[CML #16722] Fwd: NCKRI Cave and Karst News and Announcements

Dear Friends,

We have been busy at NCKRI and not able to send news and announcements for the past month. We apologize for the delay. As usual, the information below is from NCKRI and our friends. You are welcome to share it with anyone who is interested. If you have questions, please contact the people or organizations listed below. The news this week includes:

· Karst Waters Institute Survey

· Geological Society of America Convention: Special Karst Session Honoring Dr. Nick Crawford

· 18^th Vulcanospeleology Symposium, USA

· Workshop: Grotte de Han – New Dramatic Effect of Lighting, Belgium

· U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Workshop, USA

· EuroSpeleo Protection Label

· International Union of Speleology France Habe Prize for Karst and Cave Conservation

· $1 million in grants for White-nose Syndrome Research

· 25^th Karstological School "Classical Karst" – Milestones and Challenges in Karstology, Slovenia

· List of Upcoming Cave and Karst Meetings

Best wishes,

George

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Karst Waters Institute Survey

Dear friends of the Karst Waters Institute,

Last year KWI celebrated its 25-year anniversary. As we plan for the future, we are taking the opportunity to consider changes to our structure and operations. Your input through this brief survey is greatly appreciated.

http://karstwaters.org/kwi-survey/

Thank you so much!

Sarah Carmichael and Dan Doctor, KWI Vice Presidents of Communications
Dorothy Vesper, KWI Board of Directors

Karst Waters Institute
http://karstwaters.org

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Geological Society of America Convention: Special Karst Session Honoring Dr. Nick Crawford

This year’s Geological Society of America (GSA) Convention will be held in Seattle, Washington, USA, on 22-25 October 2017. The GSA Karst Division is organizing the karst sessions differently this year. Instead of promoting separate and competing sessions, when you register your abstract select “Discipline Sessions” and select “Karst.” The Karst Division will then create logical, interesting, and non-competing sessions from all of the karst abstracts submitted.

However, there is one exception in the session: How Nick Crawford’s Vision Helped Shape Contemporary Karst Science and Education. In 1979, Dr. Crawford established the Center for Cave and Karst Studies and an associated graduate research program at Western Kentucky University. The next year he created the Karst Field Studies program that recruited international karst experts to teach at Mammoth Cave, the Edwards Aquifer, and in Mexico. That program continues to this day. Hundreds of students have been influenced by Dr. Crawford, who proved a pioneer ahead of his time in now well-studied areas including fluorescent dye tracing, understanding the environmental impacts of urbanization on karst, high-resolution hydrochemical monitoring of karst flow systems, and the hydrogeology of Kentucky and Tennessee karst. This session will highlight his contributions to contemporary karst science through the perspectives of scientists who have been influenced by Dr. Crawford’s work and vision, including those who have worked with him or who study areas of karst science that he helped lay groundwork for.

The GSA call for abstracts has begun and continues until August 1^st. You can find that and all other available details about the conference at http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2017/home. The session for Dr. Crawford is Topical Session #24.

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18^th Vulcanospeleology Symposium

The 18^th Vulcanospeleology Symposium will be held in northern California at Lava Beds National Monument, USA. The symposium will occur on 21-27 July 2018, with optional fieldtrips and Pre- and Post-Symposium trips. This symposium series is a function of the Vulcanospeleology Commission of the International Union of Speleology.

For the preliminary schedule and details on the location, lodging, and registration, visit http://www.vulcanospeleology.org/sym18/ISV18.html

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Workshop: Grotte de Han – New Dramatic Effect of Lighting
in Han-sur-Lesse (Belgium) from 16 to 18 November 2017

Once every four years, Cave Lighting organizes informative events in different show caves in Europe. We last met in Switzerland in March 2013, where the specialist audience had the opportunity to visit the Höllgrotten Caves near Baar (Canton of Zug) and to inspect the electrical installation and the lighting system. This year we would like to suggest you visiting one of the biggest flagships of the European show caves, namely “Grotte de Han”, situated in the Ardennes in Belgium.

