As mais profundas da Terra

Listado de las cavidades naturales más profundas del mundo (>1.000 m), compilada por Philippe Drouin (Spélunca), puesta al día y revisada por Secja (January, 2006). (here)

Metros
1 2160 Sima Voronja - Georgia
2 1632 Lamprechstofen-Verlorenen - Weg Schacht Austria
3 1626 Gouffre Mirolda-Lucien Bouclier (1) Francia
4 1589 Torca del Cerro - España
5 1543 Sarma - Georgia
6 1535 Réseau Jean-Bernard (2) Francia
7 1533 Cehi 2 - Eslovenia
8 1508 Vjacheslava Pantjukhina - Georgia
9 1484 Sistema Cheve (Cuicateco) - Méjico
10 1475 Sistema Huautla - Méjico
11 1441 Sistema del Trave - España
12 1429 Evren Gunay Düdeni (Peynirlikönü düdeni) - Turquía
13 1415 Boj Bulok (-1158;+257) - Uzbekistán
14 1408 Sima de las Puertas de Illamina-BU 56 - España
15 1400 Kuzgun - Turquía
16 1392 Lukina Jama-Trojama - Croacia
17 1370 Sneznaja Mezennogo - Georgia
18 1349 Sistema Arañonera (-1338;+11) - España
19 1342 Sistema de la Piedra de San Martín - España-Francia
20 1340 Sieben Hengste - Suiza
21 1320 Slovacka Jama - Croacia
22 1300 Abisso Paolo Roversi - Italia
23 1291 Cosa Nostra Loch - Austria
24 1278 Cueva Charco - Méjico
25 1273 Gouffre Berger - Francia
26 1258 Gouffre Muruk-Bérénice - Nueva-Guinea
27 1255 Pozo del Madejuno - España
28 1255 Torca de los Rebecos España
29 1241 Abisso Veliko Sbrego (Crnelsko Brezno) Eslovenia
30 1240 Sistema Vladimir Iljukhina Georgia
31 1226 Sotano Akemati Méjico
32 1223 Kijahe Xontjoa Méjico
33 1219 Schwer-Höhlensystem-Batman Höhle Austria
34 1215 Abisso Olivefer Italia
35 1208 Sima Gorgothakas (Creta) Grecia
36 1207 Dachstein-Mammuthöhle Austria
37 1190 Abisso Fighiera-Antro del Corchia Italia
38 1190 Cukurpinar Düdeni Turquía
39 1182 Vandima Eslovenia
40 1180 Sima de la Cornisa España
41 1173 Jubiläumsschacht Austria
42 1170 Réseau de Soudet Francia
43 1170 Abisso W le Donne Italia
44 1170 Anou Ifflis Argelia
45 1169 Sima 56 de Andara España
46 1167 Torca Idoubeda España
47 1160 Abisso Perestroika Italia
48 1150 B 15-Fuentes de Escuain España
49 1148 Tanne des Pra d'Zeures TO75 (-1095;+53) Francia
50 1140 Complesso del Foran del Muss Italia
51 1135 Sistema del Jitu España
52 1130 Sistema Molicka Pec Eslovenia
53 1120 Abisso Saragato Italia
54 1110 Arabikskaja Georgia
55 1102 Kazumura Cave (Hawaii) EEUU
56 1101 Sima G.E.S.M. España
57 1101 J-02 Méjico
58 1101 Schneeloch (-969;+132) Austria
59 1097 Gouffre des Partages Francia
60 1090 Dzou Georgia
61 1088 Feichtner-Schachthöhle Austria
62 1078 Jägerbrunntrog-Höhlensystem Austria
63 1074 Renetovo Brezno Eslovenia
64 1072 Hirlatzhöhle Austria
65 1070 Muttseehöhle Suiza
66 1064 Sotano de Ocotempa Méjico
67 1060 Julagua-Asopladeru la Texa España
68 1060 Abisso Mani Pulite Italia
69 1054 Döf - Sonnenleiter Höhlensystem Austria
70 1050 Pozzo della Neve Italia
71 1033 Kammerschartenhole Austria
72 1030 Schwarzmooskogel-Höhlensystem Austria
73 1029 Herbsthöhle (Mäanderhöhle) Austria
74 1028 Torca Castil España
75 1022 Torca Urriello (-1017;+5) España
76 1021 Bleikogelhöhle(Hedwighöhle,P35) Austria
77 1015 Sotano de Olbastl (Akema bis) Méjico
78 1014 Sonconga Méjico
79 1010 Buca Godofredo (-920;+90) Italia
80 1008 Complesso del Monte Tambura Italia

















