[CML #17333] Fwd: Cave and karst news and announcements from NCKRI

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От кого: George Veni <>
Кому: George Veni <>
Дата: Понедельник, 29 июля 2019, 4:45 +03:00
Тема: Cave and karst news and announcements from NCKRI

Dear Friends,

Below is our new list of cave and karst news announcements. As usual, there are many good and exciting things happening around the world, including NCKRI’s new grant program!

Various News

Major Grants from NCKRI for Cave and Karst Research Now Available!
Geological Society of America Karst Division: Call for Officers and Volunteers
Clean Up the Dark: European Network Call Out

Conferences and Meetings

9^th International Workshop on Ice Caves and 12th Scientific Conference on Research, Protection and Utilization of Caves: Slovakia
3^th European Cave Rescue Meeting: Turkey
International Symposium on Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities: Bulgaria
8th Triennial U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Workshop: website update
British Cave Research Association 30^th Cave Science Symposium: Call for Abstracts
The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Update
The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Beck Student Scholarship Call for Applications
The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Beck Student Scholarship Call for Donors
List of Upcoming Cave and Karst Meetings

Please contact the people and organizations listed below for more information, and feel free to share this message with anyone who may be interested.

George

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Major Grants from NCKRI for Cave and Karst Research Now Available!

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that NCKRI is now requesting proposals for new grant programs in support of cave and karst research. Please see the two attached requests for proposals (also linked in the descriptions below).

The NCKRI National Seed Grant Program is designed to enable investigators to initiate new cave and karst research, and encourage new principle investigators to enter the field.

The NCKRI Scholar Fellowship Program to designed to support cave and karst research by exceptional graduate and undergraduate students.

Proposals for NCKRI National Seed Grants are due September 20th, 2019, and applications for the NCKRI Scholar Fellowships are due October 4th, 2019. Applications can be submitted at the following link:

https://www.nmt.edu/research/organizations/nckri.php

Please direct any questions about submission or budget preparation to Judith McShannon (, 575-835-6940). Other questions about this RFP can be directed to Daniel Jones, NCKRI Academic Director (, 575-835-5049).

Please help spread the word about these new opportunities, and please consider applying yourselves!

Daniel S. Jones, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science

Academic Director, National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI)

314 Mineral Science and Engineering Complex (MSEC)

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM 87801

office: 575-835-5049

mobile: 651-245-2775

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Geological Society of America Karst Division: Call for Officers and Volunteers

1. Due to some changes with our past officers and their tenure timeline with the Board, we currently lack a Vice Chair and my position is coming to term as Chair after an extra year in office to bridge this gap, so we URGENTLY need nominations/volunteers for both the Chair and Vice Chair positions.

These are incredibly important positions in order to keep the Division running smoothly after all the work and effort by those before us to bring it into existence. There is a succession plan and neither officer will be without support and training in order to easily transition after the Fall meeting.

2. Other important vacancies within the Division include the following:

Awards Committee- need 2 members
Nominations Committee- need 2 members
Advisory Board- need 2 members

3. We will have a Karst Division booth again at the Fall meeting like in past years and need volunteers to help staff the booth (#231). Our student reps, Rachel and Anna, will work to coordinate activities and you can reach them via the Connected Community or e-mail me for contact info.

For #1-2 above, please send nominations (self-nominations are welcome) using the attached form to by August 5th, 2019.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone who might be interested in the Division or volunteering for an open position. Also, if you have any updates or content (photos, news blurbs, opportunities, etc.) for the KD website, please send them to Pat Kambesis () to get them online.

To learn more about the Karst Division and to join, visit https://community.geosociety.org/karstdivision/participate/join.

As always, we appreciate your continued support and participation in the Division and look forward to sharing some new and exciting ideas at the Fall meeting- see you in Phoenix!

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Clean Up the Dark: European Network Call Out

Dear caver,

Since Italy won the first price with the EuroSpeleo Protection Label 2018 with its project: "Puliamo il Buio (PiB) - Cleaning up the darkness" everyone has heard about the new wave of cleaning activities.