Apart from other projects, the LED-ification of the cave has been one of our biggest challenges. The Cave Lighting team has been busy installing the new LED system of the show cave for the last four years, taking place in several construction phases. Four sections of the cave already show themselves in a new light and comply with state-of-the-art technology. In 2018 the last construction phase will take place, and one of the most sophisticated show cave projects in Europe will be completed.

“Grotte de Han” is one of the most beautiful and biggest show caves in Europe. Thanks to the new lighting, the chambers seem to be even more impressive. The beauty of the dripstones and the immense chambers, which have been formed by the river Lesse that is flowing through the cave, make the Cave of Han unique in its dimensions. Over the last four years, the Cave Lighting team has managed to change the illumination system of this three-kilometer-long show cave to LED technology. Not only has the cave been outfitted with state-of-the-art technology, but it was completely redesigned in the process, creating amazing light and sound events. Because of the many different guided tours offered, as well as the high demands of the visitors, we had to cope with lots of challenges.

We cordially invite you to take part in our workshop in Grotte de Han! We do not only want to present the new illumination and the modern control system of the show cave, but in particular, we would like to:

Present Grotte de Han as a holistic business model
Offer experts of the field access to Belgian show caves through a unique feature.
Offer a platform for exchanging experiences and opinions
Bring together show cave operators, managers and owners

Important information for those interested in the workshop:
When: 16 - 18 November 2017
Where: Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium
Detailed information concerning the workshop will be published in a second circular at the end of April. This circular will also include particulars as to the program flow, event costs, logistics and organizational issues.

Attention!!! Due to hunting season, the hotels in Han-sur-Lesse have to be booked in good time. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, please contact us now by e-mail or by telephone so that we can make a provisional (non-binding) booking for you.

Please send your application to one of the following addresses:

Cave Lighting: Anna Toplak
Grotte de Han: Ewa Krywko

You can also contact us by phone under the following number: +49 1717228201

We are looking forward to receiving your application.
Your Cave Lighting Team

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U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Workshop, 16-18 May 2017

Hosted by the Student Geological Society and student chapters of the Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Association of Engineering Geologists.

This is a fundraiser for all three student chapters hosting the workshop and we suggest a donation of $25 for non-students and $15 for students.

This is a charitable donation and for USGS or other Federal employees must be from personal funds, but is tax deductible. The student chapters will purchase light refreshments for the technical sessions so we are hoping that the donations will offset those costs. Feel free to donate more than the recommended amounts as the student organizations will find good use for the funds. Additionally, people that make a donation will receive a hard copy of the proceedings.

Go to the Student Geological Society, UTSA KIG website:

http://geologyutsa.wixsite.com/sgsutsa/karst-interest-group-workshop

NOTE- Two-step process to sign-up as the Donations button is separate from the Sign-Up for KIG button. Please do both.

1- Donations button will take you to a donation page that you can choose the amount you would like to donate and the designation is automatically set to UTSA Geological Society with one-time gift selected.

2-Please Sign-Up for KIG for the workshop and indicate if you plan to participate on the Thursday field trip and are willing to drive (note need SUV or truck or car high off the ground for a couple of stops). We will use the sign up information for making hard copies of the proceedings, field trip guide and to help organize carpools for the field trip.

The current agenda is on the KIG website.

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EuroSpeleo Protection Label

Dear caving friends,

The European Speleological Federation (FSE) and its European Cave Protection Commission (ECPC) is very pleased to announce the launching of the 2017 Call for the EuroSpeleo Protection Label. Please find enclosed the application form (deadline for applications 15 July 2017). You can also find the application form soon on the FSE website: http://eurospeleo.eu/en/commissions-en/cave-protection/ecpc-activities/eurospeleo-protection-label.html

The aim of the EuroSpeleo Protection Label is to support active cave protection in the speleo clubs, committees, national commissions, etc., all over Europe and to share this knowledge throughout Europe.

We, as cavers having the underground world as a common passion, should be those that are concerned to preserve and protect the caves and karst discovered during explorations.