Information from: Secja.com

International Journal of Speleology

Volume 35 (1) 2006

The new issue 35(1)(January 2006)
of the International Journal of Speleology is out.
Come and look at the new A4 format ,
layout and style and see the contents.

Buy it now and subscribe for next year's two issues »

Explorers discover huge cave in Venezuela

I mmense finding also leads researchers to new poison frog species

A cave so huge helicopters can fly into it has just been discovered deep in the hills of a South American jungle paradise.
Actually, "Cueva del Fantasma" — Spanish for "Cave of the Ghost" — is so vast that two helicopters can comfortably fly into it and land next to a towering waterfall.
It was found in the slopes of Aprada tepui in southern Venezuela, one of the most inaccessible and unexplored regions of the world. The area, known as the Venezuelan Guayana, is one of the most biologically rich, geologically ancient and unspoiled parts of the world. (...)

Full article: Mmsnbc.msn.com

2 speleologists killed and 4 trapped

I due, un uomo e una donna, erano in un gruppo di 10 ungheresi

Travolti da una valanga durante un'escursione al CaninFriuli, trovati morti due speleologi

Quattro sono ancora in una grottaI soccorritori ne hanno salvati altri quattroche saranno ora accompagnati a valle


Article: (In Italian) Repubblica.it

Rhamdia enfurnada, a new troglobitic catfish

M. E. Bichuette and E. Trajano

Neotropical Ichthyology, 3(4):587-595, 2005

Copyright © 2005 Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia

Rhamdia enfurnada, a new troglobitic (exclusively subterranean) catfish, is described from the Gruna do Enfurnado, Serra do Ramalho, southwestern Bahia State, middle São Francisco River basin. It differs from epigean congeners from the São Francisco River basin by the variable eye size, ranging from reduced to externally invisible (bilateral asymmetry in development of eyes is frequently observed), with a conspicuous orbital concavity (orbital diameter varying from 6.4 to 13.6% of head length in R. enfurnada and from 14.5 to 24.4% in the epigean species); by the dark pigmentation reduced due to a decrease in density of melanophores, and also variable. In comparison to other cave species, R. enfurnada presents a low degree of troglomorphism regarding development of eyes and pigmentation, indicating a relatively short time evolving in isolation in the subterranean environment: R. reddelli is described as lacking eyes and with almost no pigmentation; likewise, R. macuspanensis and R. laluchensis as having rudimentary eyes, covered with skin and not visible externally, and with reduced body pigmentation; R. zongolicensis is also almost devoid of dark pigmentation, but eyes are less reduced than in R. reddelli. R. quelen urichi, also does not present any trace of eyes externally, but the body coloration is described as pale yellowish brown. Rhamdia guasarensis has a concave dorsal profile of head and a complete absence of pigmentation and eyes. The population density (preliminarily estimated in 0.1-0.2 individuals m-2 in average, and reaching 10 individuals m-2, in the dry season and size (several thousands of individuals) of R. enfurnada may be considered high for cave fish standards. Rhamdia enfurnada exhibited an increased midwater activity when compared to their typically bottom-dwelling epigean relatives; are mostly indifferent to light and moderately aggressive.

Consult Abstract: here

II Encontro Brasileiro de Estudos do Carste

Decorridos 2 anos desde o último evento, o II Encontro Brasileiro de Estudos do Carste – Carste 2006 reunirá mais uma vez cientistas, profissionais e público interessado na área espeleológica, com o objetivo de promover uma avaliação e divulgação do 'estado da arte' do conhecimento das diversas áreas da ciência aplicada ao estudo do carste no Brasil.