Following an Italian initiative a team has started to list similar cleaning activities in Europe and is now initiating a new European Network on Clean Up the Dark ! This project is of cause fully supported by the European Cave Protection Commission.

We are inviting everyone who knows about cleaning activities (even in the past) or who is planning a cave cleaning activity, to read the attached document and send back the included form with some basic questions. Note that this should be done by September 15th.

Thank you for your cooperation

The project will be presented at the 13th EuroSpeleo Forum 2018 in Sofa, Bulgaria.

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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9^th International Workshop on Ice Caves and 12th Scientific Conference on Research, Protection and Utilization of Caves: Slovakia

The scientific conference series, “Research, Utilization and Protection of Caves” has been organized by the Slovak Caves Administration biannually since 1997. The newest results from research, monitoring and protection of caves are presented, mainly from Slovakia and neighboring countries in Central Europe. The caves as natural monuments are protected from geological, mineralogical, geomorphological, hydrological, climatological, biological, paleontological, archaeological or historical point of views.

The next conference will be held together with the 9^th International Workshop on Ice Caves on 12-15 May 2020 in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. For the full details, conference circular, and to register, visit http://www.ssj.sk/en/akcia/18-12th-scientific-conference-research-protection-and-utilization-of-caves.

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13^th European Cave Rescue Meeting: Turkey

This 13^th meeting of the European Cave Rescue Association will occur in Istanbul, Turkey from 14-17 November 2019, It will be organized by the Speleological Federation of Turkey (Mağara Kurtarma Komisyonu – Cave Rescue Commission, Turkey). The first circular is now available with the early details. For more information you can find the circular and more information at https://caverescue.eu/13th-european-cave-rescue-meeting-first-circular/.

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International Symposium on Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities: Bulgaria

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing you regarding the International Symposium on “Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities”, 26-29 September 2019, https://esf2019.speleo-bg.org/symposia/. The deadline for abstracts submission and reduced registration fee for the symposium was extended to August, 1th. Please send your abstract to me at .

We made our best to make this meeting extremely affordable. It will be held under the patronage of UIS and ESF.

This meeting is primary focused on development and applications of new techniques for remote location of unknown caves, but papers on any techniques for cave location are more than welcome. The most advanced of these techniques is remote location of new unknown caves with thermal cameras mounted on drones. It has great potential for location of new unknown caves in hardly accessible remote locations with extremely rough and dangerous surfaces like Afghanistan, Pakistan or the tepui in Venezuela. It will be extremely helpful to expand cave exploration in new regions and even on other planets. Studies of possibilities for application of this technique for search for caves on Mars and the Moon have already begun. So this symposium will be of interest not only to cave scientists and exploration geophysicists, but also to all cavers interested in the exciting search and exploration of new caves.

International Symposium on “Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities” will be held during the 13^thEuroSpeleo Forum in Sofia, Bulgaria, 26^th-29^th September, 2019.

I would like to invite you to submit a talk to this meeting. Your participation in the meeting will be most welcome. You must be registered participant of the 13^th EuroSpeleo Forum: https://esf2019.speleo-bg.org/registrations/ in order to give presentations at this Symposium (which is a part of the Forum).

With my best regards,

Prof. Yavor Shopov, PhD,

Chairman of the International Symposium on „Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities”

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8th Triennial U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Workshop: website update

The USGS Karst Interest Group (KIG) workshop website has been updated allowing everyone access. I apologize to anyone that tried to access the site before and were restricted. The new site is https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/karst-interest-group-kig-2020-workshop. The website contains registration, lodging, and abstract submittal information. The website will be update as the workshop draws closer with additional lodging options, an agenda for the workshop, and details about the field trip to the Cumberland Plateau.

