2021 is the International Year of Caves and Karst, and we are happy to offer a series of (online) seminars about cave science. Join the “The Cave Show” from your own home.
On April 28 (Wednesday), 8:30pm (GMT+1) join us for the webinar ‘The Classical (Caves and) Karst’, by Dr. Matej Blatnik, Researcher, Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU in Postojna, Slovenia.
The webinar takes place on YouTube, HERE: https://youtu.be/aUqZ_F9N7QA
The “Classical Karst” comprises the area between Ljubljana (Slovenia), Trieste (Italy) and Rijeka (Croatia), and it is the area with the oldest scientific exploration of karst. The first mentions to this geographical areas dates back to ancient times, whereas the scientific explanation of processes in karst areas began in the 17th century. The word “Karst” (originally kras), as well as the early descriptions of widespread karst phenomena, e.g. dolina, uvala, polje or ponor, originated from Slavic words and are result of early explorations in the Classical Karst. The first institute completely dedicated to karst exploration was established more than century ago in Postojna (Slovenia), with the main goal of developing the multidisciplinary study and protection of karst areas. Our travel across the Classic Karst will focus mostly on karstology, providing a geographical overview its caves and karst, historical perspective and current research trends, with amazing images from this iconic karst area.
The Classical Karst, map made by Valvasor in 1689.
“The Cave Show” is a series of (online) seminars about why are caves important, why it is important to study and protect caves, but also about our passion for caves, which drive much of our research activities. It is included in the celebrations of the International Year of Caves and Karst. Stay tuned to know about the next Cave Show seminars!
Brief CV of Dr. Matej Blatnik:
Dr. Matej Blatnik is a researcher at the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU in Postojna (Slovenia). His main research topic is hydrology, comprising the study groundwater flooding dynamics, water flow direction and velocity, and dechiphering of cave geometry through conceptual and numerical models. Recently, his research topic is also ecohydrology in karst areas, studying the relation of surface water flooding dynamics with habitat types and land use, the impact of climate changes and peoples adaptation to floods. Dr. Blatnik works also in ice caves, studying temperature dynamics, ice content and periglacial processes. He is an active caver from 2011. He has been involved in cave explorations in some deep Alpine caves, visited caves in France, Croatia, Montenegro and China, but the main work has been done in caves within the Classical Karst.