Espera-se que o evento venha constituir um fórum de apresentações e produtivos debates, onde os participantes possam compartilhar experiências, promover o intercâmbio de informações e estabelecer novas parcerias em projetos de pesquisa. Desta forma, novos resultados serão divulgados, visando o melhor entendimento dos aspectos bióticos, físicos e socioeconômicos de áreas cársticas e suas cavernas.
O encontro está sendo organizado pelo Grupo de Pesquisas em Dinâmica de Sistemas Cársticos do IG/USP e com promoção e apoio da Redespeleo Brasil, Fundação Santo André e Instituto de Geociências /USP.

Site Oficial: II Encontro Brasileiro de Estudos do Carste

XVI JORNADAS SEDECK

XVI JORNADAS SEDECK

25 y 26 de marzo de 2006

Hawaiian Volcanoes

The Hawaiian Islands are at the southeastern end of a chain of volcanoes that began to form more than 70 million years ago. Many of these volcanoes formed islands that have subsided and eroded beneath sea level, and some of the old volcanoes probably never reached sea level. Each Hawaiian island is made of one or more volcanoes, which first erupted on the sea floor and only emerged above the ocean's surface after countless eruptions.
The largest and most southeastern island of the chain, Hawai`i, consists of five volcanoes. Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai have erupted in the past 200 years. Lo`ihi, the youngest volcano of the Hawaiian Volcanic Chain, is still about 1,000 meters beneath the ocean's surface. East Maui Volcano, commonly known as Haleakala, on the island of Maui, is the only other Hawaiian volcano to have erupted since the late 1700's.(...) Click here

Visit A Volcano

Visit A Volcano - Cascade Range Volcanoes

Interactive Image Map: Click here

Velebita - world deepest underground pit

In Rozanski kukovi, National park North Velebit, Croatia

Vertical pit named Divka Gromovnica (513 m)

Cave explorers from Velebit Speleological Society and other clubs from Croatia discovered a pit inside a mountain range in central Croatia believed to have the world's deepest subterranean vertical drop, at nearly 513 m. At the foot of the Velebita cave are small ponds and streams, including one of the largest known colonies of subterranean leeches. It is located in the rocky Velebit mountain range in central Croatia.

More info: Croatian Speleological Server

GROUNDWATER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES

International Congress on:
GROUNDWATER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES
Málaga (Spain), 24-28 April 2006

Oficial site: AQUAiNMED

Russian Rescuers Search for Ukrainians in Abkhazia

A team of rescuers from the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations launched a search for three Ukrainian speleologists who went missing in breakaway Abkhazia after an avalanche occured near the Khipsta mountain in the Gudauta district, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on February 16.
The body of one speleologist was recovered shortly after news broke about the avalanche on February 4. But a search for the others was suspended due to bad weather conditions.
“A search operation is carried out after a request by the Abkhaz leadership,” the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. (From: Civil.ge)

The fourth-longest cave in the world

Surveys lengthen Wind Cave
Eighteen cave explorers surveyed more than 3,500 feet of unexplored passages in Wind Cave on Feb. 11, making it the fourth-longest cave in the world.
Cavers from Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota brought the total distance surveyed in Wind Cave to 119.6 miles, pushing it past the former fourth-longest cave in the world, Hoelloch Cave of Switzerland, according to a news release from Wind Cave National Park headquarters.
The most significant discovery of the weekend involved large passages on the southwestern edge of the known cave. Near “The Skinner,” a 200-foot-long belly crawl, one of the new passages contained a distinct breeze leading into darkness. Explorers plan to return soon to continue surveying the discovery. (...)

Full text: Rapidcityjournal.com

Black Hills Cavers Set New Record in Jewel Cave

By Frank Carroll & Gary C. Chancey, Black Hills National Forest

Jewel Cave just got longer. Explorers recently pushed the known length of the cave to 135 miles and ten feet after four-days spent underground.

