Cavers Mailing List     № 477

Proposal on cave topography signatures

Автор: Grigori M. Sigalov, Ph.D.
Дата: 26 Dec 1996

Привет всем!

В Интернете появилась Web page с проектом единой системы обозначений
для пещерной топографии. Документ состоит из текста и 6 страниц
графических файлов с обозначениями. Введение я привожу ниже "для
затравки". Весь документ в архиве (uis-topo.zip, 101841 byte)
я перешлю на спелеосервер в Киев. Надеюсь, что найдутся
заинтересованные люди, которые переведут и изучат документ.
Думаю, что он может быть полезен очень для многих...

Поздравляю всех с наступающим Новым Годом!

Гриша.

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        A suggestion for a unified signature list for cave topography

            Ph. Hauselmann and Y. Weidmann, Translation: N. Ruder

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Accompanying Graphics Pages

   * Page 1
   * Page 2
   * Page 3
   * Page 4
   * Page 5
   * Page 6

Introduction

On the occasion of the 10th National Congress of the Swiss Cavers
Association in Breitenbach the Second International Topography Meeting
was held to discuss and unify the different types of signatures used in
cave topography. In spite of (or maybe because of?) a quite low
participation we are now able to present a new signature list. This
list is meant to lead to reflexions and discussions on the subject. At
the International Congress UIS 1997 in La-Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland)
a revised version will be worked out, taking into account reviewes and
additional information. The final version will be published shortly
after the UIS congress.

The list including additional explanations can be obtained in German,
French, Italian and English from Ph. HКuselmann or Y. Weidmann.

One may ask why somebody cares to change and redraw the current
signatures. There is already an official signature list, isn't there?
Wrong! Experiences of several frustrated topographers have shown
important difficulties in the understanding / interpretation of similar
or identical signatures. This not only happens to topographers from
different countries, but also to cavers working on the same cave system
(greater confusion even occurred among people working on the "Sieben
Hengste-Hogant" region which isn't exactly neglected)! In foreign
countries, especially overseas, signature conventions change anyway.
This is why during the First International Meeting on Underground
Topography in Charmey (1991) the idea to give the work on an
international understanding on cave signatures another go was widely
appreciated. We are now able to present our first results.

The new signature list

General comments:

This list is meant to be an international basis of understanding on
which the different countries, if necessary, can build their own extra
lists.

In order to keep some consistency between the old and the new list, and
based on the idea that several special signatures may be most useful,
the 6th page is referred to as "additions". The signatures on page 6
couldn't be put on the main list due to their limited or strictly
regional occurance. Despite of this we would like to insist on the
fact that these signatures represent a sensible and often very useful
additional help to clarify the map.

Todays active cave topographers all know that the map with figures and
signatures only makes out half of the work of a good cave explorer. The
other equally important part consists of the description of the cave
including all the facts and presumptions that cannot be shown on the
map. Observations on geology, sedimentology, hydrology, climate, flora
and fauna, a historical summary of the exploration, a list of special
equipment needed or already installed and so on, should be part of a
good cave description and are not to be neglected. Guesses on
continuing galleries and maybe some thougts about cave genesis complete
the description, which gives a reliable basis for further work.

It seemed sensible to give some explanations for the different
signatures in order to make our reasoning and ideas clearer to the
reader.

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