Ice Caves synthesizes the latest research on ice caves from around the world, bringing to light important information that was heretofore buried in various reports, journals, and archives largely outside the public view. Ice caves have become an increasingly important target for the scientific community in the past decade, as the paleoclimatic information they host offers invaluable information about both present-day and past climate conditions. Ice caves are caves that host perennial ice accumulations and are the least studied members of the cryosphere. They occur in places where peculiar cave morphology and climatic conditions combine to allow for ice to form and persist in otherwise adverse parts of the planet. The book is an informative reference for scientists interested in ice cave studies, climate scientists, geographers, glaciologists, microbiologists, and permafrost and karst scientists. Covers various aspects of ice occurrence in caves, including cave climate, ice genesis and dynamics, and cave fauna Features an overview of the paleoclimatic significance of ice caves Includes over 100 color images of ice caves around the world

The International Union of Speleology (Union Internationale de Spéléologie, UIS) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1965 in Slovenia (part of former Yugoslavia) on the initiative of the 4th International Congress of Speleology. Since 1953, these congresses are held every four years to promote interaction between academic and technical speleologists of different nationalities and with the purpose of developing and coordinating international speleology in all of its scientific, technical, cultural and economic aspects. The Union consists of member nations with voting rights, and each is represented by a delegate who represents all cavers and speleologists in its country. Until this book, the history of the International Union of Speleology was spread out in the minutes of the meetings and general assemblies, various UIS publications, and the proceedings of its International Congresses. Moreover, much of it was never written and was available only from the memories of past presidents, secretaries and other members of the UIS. In this book, the author presents the purpose of the Union and summarizes all its events through the first 50 years of its existence. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mednarodna speleološka zveza (Union Internationale de Spéléologie, UIS) je neprofitna, nevladna organizacija, ustanovljena leta 1965 v Sloveniji (v nekdanji Jugoslaviji), na pobudo 4. Mednarodnega speleološkega kongresa. Kongresi so organizirajo na vsake štiri leta že od leta 1949, z namenom spodbujanja sodelovanja med akademskimi in tehničnimi jamarji različnih narodnosti ter z namenom razvijanja in usklajevanju mednarodnega jamarstva iz znanstvenih, tehničnih, kulturnih in ekonomskih vidikov. Zvezo sestavljajo člani z volilno pravico, vsako državo pa zastopajo delegati, ki predstavljajo vse jamarje in speleologe v državi. Do te knjige je bila zgodovina Mednarodne speleološke zveze zapisana samo v zapisnikih sestankov, generalnih skupščin in različnih publikacijah ter zbornikih njenih mednarodnih kongresov. Veliko pa sploh ne, bilo je samo v spominih preteklih predsednikov, tajnikov in drugih upravnih članov UIS-a. V tej knjigi avtor povzema vse dogodke in namen zveze skozi 50 let njenega obstoja.

This book offers readers a thorough introduction to the Dinaric Karst System in Croatia. As the first comprehensive book on the country’s caves and karst, it presents a wealth of fascinating photographs from its karst underground. To date, ca. 12,000 caves and pits have been confirmed in Croatia, approximately 35% of which contain constant groundwater. Knowing the amount, direction and quality of groundwater that has been discovered in caves of the Croatian karst allows us to predict with greater certainty the hydrogeological situation of some karst areas where no special drilling or borehole measurements were performed. In the process of building highways in the country’s karst regions over the last thirty years, thousands of caverns (speleological features without natural entrances) were discovered and thoroughly explored. All of them were geologically mapped, surveyed, and photographed in detail. Extensive research was systematically carried out in Croatian karst regions on sections of roads, highways, cuttings, slides, tunnels, bridge foundations, viaducts, etc., while creating ca. 800 kilometers of highways (such as the Zagreb-Rijeka highway, Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik highway, Y-Ipsilon of Istria semi-highway, Rijeka-Rupa highway, Zagreb-Zadar semi-highway, and the Rijeka bypass). Some of these caverns contain major chambers like in the “Sveti Rok” tunnel and in some of them, like in the “Vrata” tunnel, it was even necessary to build a bridge. This bridge is the longest one in the world built in a tunnel over a cavern. The book describes this and many more features of the cave exploration of the Dinaric Karst System of Croatia, making it a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, cavers, and all other readers interested in karst.

The newest member of the UN, Montenegro has vastly improved its infrastructure and offers superb eco-, adventure and sports facilities.

This practical training guidebook makes an important contribution to karst hydrogeology. It presents supporting material for academic courses worldwide that include this and similar topics. It is an excellent sourcebook for students and other attendees of the International Karst School: Characterization and Engineering of Karst Aquifers, which opened in Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2014 and which will be organized every year in early summer. As opposed to more theoretical works, this is a catalog of possible engineering interventions in karst and their implications. Although the majority of readers will be professionals with geology/hydrogeology backgrounds, the language is not purely technical making it accessible to a wider audience. This means that the methodology, case studies and experiences presented will also benefit water managers working in karst environments.