A National Park Service cave specialist from New Mexico joined three local Black Hills cavers at Jewel Cave National Monument in southwestern South Dakota in this most recent push to define the limits of this largely unexplored cave. (...)

Planning to explore caves is detailed and comprehensive. If a caver forgets flashlight batteries or other necessities, they’re out of luck. Cavers pack light, taking only critical equipment like head lamps and food, protein bars and special equipment. Though the cave is a constant 49 degrees F, cavers wear T-shirts and light clothing to increase mobility and fight the high humidity and heat of exertion. (...)

Full article & Watch the video: Blackhillsportal.com

Choque ORTO-ESTÁTICO ou SÍNDROME do ARNÊS

O SÍNDROME do ARNÊS, (Trauma de suspensao, síndrome orto-estático, Harness Hang Syndrome) pode produzir-se, depois de estar suspenso algum tempo, aproxidamente 10 minutos em estado imóvel, ou 45 minutos em movimento.

Como Actuar perante este caso:

1. O resgatado JAMAIS deve ser deitado ou colocado em Posiçao Lateral de Segurança (PLS). O sangue refluiria rapidamente e poderia provocar-lhe uma paragem cardíaca, em segundos.

2. Manter o acidentado SENTADO ou de PÉ.

O corpo regular-se-á por si em cerca de 30 minutos.

Saber como actuar, pode fazer a diferença entre salvar uma vida...

Para mais informaçoes: Primeiros Socorros

Jewel Cave getting bigger all the time

Explorers have added to the official length of Jewel Cave, moving it to second place on the list of the world's longest known caves.
A recent four-day trip past cave landmarks like the Miseries and the End pushed the known length of the cave in southwest South Dakota to 135 miles and 10 feet.
The official length of a cave is not the distance between points, but rather the cumulative distance of all explored and mapped passages, said Todd Suess, superintendent of Jewel Cave National Monument.
On the longer multi-day explorations, cavers may spend six to eight hours traveling from the entrance to a main camp deep inside the cave. Then it's another three hours to the unexplored areas, where they'll work for six to eight hours, and then return to the main camp, the National Park Service said.
Other cave explorations are single-day trips, but they also can be productive.
"The longer trips push the far edge of the cave," Suess said Wednesday. "The one-day trips will go to areas closer in ... but they might break into a whole different section of the cave that's in a completely different direction than thought."
A National Park Service cave specialist from New Mexico joined three Black Hills area cavers on the most recent extended exploration.
"You get to see places no one has ever gone before," said Larry Schaffer, a cave volunteer from Hill City. "When you get there, it's like Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon."
Cavers take only critical equipment, like headlamps and food, protein bars and special equipment into the constant (??) 49-degree temperature in the cave.
"It took us an hour and 40 minutes to get through the Miseries," said Stan Allison, from Carlsbad, N.M. "It's a thousand feet of belly crawling ... it's such a long way."
Mapping boundaries of the cave is important in order to protect it from aboveground activities like pesticide use or drilling that can affect the ecological balance in the cave, said Suess.

Article from: Aberdeennews

Boletim electrónico da SBE

Caves in Georgia

The study and exploration of caves, known as speleology, has revealed 513 caves in Georgia, and more are being discovered as exploration continues. Documentation by the Georgia Speleological Survey shows that Georgia's caves have a total combined length of at least 82 miles. However, caves of any significant size are known to exist only in 32 of Georgia's 159 counties, and most of those caves are in northwest Georgia. (...)

Georgia Encyclopedia

Les Grottes de Sare

A 20 Km de l'Ocean !
Les Origines du Peuple Basque45 000 ans de préhistoire, 2000 ans d'Histoire.

Euskal herriaren jatorria Soinu eta Irudiz,2 000 Urteko Historia, 45 000 Urteko Histori aurre.

The Origins of the Basque Country with Light and sound effects, 2000 years of History, 45000 years of Prehistory.

