Welcome to Karst Geology

Karstgeology.com is a webpage designed for cavers and researchers interested in Romanian karst or karst in general. The idea of this webpage came up a few years ago (2009), at the "Focul Viu" Grotto's 40th year's anniversary, when I realized that the present generation of cavers and karst scientists don't have access to the cave and karst related journals/newsletters published before 1989. These journals known under the name of Buletinele Informative Speologice, and journals/newsletters of other grottos, such as Clubul de Speologie "Emil Racovita" Bucuresti (CSER Bucuresti) were printed in 300 copies, sufficient for those times. In 1983, the "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology in association with Geological and Geophysical Prospecting Company organized every two to four years, through 2004, the "Theoretical and Applied Karstology" symposium. Seventeen volumes of proceedings were published. This symposium was the equivalent of the Sinkhole Conference organized by Barry Beck and P. E. LaMoreaux and Associates, in United States. After 2013, National Cave and Karst Institute (George Veni chair) continue to manage the Sinkhole Conference. A few copies of these publications can be found in the "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology libraries in Bucuresti and Cluj Napoca. But time and travel expenses to these libraries will make review of these references unaffordable for most. On this webpage I posted some of the old papers in PDF format, where I was author or coauthor. You will notice that in some of the papers, the English translation is very poor. Unfortunately, the English language skills of the reviewers and professional translators in those times were not much better than mine. The caves maps published were surveyed with a Sport 4 compass (SILVA patent), a measuring tape and a clinometer made from a protector (British Cave Research Association Grade 4A). The main passages of large caves were surveyed with a mining or geological compass. The location of the caves was placed on topographic maps (scale 1:5,000 or 1:10,000) and the cave entrance elevations were established with an altimeter. The caves mapping was a team work, done with the "Focul Viu" Grottos members, and occasionally with cavers from other Romanian or foreign (mainly from Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) grottos. The karst hydrogeological maps program initiated in 1982, by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Bucharest, Romania, was supported by Dr. Constantin Ghenea and Dr. Marcian Bleahu. Their input into the content of the legend for the karst hydrogeological maps is greatly appreciated. Through 1992, five karst hydrogeological maps at a scale of 1:50,000 were completed (Vascau, Zece Hotare, Pui, Poiana Horea, and Pietroasa). The Vascau sheet was printed; the other four were completed only in a draft form. A section of karst and geology related terms was initiated in both English and Romanian languages. Hopefully, I will be able to clarify the meaning of these English terms to the Romanian viewers and vice versa. Some field methods for geologists, hydrogeologists, and cavers will be added to the web page later on. Some of the documents will be presented only in English or Romanian. When occasionally a document will be presented in both languages, it will be not a word by word translation. I will try only to translate the main topics of that particular document. If the viewers of this webpage find various omissions or incorrect definitions, it would be greatly appreciated if the corrections be forwarded to me so that the webpage may be updated. Unaccredited statements are based either on personal observation or on what is considered being general knowledge. In no instance is it intended that the work of others be appropriated. You can contact us at gponta@karstgeology.com.