Call for Presenters

Deadline for abstract submittal is quickly approaching and the workshop is still in need of presenters. You do not have to be affiliated with the USGS or any government agency to attend the workshop or present at the workshop. Some suggested topics for oral or poster presentations are:

· Geophysical methods in karst

· Karst ecosystems

· Karst in Tennessee

· Karst geomicrobiology

· Numerical modeling in karst

· Karst in coastal zones

· Contaminant transport in karst

· Sediment transport in karst

· Pathogens in karst

· Effects of climate change on karst aquifers

· Natural resource development in karst areas

· Geochemistry of karst systems

· Aquifer hydraulics in karst systems

Ideas for oral or poster presentations are to be submitted to Eve Kuniansky via email no later than September 9, 2019. This first call requests only a preliminary title, lead presenters' name, email address, preferred session (oral, poster, or no preference), and a brief description of the proposed presentation. Accepted presentations will require a subsequent submittal of an abstract or extended abstract.

Mission of the Karst Interest Group

The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support inter-disciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists working in karst areas. Additionally, the KIG encourages the exchange of karst-related information between USGS scientists and scientists from various other entities.

Purpose of the workshop

The purpose of the workshop is to bring together scientists from different offices of the USGS, Department of the Interior, other Federal and state agencies, research institutes, and universities to present the results of scientific work in karst areas or discuss karst related programs in their bureaus or offices.

Tennessee State University (TSU) is hosting and providing the meeting space. This workshop represents an excellent opportunity for attendees to learn the latest in karst science and experience the stunning karst terrain of central Tennessee. Technical sessions will be held Wednesday and Thursday, May 13 and 14, 2020. The optional field trip to karst in the Cumberland Plateau is scheduled for Friday, May 15, 2020. General inquires and questions about the upcoming KIG workshop may be sent to .

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.

Hope to see you at the KIG

Allan

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British Cave Research Association 30^th Cave Science Symposium: Call for Abstracts

The British Cave Research Association is pleased to announce details of the 30th Annual Cave Science Symposium. The Symposium will be hosted by Dr. Andy Farrant of the British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, on Saturday 19th October, 2019. The symposium will feature a keynote lecture by Dr. Peter Wynn (University of Lancaster) dedicated to Twentieth Century Records of Pollution within Stalagmites. A programme of presentations is being assembled that will be of interest to anyone wishing to know more about the underground environment. Further details will follow in later circulars, as well as via other BCRA news outlets.

Call for Abstracts

Abstracts are welcome for posters or oral presentations on any topic of cave or karst-based research, and these should be submitted by email no later than 31st August, 2019, to the lecture secretary, Gina Moseley gina.moseley[-at-]uibk.ac.at. Please include all authors with their affiliations, an email address for the primary author, and an abstract of up to 500 words (main text and references only). If you are intending to submit an abstract, Gina would appreciate you sending her an email with a preliminary title. Don’t worry, there is no commitment, but it helps her to compile a diverse and interesting programme.

Registration

Registration will take place on the day and a small admission charge will be requested to cover refreshments, though entry will be free to speakers, students, and members of the BCRA. Donations to help finance the meeting will gladly be accepted.

Venue

The address for the venue is the De la Beche Conference Suite, Environmental Science Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK. Further details on ‘where to find us’ are located here https://www.bgs.ac.uk/contacts/sites/keyworth/home.html

Fieldtrip to Creswell Crags – Sunday 20^th October, 2019

A fieldtrip to Creswell Crags lead by Prof. Andrew Chamberlain (University of Manchester) will take place on Sunday 20th October, 2019. Further details will follow in later circulars.

Symposium Organisers

Please contact Dr. Andy Farrant (arf[-at-]bgs.ac.uk) for details of the venue and local facilities in Keyworth. Contact Gina Moseley (gina.moseley[-at-]uibk.ac.at) for details of the programme and for enquiries concerning oral or poster presentations. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you at the symposium.

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Critical Zone Collaborative Network

A call for proposals and webinar to discuss the call on Critical Zone Collaborative Network has been scheduled. One of the previous Critical Zone sites was in karst and thematic projects can potentially involve complexities in karst regions.