U.S. Show Caves Directory

Ukrainian speleologists missing in southern Russia

"A group of rescuers from the Emergency Situations Ministry's southern regional center is looking for several Ukrainian speleologists who have been missing since an avalanche in Abkhazia's mountains.
The search is underway in the Gudauta district. The body of one Ukrainian was found in the area on Sunday evening. A few kit bags were lying nearby.
Temperatures have been decreasing and it is snowing in highland Abkhazia. The rescuers are hoping to move the body to base camp on Monday and continue the search."

Article from: RussiaHerald.com

Grutas de Cristal Molinos - Spain

This carst cave close to the Village of Molinos is famous for its large amounts of Helictites which are all over the walls and ceiling. The cave which is part of the "Parque Cultural de Molinos" is unique in Europe.

Click here for a 360º view: Panoramica

Exploração subterrânea

NOTA IMPORTANTE:
A exploração subterrânea é uma actividade perigosa, que pode causar danos sérios, invalidez permanente e até morte a todos os que se aventurem no meio cavernícola sem o mínimo de formação específica. (From: Espeleo_pt, yahoogroups)

Conservation of retinal circadian rhythms during cavefish eye degeneration

By: Espinasa L, Jeffery WR*

Regressive evolution of morphological features is a common evolutionary event. However, the relationship between structural degeneration and loss of physiological function is often unclear because the ancestral and derived states of a character are usually not available for comparison. Here, we report studies on retinomotor rhythms during development of the blind cavefish Astyanax mexicanus, a single teleost species consisting of a sighted surface-dwelling form (surface fish) and several blind cave-dwelling (cavefish) forms. The eyed and blind forms of Astyanax diverged from a common sighted ancestor within the past million years. Despite the absence of functional eyes in cavefish adults, optic primordia are formed in embryos, but then gradually arrest in development, degenerate, and sink into the orbits. Although a layered retina is formed in cavefish embryos, it is deficient in photoreceptor cells, and in some cases the retinal pigment epithelium has lost its pigmentation. We show that the capacity to exhibit light-entrained retinomotor rhythms has been conserved in the degenerating embryonic eyes of two different Astyanax cavefish populations.

The results indicate that loss of circadian retinal function does not precede and is therefore not required for eye degeneration in the blind cavefish.

*Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.

Full article: Evolution & development. 2006 Jan-Feb;8(1):16-22

Photo: Copyright John Brill

Integrated Taxonomic Information System: Astyanax mexicanus

Maior glaciar da Europa recuou 66 metros em 2005

O glaciar suíço de Altesch, o maior da Europa, recuou 66 metros em 2005 devido ao sobre-aquecimento do planeta, alerta hoje um estudo da Academia suíça das Ciências Naturais.
O recuo observado no maior glaciar alpino é o segundo em amplitude dos 91 glaciares estudados pela comissão de glaciologia da academia.
No ano passado, 84 dos 91 glaciares registaram recuos e penas sete mantiveram a mesma extensão.
O maior degelo foi observado no glaciar de Trift, que recuou 216 metros. Esta rápida diminuição explica-se pelo facto do glaciar estar rodeado por um lago que acelera a fusão do gelo.
Para Andreas Bauder, um dos responsáveis pelo estudo, é difícil prever qual o ritmo do degelo nos próximos anos porque o fenómeno depende do sobre-aquecimento climático – relativamente previsível – e da precipitação, muito mais aleatória.
Além da extensão dos glaciares, a comissão de glaciologia estudou a variação da espessura de outras três montanhas de gelo (Basodino, Gries e Silvretra) e concluiu que diminuiu em proporções compreendidas entre os 0,7 e os 1,7 metros.
Segundo um estudo de 2004 realizado pela Universidade de Zurique, os mais de 1800 glaciares suíços perderam cerca de um quinto da sua superfície num espaço de 15 anos.

Notícia de: Publico.pt

Cave Diving - 2° International congress

The purpose of this congress is to join together the cave divers of all countries, to see the developments of the material and the technologies of each one.


