REGISTRATION FORM and PAYMENT DETAILS.

Tech Diving 2012 - Rebreather debate

This is the panel debate about rebreathers and rebreather diving that took place during the Tech Diving 2012 conference in Stockholm.

International Workshop on Speleology in Artificial Cavities

International Workshop on Speleology in Artificial Cavities
"Classification of the typologies of artificial cavities in the world"

Dates: 18-20 May 2012
Torino (Piedmont Region, Italy)

Organized by: - Commissione Nazionale Cavità Artificiali SSI
UIS Artificial Cavities Commission
Chairman: Mario Parise [email protected]
Secretary: Carla Galeazzi [email protected]

What's the purpose of the Cadastre of Artificial Cavities?
The purpose of the Cadastre of Artificial Cavities (AC) is:
- the inventory and the cataloguing of the AC in accordance with procedures established and accepted at an international level;
- geographical documentation of each territory and its peculiarity;
- support and coordination during scientific research and exploration;
- to contribute in developing proper land management, integrating the tools and codes of the local governments;
- the protection and enhancement of the urban environment and the cultural heritage.
As an example of existing Cadastre of Artificial Cavities, link to the Italian website: http://catastoartificiali.speleo.it/applications/1.0/

21st International Radiocarbon Conference

The 21st International Radiocarbon Conference is co‐organized by the French Radiocarbon community and UNESCO. It will be hosted at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, from 9 to 13 July 2012. If you have any results related to past continental reconstructions and radiocarbon then you are encouraged to submit an abstract to the session number 11.

Session 11:
This session addresses multiple issues related to time series for continental palaeoclimatic records and palaeohydrological responses. It focuses on precisely dated continental records that shed light on climatic variability on all continents and its impact on hydrology and vegetation changes. Palaeoclimatic reconstructions from continental carbonates (speleothems, travertine, gastropods, ostracods, soils carbonates, calcified roots, etc.), from continental and coastal organic matter (peat, sediment, soil, vegetation, etc.) are welcome. Besides climatic reconstruction, processes involving carbon isotopes (12C, 13C, 14C) and bio indicators (pollen, diatoms, sponge spicules, phytolits, etc.) in above organic archives are welcome.

Keywords:
dating, paleoclimatic series, continental carbonates, speleothem, travertine, gastropod, ostracods, calcified roots, rhizoliths, organic matter, soil, vegetation, (paleo) climate, (paleo) hydrology

For registration and abstract submission, please go to the conference page.

20th International Karstological School

20TH INTERNATIONAL KARSTOLOGICAL SCHOOL "CLASSICAL KARST"

KARST FORMS AND PROCESSES

Postojna, June 18th to 23rd 2012

is organised by Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU. 

Since 1993, International Karstological Schools have been organised, covering many aspects of karst research. The basic idea of the School has been to present the state of the art in selected topics and
promote discussion between participants via set of lectures, poster sessions and related field trips to the area of Slovene Classical karst.

Research in the last two decades has contributed new findings in many topics of these past schools. Therefore, the 20th IKS is an opportunity to review our current understanding of typical karst forms

and processes, stress the research advances in the last two decades and define challenges and perspectives for the next generation.

For more details visit: http://www.speleogenesis.info/news.php?id=167