The first webinar will be on Tuesday July 16^th at 14:00 US Eastern Time, but there will be a second webinar on Wednesday July 24^th at 15:00 US Eastern Time. Attendance to the webinar requires registration. You can use the link below for registration and further information:

http://criticalzone.org/national/news/story/cz-colleagues-please-contact-us-about-proposals-cz-collaborative-network/

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European Cave Protection Commission: Call for Members

The team of the European Cave Protection Commission is inviting every caver with cave and karst protection and conservation ambitions, to join the commission to help pushing forward the cave and karst protection goals of the European Speleological Federation in Europe.

More and more political aspects are influencing our work and keeping caves safe from external pollution and preventing them from destroying is a major part of the commissions’ tasks.

Protecting cavernicoles and speleothems are another part of the work, as well as studying biospeleologic life in caves. All this points have the same goal - protecting the cave and karst habitat and biotope.

A new initiative has started to create a Europe-wide network on de-pollution activities and to create a database on the state of pollution or ideally the state of intact caves.

More team members mean more power and more international presence that again are factors that position the ECPC at a higher level of importance.

If you are keen on working in a strong and international team with the aim to protect caves and karst areas, the ECPC is the place for you.

What are the requirements?
Having access to email and word processing applications.
Being ready to work in an international team with cavers and scientists.
Please note that the commission communication is in English.

Just send a mail to for any contact.

Please note that you need to apply before September 15th 2019 to give us time for Q&A and eventual additional requests.

We count on you!

best regards,

Jean-Claude Thies

ECPC President
European Cave Protection Commission
Fédération Spéléologique Européenne asbl.
B.P. 3067
L-1030 Luxembourg
www.eurospeleo.eu

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The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Update

The Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, generally called “The Sinkhole Conference,” is the longest-running international conference of its type. Since 1984, engineers, geologists, hydrologists, land managers, biologists, and many others have gathered at these meetings to exchange cutting-edge information on karst and its many benefits and challenges.

The deadline for abstracts has passed and we received a fabulous array that assure an excellent conference. The 16^th Sinkhole Conference will occur on 20-24 April 2020 in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico! Puerto Rico offers a tropical karst landscape and a vibrant historical and cultural venue unlike anything seen in rest of the United States. Many people are already talking about attending the conference as part of a vacation, and we are helping to make that possible.

The conference will be held in the lovely Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, located in the historic heart of the city. Unlike previous conferences, your registration will include your breakfasts and lunches, in addition to the other usual amenities. Also, your discount conference room rates will extend to three days before and after the conference, in case you want to stay longer and enjoy a vacation. For all of the details on the conference, visit http://www.sinkholeconference.com/.

The Sinkhole Conference is managed by the National Cave and Karst Research Institute and with tremendous assistance from a diverse team of karst experts from around the country who join us to form the Organizing Committee. On behalf of the 16^th Sinkhole Conference Organizing Committee, we look forward to receiving your abstracts and seeing you in San Juan next year!

George Veni

Sinkhole Conference Co-chair

NCKRI Executive Director

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The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Beck Student Scholarship Call for Applications

The Sinkhole Conference was created in 1984 and led for many years by Dr. Barry Beck. In his memory, the conference now offers the Beck Student Scholarship. Students awarded a Beck Scholarship will receive free registration to the conference and up to $1,000 reimbursement for travel expenses, as well as certain special recognitions and other benefits. Scholars from the previous Sinkhole Conference are recognized at http://www.sinkholeconference.com/Beck-scholarship. To apply for the scholarship, visit http://www.sinkholeconference.com/how-to-apply-for-the-beck-scholarship.

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The 16^th Sinkhole Conference: Beck Student Scholarship Call for Donors

The Sinkhole Conference funds one Beck Student Scholarship for each conference, but more than one scholarship can be offered with your support. Six were awarded last time! Attending The Sinkhole Conference can be a life-changing experience for students by opening their eyes to state-of-the-art knowledge, and important professional contacts and opportunities. To help change a student’s life for the better, we ask and encourage you to donate to the Beck Scholarship. All donations are tax deductible. For details on how to donate, visit http://www.sinkholeconference.com/How-to-sponsor-the-scholarship.