26-27 May 2006 Bourg Saint Andéol


Oficial site: Congres International de plongee souterraine

4th EUROPEAN SPELEOLOGICAL CONGRESS

VERCORS 2008

It’s with a great pleasure that the French Federation of Speleology presents the organization of the 4th European Congress of Speleology, that is named "VERCORS 2008".

It’s in a welcoming caving place and with an open-minding deeply marked by the Exploration spirit, that we invite all cavers from Europe and elsewhere to join and meet in the heart of one of the most mythic karsts in Europe : inside the Natural Park of Vercors, a few minutes from the main city of Grenoble, in Rhone-Alps region.

VERCORS 2008 wants to be a Speleological Meeting of quality in a festive and friendly caving context that enables all european cavers to meet and exchange.

Oficial Page: Vercors 2008

Novo dinossauro saurópode na Lourinhã

(c) Octávio Mateus, Lusodinos

Um dinossauro saurópode, foi descoberto pelo mais novo voluntário do Museu da Lourinhã, Alexandre Silva, um jovem, com apenas 10 anos na Galeana, apenas a 2 km da Lourinhã. O seu entusiasmo e interesse pelos dinossauros levaram-no a colaborar com o museu e, depois disso, a fazer o achado da sua vida.

O dinossauro é da família dos Diplodocus, que compreende alguns dos mais compridos dinossauros que se conhecem, embora este exemplar agora recolhido ainda não tivesse atingido a sua dimensão máxima. Era um jovem de apenas 15 metros de comprimento. Esta família de dinossauros já era conhecida em Portugal, pois o Museu da Lourinhã já tinha identificado uma nova espécie na Praia de Porto Dinheiro, apenas a alguns quilómetros deste novo sítio, o que lhe valeu o epíteto oficial de Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis.

(...)

Leia todo o artigo em: Lusodinos Blog

Do not disturb

Especialmente, nesta época do ano...

French caver makes historic find

A French caver has discovered prehistoric cave art believed to date back 27,000 years - older than the famous Lascaux paintings.
Gerard Jourdy, 63, said he found human and animal remains in the chamber in the Vilhonneur forest, in caves once used to dispose of animal carcasses.

The paintings included a hand in cobalt blue, he told

AFP news agency. (...)

The French culture ministry confirmed the findings, but a spokesman said that although the discovery was of interest, the paintings were not as spectacular as those in the Cosquer and Chauvet caves in the Ardeche.
The Lascaux Caves, in the Dordogne, are among the best known and most important prehistoric sites of Stone Age cave art.
Experts think the caves were used for hunting rituals and shamanistic rites, and it is thought that the first paintings were done some 17,000 years ago.

Full article: News.BBC.co.uk

Foto: 25,000-Year-Old Cave Paintings?

BCRA Cave Science Symposium

4-Mar-2006, Bristol

Presentations of short papers on Cave & Karst Science topics

Oficial Site: British Caving Association

Update for the tragedy in Abkhazia

Description: 5 Feb. 2006.

By: Alexander Klimchouk

Dear caving friends,

With a great pain and sadness, I have to inform the international caver's community about tragic accident with Ukrainian cavers in Abkhazia. There are many misleading and wrong information in media news spreading around, but cavers should be given facts?

Since the mid of January the speleological club of Kharkov conducted an expedition to the Bzybsky Massif, the one adjacent to Arabika massif, to continue their many years' exploration of Bozhko Cave. In addition to Kharkov club members, cavers from Kiev, Sevastopol and Nova Kakhovka (Ukraine) and Samara (Russia) joined the expedition, all
members of the Ukr.S.A. The cave exploration went smoothly and ended successfully.

During recent days, the group of nine expedition members was climbing down from the mountains by feet. Weather condition was bad, with increasing snowfall. The group reached the tree zone and stayed for a night at the altitude of about 700m. In early morning (5 a.m.) a forceful avalanche struck the temporary camp. Five persons survived in the accident (although injured to a various degree) but four cavers were missing... In result of a search, performed by the survived group members after the accident, one caver had been found dead. They
were not able to transport him down, so they left him in a marked location. Other three victims were not found. Considering a bad group condition, dramatically deteriorating weather and virtually zero chance to find missing people alive, the rest of the group went down and reached a village yesterday morning.