For this reason many cavers and speleological structures are identifying specific solutions which can then be shared with the whole European speleological community, in order to adapt these cave protection solutions for application in other European countries.

The FSE / ECPC would like to recognize quality projects which can help to find better solutions for cave protection among the speleological community by awarding them the EuroSpeleo Protection Label. This award should also involve financial support to allow continuation of the important work that has been carried out by the awarded clubs, committees and commissions, because we all need to preserve the speleological heritage for the next generations.

Please consult the annexed document for all further information and technical rules.

Best regards,

Jean-Claude Thies
e-mail:
ECPC President
European Cave Protection Commission
Fédération Spéléologique Européenne asbl.
B.P. 3067
L-1030 Luxembourg
www.eurospeleo.eu

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International Union of Speleology France Habe Prize for Karst and Cave Conservation

· Le PRIX France HABE est décerné par le Département de la Protection du Karst et des Grottes de l’Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS).

Son but est de promouvoir la protection du karst et des grottes pour les générations à venir. Leur héritage naturel est une source d'informations éprouvées de plus en plus riche sur l'histoire de notre planète et de l'humanité nous permettant d'agir de façon plus réfléchie, efficace et durable pour l'avenir de notre environnement.

Les candidatures doivent parvenir pour le 20 mai 2015.

Pour plus d’informations :

http://uis-speleo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=383

· The France HABE Prize is awarded by the Department of Karst and the Cave Protection of the International Union of Speleology (UIS).

Its purpose is to promote the protection of karst and caves for generations to come. Their natural legacy are proven sources of increasingly rich information about the history of our planet and humanity, enabling people to act more thoughtfully, efficiently, and sustainably for the future of our environment.

Nominations must be received by May 20, 2015.

For more information:

http://uis-speleo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=383

· El Premio France HABE es otorgado por el Departamento de Protección del Karst y Cavidades del la Unión Internacional de Espeleología (UIS).

Tiene como propósito la promoción de la protección del karst, un legado natural que debe ser protegido para las generaciones venideras dado que es sin duda una fuente fundamental de información sobre la historia de nuestro planeta y la humanidad, que nos permite actuar con más conciencia, eficacia y sostenibilidad en el futuro de nuestro medio ambiente.

Las candidaturas deben dirigirse antes del 20 de mayo de 2015.

Para obtener más información:

http://uis-speleo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=383

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$1 million in grants for White-nose Syndrome Research

The Bats for the Future Fund will award up to $1 million in grants in 2017 to proposals that will deploy or test treatments for White-nose syndrome (WNS) that is decimating bat populations in North America. The Fund is also seeking innovative projects to support the development of treatments with the promise to advance the control of WNS and which have the potential to produce new options for treating the disease. More information and the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released on 18 April 2017 at www.nfwf.org/bats. The application period will close on 18 May 2017.

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25^th Karstological School "Classical Karst" – Milestones and Challenges in Karstology

Dear colleagues,

We would like to remind you that the deadline for registration and abstract submission for the 25^th Karstological School "Classical Karst" – Milestones and Challenges in Karstology is approaching fast. Please, don't forget register and submit the abstracts until 30^th April 2017 via on-line forms: http://iks.zrc-sazu.si/en/registration-and-abstract_submission.html

We are honoured to announce invited speakers:

- Speleology: Stein-Erik Lauritzen (University of Bergen, Department of Geology, Norway) and Franci Gabrovšek (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Karst Geomorphology: Stéphane Jaillet (Laboratoire EDYTEM - UMR 5204 du CNRS, Université de Savoie, France) and Andrej Mihevc (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Subterranean Ecosystems: Fabio Stoch (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium) and Janez Mulec (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Karst hydrogeology: Louise Maurice (British Geological Survey, United Kingdom) and Nataša Ravbar (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Karst Record: Christoph Spötl (Universität Innsbruck, Austria) and Nadja Zupan Hajna (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Development challenges on karst: Pierre-Yves Jeannin (Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (SISKA), Switzerland) and Martin Knez (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna);

- Karstology: Derek Ford (McMaster University, Canada) and Tadej Slabe (Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna).

