Bats are the source of not a single but many new coronaviruses. As confirmed by resent discovery in small region of Yunnan province in China, genetically some of them are very close to Covid-19. One of the viruses sampled from horseshoe bats that roost in caves and hunt at daylight is called RpYN06 and it is very similar to SARS-CoV-2 virus which is causing the current pandemic.

A beautiful movie has been published on the http://iyck2021.org/ website, dedicated to the International Year of Caves and Karst:

It tells the narrative about caves and the ways they come to being. There are several very important environmental roles that caves play in the earth ecosystems. For example, 13% of all groundwater is stored in karst areas. There it forms a vast network of underground landscapes, extensive cave systems. Whet it reaches the surface it forms springs. 700 million people worldwide use this water on their daily bases. Even some large cities are sourced by underground water. For example, Rome, Vienna, Damascus.

A new project has been recently launched by the Center for the Study of Nature and the Sea (CENM-Nature) as an event of the International Year of Caves and Karst. The project is aimed to illustrate typical morphological features and the morphological diversity of hypogene caves to help cavers and researchers identify these caves and their characteristics.

The project websiteThe project is coordinated by Andrés Ros, José L. Llamusí, Manuel Tremiño. Contact

Know Hypogene Caves -- Project description:

Hypogenic caves are more common than believed. Most of the time they tend to go unnoticed or unrecognized for their morphological characteristics. Until recently, it was estimated that only 10% of the world’s caves were hypogenic. Current studies show that this figure is much higher than estimated. Hypogenic caves have common patterns, and knowledge and identification of them will help in their study and protection.

The goal of the project is to use photos to help identify these cavities and their characteristics. The project is open to any caver, photographer, or hobbyist from any country. During the 52 weeks of 2021, the International Year of Caves and Karst, one of more photos of a cave will be published on the website, with information describing their morphologies, speleothems, or other relationships with the hypogenic caves. The information and photos will also be posted on social media networks: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Join us! Send photos and information on hypogenic caves in your area!

As the year 2021 is approaching UIS made a decision to make it the International Year of Caves and Karst. The main motivation for such a step is the need to promote information about caves and karst among general public who is unfortunately not quite aware of importance and scale of such a phenomenon as caves.

Within the framework of the initiative is teaching the public about various aspects related to caves and karst and giving people information on how to get involved with cave and karst related activities.

The main website dedicated to the IYCK is http://www.iyck2021.org/. More information will be available later.

Dear planetary caves explorers/researchers:

If you’re receiving this email, you’ve been identified as a researcher knowledgeable in planetary science and/or engineering. A research group of 34 scientists and engineers have developed a list of questions across seven disciplines in planetary caves science and exploration — these are big picture/multidisciplinary, astrobiology, cave environment, geology, robotics, instrumentation, and human exploration.

We are requesting that you assist us in identifying the “Fifty fundamental questions in planetary caves science and exploration”. Provided here is a link to a Google survey form. The survey consists of 152 questions across the aforementioned disciplines. It will take about 20 minutes to complete. The results of this survey will be used to develop a peer-reviewed publication on this topic.

By completing this survey, you are aiding the community in advancing planetary caves science and exploration. Please complete this survey by 11 AUG 2020.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Many thanks in advance and be well —

Jut

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J. Judson Wynne, Ph.D.

Assistant Research ProfessorDepartment of Biological SciencesCenter for Adaptable Western Landscapes

18th International Congress of Speleology program: DJ Dancing

18th International Congress of Speleology program: DJ night

18th International Congress of Speleology program: Screenings / films evening

18th International Congress of Speleology program:  Rock concert with Six Tease and the Rockets

18th International Congress of Speleology program: String show with the company Lez Arts Cordés