The exceptional features of the diverse Yunnan karst, from the tropical cone karst in the south and the stone forests in the centre to the mountain karst and high plateau karst of Tibet in the north offer a revelation of the basic characteristic of how karst is formed. The relatively dense settlement of the region, the corresponding great need for clean water, and growing tourism offer opportunities for research and even demand that karstologists study the modern human impact on this vulnerable karst region. The long-term cooperation between karstologists from the Yunnan Institute of Geography of the University of Yunnan and the Karst Research Institute at ZRC SAZU has brought numerous fruits to international karstology. In our second book about the karst of southern China we assemble the results of research in the Yunnan karst on stone forests and other types of karst surfaces, soil erosion, the formation of tufa, vegetation, the development, age, and sediments of karst caves, karst waters, epikarst fauna, and the protection of the natural heritage. Our cooperation continues in full swing and we hope that we will soon succeed in realizing our long-term desire to establish an international laboratory in Kunming for studying karst waters.
COBISS.SI-ID: 254227968
We develop and solve basic equations of heat transport in karst conduit. Different heat transport mechanisms are discussed. Their role in transport of temperature signal in karst channel is evaluated. We successfully apply a numerical model (based on the theory) to fit temperature-flow rate data in two caves in USA and Slovenia.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33338925
Samples of clastic sediments from interior cave facies taken in three Slovenian relic caves (Trhlovca, Račiška pečina, and a cave in Črnotiče Quarry, Classical Karst, SW Slovenia) provided invertebrate fossil remains. Most of them belong to Oribatida but sparse individuals of Cladocera and insects were also identified. They represent the first preQuaternary invertebrate fossils found in sediments of continental temperate climate. The Pliocene/Pleistocene age of the sediments was determined by paleomagnetic dating chronologically calibrated by micromammal biostratigraphy. Invertebrate fossils could be validated as new proxy for the study of cave sediments due to their suitability for ecological and paleogeographic correlations in caves and outside the caves. They also bring additional information about cave formation and karst hydraulic regime in the area. Although the number of remains was very low, it is evidence that climatic conditions in caves allow a better preservation of fossil remains of some groups as compared to most of the surface habitats. This may open a new direction in the study of cave sediments.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33332781