Continued snowfall precluded any possibility to perform immediate search operation. The Ukrainian Speleological Association and the Sochi (Russia) rescue unit are organizing the search work but the
operation will start when snow condition permit, presumably in one week or so.

Heavy snowfall during last several days excluded any possibility for immediate actions, although there was no hope for surviving anyway.

The lost cavers were: Danylo Nasedkin (Kiev), Maxim Gerasimenko (Sevastolol'), Dmitry Chernenko (Hova Kakhovka) and Igor Bednikov (Samara).

The shock and loss are enormous for relatives, friends. For the Ukr.S.A. and the whole caving community.

Text from: Zenas.gr

“ISLA MADRE DE DIOS 2006”

Puerto Natales 04/02/06
IIª Expedició Espeleològica Internacional Isla Madre de Dios 2006

La Secció Anarcoespeleo de la UEU de la Seu d’Urgell (Catalunya) i el Club Pirinenc Andorra (Andorra) informen que:

Després de 21 dies d’exploració i la participació d’espeleòlegs andorrans, catalans, italians i argentins , la IIª Expedició Espeleològica Internacional Isla Madre de Dios 2006 ha conclòs amb èxit les seves exploracions.
L’expedició s’ha desenvolupat a la part nord oriental de l’illa, coincidint amb una expedició francesa que ha explorat la zona meridional de l’illa
Han estat descobertes i explorades diverses cavitats, havent-se topografiat un total aproximat de 3 kilòmetres de desenvolupament i 700 m de desnvell. També s’han capturat diverses espècies de fauna –coleòpters i aràcnids particularment- que seran lliurats a biòlegs argentins especialistes en la matèria per a llur estudi.
El resultat aconseguit pels 9 membres de la expedició és particularment important considerada la notable dificultat geogràfica i ambiental. Cal dir que l’illa, ubicada a 50 graus de latitud sud i encarada vers l’oceà Pacífic es caracteritza per un clima excepcionalment plujós (8000 mm/m2 l’any) que provoca ràpides i violentes crescudes del nivell de l’aigua a les cavitats, a més de la morfologia del terreny, notablement accidentada, amb una contínua alternança de plaques rocalloses i valls envaïdes de bosc Valdivià, i un vent constant de 80/100 km/h que fan que la progressió sigui molt dificultosa.

Apresentacion de la expedicion:

http://www.geocities.com/anarcoespeleo/contacte.html

Ultima Patagonia 2006

La spéléologie de l’extrême

Après les torrents souterrains de Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée, les abîmes mexicains, les grottes-tunnels géantes de Chine et les gouffres du Caucase (Voronya, actuel record mondial de profondeur : –2 080 m), la Patagonie offre un nouveau défi aux spéléologues du xxie siècle.
Des cascades glacées, alimentées par une pluviométrie extrême – plus de 8 mètres par an – se déversent en permanence dans les entrailles de la terre, ce qui classe ce type d’exploration souterraine parmi les plus difficiles. Les combinaisons néoprènes s’avèrent souvent indispensables pour l’exploration de ces cavités très aquatiques.
C’est la première fois au monde où l’on est confronté à l’exploration de gouffres froids dans des conditions climatiques et météorologiques aussi hostiles. Ce type d’exploration, qui débute bien avant d’entrer sous terre – l’intérieur des îles est vierge – bouleverse les schémas classiques de l’exploration spéléologique.

Ici, la prudence, l’expérience et la qualité d’un matériel parfaitement adapté s’avèrent indispensables. L’exploration de la Patagonie souterraine ne fait que commencer.

Site de la expedicion:

Call for 2007 Calendar Photos

Greetings, fellow cavers and cave photographers,
Speleo Projects is now accepting submissions of quality caving photographs for publication in our 2007 Caving Calendar, and possibly other publications.

**** DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: MARCH 15, 2006
****Guidelines and a submission form may be downloaded from our web page:

http://www.speleoprojects.com

Four Ukrainian speleologists likely killed in Abkhazia

Four speleologists from Ukraine are thought to have perished as the roof of a cave they were exploring in Abkhazia's Gudauta district collapsed, Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh told Interfax on Saturday.
Bagapsh said one body has already been dug out from under the ground, and three other cavers are so far considered missing, he said.
"A total of 13 Ukrainian speleologists had descended into the cave, and nine of them managed to get out," Bagapsh said.
The Abkhaz government told Interfax earlier on Saturday that five speleologists were killed.
It said the Ukrainians had arrived in Abkhazia, but "they had not received registration and had not notified us about their route."

Article from: Interfax.ru

According the Russian REGNUM webpage

* found the body of Danil nasedkin of 1983 g.r.,

* is not still discovered: Gerasimenko by Maxim (1984 g.r., Sevastopol), Igor bednikov (1985 g.r., Samara) and Dmitriy Chernenko (1986 g.r., g. Novaya Kakhovka).

The rescue operations are temporarily ended because of the poor weather conditions, the danger of gathering new avalanche and absence of the corresponding technology. For the purpose of rendering aid in the rescue- search works the government of Abkhaziya was connected with Sochi MCHS (EMERGENCY AND DISASTER RELIEF MINISTRY).

From: Zenas.gr

Gruta do Carvão aberta a todos

Depois de oito anos à espera, a Gruta do Carvão vai abrir ao público. Para a Associação Amigos dos Açores o processo poderia ter sido mais célere, não fosse a falta de vontade.

Decorria o ano de 1995 quando, num encontro de museus, realizado em Ponta Delgada, a Associação Amigos dos Açores apresentou um projecto que visava a abertura de dois troços - Carvão e Paim - da Gruta do Carvão ao público em geral. Assente no pressuposto de que tal constituiria uma mais-valia para a cidade de Ponta Delgada e para a própria ilha, a proposta passava, numa primeira fase, por classificar a gruta como monumento natural regional, facto que foi apresentado em 1997. Desde então, muita tinta correu, os anos foram passando e o processo foi andando a passo de caracol. A reportagem do EXPRESSO DAS NOVE falou com um dos membros dos Amigos dos Açores, o qual adiantou que "o facto de ter levado tanto tempo para que a gruta tenha sido classificada como monumento natural regional, penso, ficou a dever-se a uma questão de vontade. (...)

Full article: Expressodasnove.com

Curso de Espeleoturismo em Brasília

As Faculdades Integradas da Terra de Brasília criaram o primeiro curso de pós-graduação em Espeleoturismo do Brasil. A proposta é promover a formação de agentes gestores em áreas protegidas para atuarem na formulação, execução e avaliação de ações de planejamento que visem ao estudo, à proteção e ao manejo do patrimônio espeleológico definido pela Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente. São 36 horas/aula com 16 meses de duração, quinzenalmente aos sábados e domingos. São 16 mensalidades de R$ 455,00.
O curso, que se inicia dia 4 de março, está voltado para profissionais de nível superior interessados no exercício de atividades, no planejamento e gestão de cavidades naturais subterrâneas que exercem o papel atrativo natural de potencial turístico.
A idéia do curso de Espeleoturismo da FTB nasceu por causa do potencial brasileiro na área. O Brasil tem 3.974 cavernas catalogadas na Sociedade Brasileira de Espeleologia, concentradas no Distrito Federal, Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Bahia, São Paulo e Paraná. E estima-se que este número corresponda a menos de 10% do existente no País.

Artigo de: Correio do estado

Nueva cucaracha ciega

Nueva cucaracha ciega de Litoblatta de Brasil y rediagnosis del género
(Dictyoptera: Blattaria: Blattellidae)

Por: Esteban GUTIÉRREZ

SOLENODON 5: 64-75, 2005

http://paginas.terra.com.br/arte/iscoti/Download/Litoblatta%20camargoi.pdf