EuroSpeleo 2016
HIGHLIGHTS OF SLOVENIAN KARST AND CAVES
Oral|Dr Nadja Zupan Hajna
Abstract
The word karst (kras) entered into the international scientific terminology from Slovenia; kras in Slovenian language means rocky and bare landscape and it is often used as a toponym for such a landscape. It means also the Kras Plateau (Karst Plateau) in SW Slovenia which extends between the Trieste Gulf (N Adriatic Sea) and Vipava Valley; it is the NW part of the Dinaric karst. Southwest Slovenia is also known as the Classical Karst, due to its distinctive surface, massiveness of karst forms, early scientific descriptions and explorations done in the 19th century.
In Slovenia karst covers 43 % of surface, 35 % is on limestone and about 8 % on dolomite; it boasts numerous types of karst with superficial and underground forms; in 2016 there are about 11,700 known caves. Cave sediments represent an important source of information on the evolution of tectonic and geomorphological units of different sizes. Correlated- and numerical-ages of cave deposits obtained in last 20 years support new trends and ideas concerning the evolution of karst surfaces especially in the region of the Classical Karst, indicate that cave deposits are up to 5 Ma old and perhaps even older. All sediments were deposited within one post-Eocene karstification period.
More from 2016
Film|Mr James Newton
CINEMA: India or Bust: A Caving Trip by Double-Decker Bus
Oral|Mr Robin Weare
The Cave at the Source of the Nile
Oral|Mr Andy Chapman
PESH (Proyecto Espeleologico Sistema Huautla), the project in Mexico's deepest cave
Film|Mr Andy Freem
Caver's Cinema & Video Salon - Sunday
Oral|Mr Peter Glanvill
Mendip Round-Up
Workshop|Mr Nigel Steel
Caves and photogrammetry
Oral|Mr Roo Walters
3D Mapping the world's largest cave chambers
Field|Mr Dave Hollingham
Field Trip: Accompanied Caving Trips
Workshop|Mr Michael Laumanns
Workshop on EuroSpeleo Projects (ESP) - How to get funding from the European Speleological Federation (FSE) for your speleo event/expedition
Oral|Mr Michael Laumanns
Middle East A reminiscence of 4 expeditions to Iran and Iraq between 2000 and 2007 (M. Laumanns, Speleoclub Berlin)