Cave Exploration in Slovenia: Discovering Over 350 New Caves During Motorway Construction on Classical Karst (Cave and Karst Systems of the World)

This book focuses on the opening and exploration of more than 350 previously undiscovered caves of the Slovenian Karst, discovered during motorway construction work. The summarizes the planning of traffic roads and presents the new findings obtained during construction, as well as studies on newly-discovered karst phenomena and karst waters and their protection. Earthmoving work during construction has revealed a cross-section of the surface of the Classical Karst, covered karst with famous underground stone forests and unique karst in breccia. Research conducted in these caves has yielded a number of new findings on how the karst surface and underground were formed, on the flow of water through karst aquifers, and on the evolution of karst on various types of rock and under various conditions. The work was written by researchers from the ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute and the Institute of Geology AS CR. The reader will benefit from the authorsℓ́ℓ collaboration with planners and builders, which offers valuable insights for the planning and execution of their own activities in karst regions Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-16 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 Development and Karstification of the Karst Aquifer as Discovered Between Klanec and Črni Kal....Pages 19-29 Unroofed Caves Near Kozina and Their Identification....Pages 31-38 The Section Between Divača and Kozina Revealed Many Characteristics of Karst Development....Pages 39-45 Great Cavernosity Between Dane and Fernetiči Points to Diverse Karst Formation....Pages 47-52 Unroofed Caves Discovered on the Route Between Čebulovica and Dane....Pages 53-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Unroofed Caves Provide Important Clues to the Karst Development....Pages 69-76 The Large Unroofed Cave Near Povir....Pages 77-87 Origin and Mineral Composition of Clastic Sediments on the Karst Surface Around Divača....Pages 89-101 Composition of Sediments in Dolines....Pages 103-116 Cave Sediments from the Infilled Cave Near Divača....Pages 117-124 Palaeomagnetic Research of an Unroofed Cave Near Kozina....Pages 125-134 Sediments in the S-647 Cave in the Kastelec Tunnel....Pages 135-142 The History of Karstification on the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene Limestones in the Wider Kozina Area....Pages 143-161 Front Matter....Pages 163-163 The Dolenjska Karst Area Uncovered on the Bič–Korenitka Motorway Section....Pages 165-173 Karst Formations Uncovered on the Pluska–Ponikve Motorway Section....Pages 175-184 Stone Forest Near Trebnje....Pages 185-190 Karst Formations Uncovered on the Ponikve–Hrastje Motorway Section....Pages 191-196 Subsoil Stone Forests and Other Karst Formations Between Hrastje and Lešnica....Pages 197-206 Palaeomagnetic Results from the Filled Karst Depression on the Motorway Section Hrastje–Lešnica....Pages 207-212 Front Matter....Pages 163-163 The Karst Between Lešnica and Kronovo, Revealed During the Motorway Construction....Pages 213-219 Front Matter....Pages 221-221 The Karst in the Breccia of Rebrnice in the Vipava Valley....Pages 223-242 Karst Phenomena Between Vipava and Selo....Pages 243-248 Front Matter....Pages 249-249 Karstologic Research for the Engineering of a Preliminary Design for the Motorway Section Bič–Hrastje, Subsection Ponikve–Hrastje, Sv. Ana Variant....Pages 251-264 Planning of the Motorway in the Pivka and Reka Rivers Catchment Areas, the Evaluation and Reduction of Impacts on Known Caves....Pages 265-272 Front Matter....Pages 273-273 Biological Assessment of Habitats and Fauna in the Škocjanske Jame Caves and Reka River in the Motorway Construction Area of Influence....Pages 275-284 Impact of Motorways on Karst Waters....Pages 285-297 Transfer of Contamination from Motorways Towards Karst Water Sources: The Example of the Malenščica Karst Spring....Pages 299-312 Back Matter....Pages 313-324 This book focuses on the opening and exploration of more than 350 previously undiscovered caves of the Slovenian Karst, discovered during motorway construction work. The summarizes the planning of traffic roads and presents the new findings obtained during construction, as well as studies on newly-discovered karst phenomena and karst waters and their protection. Earthmoving work during construction has revealed a cross-section of the surface of the Classical Karst, covered karst with famous underground stone forests and unique karst in breccia. Research conducted in these caves has yielded a number of new findings on how the karst surface and underground were formed, on the flow of water through karst aquifers, and on the evolution of karst on various types of rock and under various conditions. The work was written by researchers from the ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute and the Institute of Geology AS CR. The reader will benefit from the authorsĺl collaboration with planners and builders, which offers valuable insights for the planning and execution of their own activities in karst regions