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List of Upcoming Cave and Karst Meetings

1) National Speleological Congress of Switzerland, 9-12 August 2019 (Interlaken, Switzerland), https://sinterlaken.ch/en/

2) 4th Summer School on Speleothem Science, 11-17 August 2019 (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), https://www.speleothemschool.com/.

3) German Annual Speleo Meeting,15-18 August 2019 (Nesselwang, Bavaria, Germany), www.vdhk.de

4) 13^th Balkan Cavers Camp, 2-8 September 2019, (Antalya, Turkey), http://bsuturkey.com/index.html

5) TransKarst 2019: The 3^rd Asian Trans-Disciplinary Conference, 7-10 September 2019 (Bohol, Philippines), http://www.transkarst2019.com/.

6) ArmConference 2019: Caves as Natural and Cultural Monuments, 11-13 September 2019 (Yerevan, Armenia), http://armconference2019.com/

7) 25^th International Cave Bear Symposium, 18-22 September 2019 (Paklenica National Park, Croatia),

8) Geological Society of America Convention, 22-25 September 2019 (Phoenix, Arizona, USA), http://www.geosociety.org/GSA/Events/Annual_Meeting/GSA/Events/gsa2019.aspx

9) 13^th EuroSpeleo Forum, 23-26 September 2019 (Sofia, Bulgaria), https://esf2019.speleo-bg.org.

10) International Symposium on Techniques for Remote Location of Unknown Underground Cavities, 26-29 September 2019 (Sofia, Bulgaria), https://esf2019.speleo-bg.org/symposia/.

11) 46^th IAH Congress “Groundwater Management and Governance Coping with Water Scarcity” (Topic 7: Karst Hydrogeology), 23-27 September 2019 (Malaga, Spain), http://www.iah2019.org/topics-and-sessions/

12) 6^th Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop, 4-6 October 2019 (Boerne, Texas, USA), https://hydrogeoworkshop.org/

13) Sustainable Management of Show Caves, 7-9 October 2019 (Skocjan Caves Park, Slovenia), https://izrk-sci-mtg.zrc-sazu.si/en/

14) National Cave and Karst Management Symposium, 7-11 October 2019 (Bristol, Virginia, USA), http://nckms.org/2019-symposium

15) 13th European Cave Rescue Meeting, 15-17 November 2019 (Istanbul, Turkey), https://caverescue.eu/13th-european-cave-rescue-meeting/

16) International Congress: 80^th Anniversary of the Cuban Speleological Society, 19-23 February 2020 (Caibarién, Villa Clara, Cuba), for information contact .

17) 16^th Multidisciplinary Conference on the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, 20-24 April 2020 (San Juan, Puerto Rico), www.sinkholeconference.com

18) 9th International Workshop on Ice Caves (IWIC-IX) & the 12th Scientific Conference Research, Utilization and Protection of Caves, 12-15 May 2020 (Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia), for information contact

19) US Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Meeting, 13-14 May 2020 (Nashville, Tennessee), for information contact

20) UNESCOkarst 2020: Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources, 18-22 May 2020 (Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA), https://unescokarst2020.com/

21) 19^th International Symposium on Vulcanospeleology, 29 August – 5 September 2020 (Catania, Italy), http://www.19isvetna.com/

22) EuroKarst 2021: The European Congress on Karst Hydrogeology and Carbonate Reservoirs, 22-24 June 2021 (Málaga, Spain), http://www.eurokarst.org/

23) 18^th International Congress of Speleology, 23-29 July 2021 (Lyon, France), http://uis2021.speleos.fr/

********************

George Veni, PhD

Executive Director, National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI)

and

President, International Union of Speleology (UIS)

NCKRI address (primary)

400-1 Cascades Avenue

Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220 USA

Office: +575-887-5517

Mobile: +210-863-5919

Fax: +575-887-5523

www.nckri.org

UIS address

Titov trg 2

Postojna, 6230 Slovenia

www.uis-speleo.org

--
Bulat Mavlyudov