Excursions

As usual field trips will be organised during the 25^th IKS:

- Tuesday, June 20^th: afternoon tourist visit of Postojna cave

- Wednesday, June 21^st: afternoon field trip Rižana karst spring and its catchment (guided by M. Petrič and N. Ravbar)

- Thursday, June 22^nd: whole day excursion The Škocjan caves – from the cave to the landscape morphology (guided by A. Mihevc and N. Zupan Hajna)

- Friday, June 23^rd: whole day excursion Hydrology, Geomorphology and Speleology of the Ljubljanica Recharge Area (guided by F. Gabrovšek)

More information regarding the 25^th IKS can be found on our web page: http://iks.zrc-sazu.si/en/

We are looking forward to seeing you in Postojna.

Petra Gostinčar

Head of the Organising Committee

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List of Upcoming Cave and Karst Meetings

1) Solution Mining Research Institute Technical Conference, 23-26 April 2017 (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA), www.solutionmining.org

2) US Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Meeting, 16-18 May 2017 (San Antonio, Texas, USA). http://geologyutsa.wixsite.com/sgsutsa/karst-interest-group-workshop.

3) III International Symposium of Speleology, 29 April – 1 May 2017 (Varenna, Villa Monastero – Lake Como, Italy), http://www.iss2017.it/eng/.

4) Climate Record: The Karst Record VIII, 21-24 May 2017, (Austin, Texas, USA), http://sites.uci.edu/kr8conference/

5) 25^th International Karstological School “Classical Karst”: Milestones and challenges in Karstology, 19-23 June 2017 (Postojna, Slovenia), http://iks.zrc-sazu.si

6) National Speleological Society Convention, 19-23 June 2017 (Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA), http://nss2017.caves.org/

7) National Association of Mining History Organisations Conference 2017, 23-26 June 2017 (Godstone, Surrey, UK), http://namho2017.info/

8) Man and Karst 2017 International Scientific Meeting, 26-29 June (Zadar, Croatia), https://manandkarst2017.wixsite.com/manandkarst2017

9) 17^th International Congress of Speleology, 23-30 July 2017 (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), http://speleo2017.com/

10) International Clean-up of Gouffre Berger, 1-15 August 2017 (Vercors, France), http://cds39.fr/BFC/index.

11) Biospeleology Conference, 21-23 September 2017 (Seville, Spain), http://bioespeleologia.blogspot.com.es/2016/11/v-encuentro-iberico-de-biologia.html

12) 44^th International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress, 25-29 September 2017 (Dubrovnik, Croatia), http://iah2017.org/

13) Geological Society of America Convention, 22-25 October (Seattle, -Washington, USA), http://www.geosociety.org/GSA/Events/Annual_Meeting/GSA/Events/gsa2017.aspx

14) National Cave and Karst Management Symposium, 16-20 October 2017 (Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA), http://nckms.org/

15) British Cave Research Association 28^th Cave Science Symposium, 20-21 October 2017 (Leeds, UK), website to be announced.

16) International Conference on Geomorphology, 6-11 November 2017 (New Delhi, India), karst session: http://www.icg2017.com/session.php

17) Workshop: Grotte de Han, New Dramatic Effect of Lighting, 16-18 November 2017 (Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium), .

18) The Sinkhole Conference, joint with the 3^rd Appalachian Karst Symposium, 2-6 April 2018 (Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA), http://www.sinkholeconference.com/

19) 18^th International Vulcanospeleology Symposium, 21-27 July 2018 (Lava Beds National Monument, California, USA), http://www.vulcanospeleology.org/sym18/ISV18.html

20) EuroSpeleo Forum 2018, 23-26 August 2018 (Ebensee, Austria), http://eurospeleo.at/expo.html.

21) 24^th International Conference on Subterranean Biology, 20-24 August 2018 (University of Aveiro, Portugal), website to be announced.

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George Veni, PhD

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