Cave Ecosystems and Beyond: Speleology’s Role in Modern Science
A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 819
Special Issue Editors
Interests: speleogenesis; vertebrate paleontology; cave minerals; geochemistry; biochronology; systematics; geomorphology
Interests: marine caves; sea caves; marine biodiversity; benthic ecology; sponges; Porifera; marine conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: geomatics; cave archaeology; cave microenvironments; landscape archaeology; survey and remote sensing
Interests: active tectonics; crustal deformation; GNSS analysis; seismotectonics; tectonic geomorphology; structural geology; geological mapping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue is dedicated to the multifaceted field of Speleology. We invite researchers and scholars to contribute original research articles, reviews, and case studies that explore the diverse roles of speleology in geology, biology, paleontology, archaeology, and beyond.
Caves are natural laboratories that offer unique insights into geological processes, biological ecosystems, paleontological discoveries, and archaeological assemblages. This Special Issue aims to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of speleological research and its significance in advancing our understanding of Earth's history and biodiversity.
We welcome submissions on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to the following:
- Geological studies: Formation and evolution of cave systems, karst topography, mineralogy, and paleoclimate records preserved in speleothems.
- Biological research: Cave ecosystems, microbial life in extreme environments, troglobitic species, and conservation of cave biota.
- Paleontological discoveries: Fossil records in caves, paleoecology, and the role of caves in understanding past life forms.
- Archaeological applications: Human–cave interaction throughout history, intersection between anthropology and archaeology and geosciences for the study of cave environments, methods and techniques for cave archaeological research.
- Interdisciplinary approaches: Innovative methodologies that integrate speleological research across multiple scientific disciplines.
- Technological advances: New tools and technologies for cave exploration, mapping, and analysis.
This Special Issue seeks to underscore the importance of caves as archives of natural and human history and to promote the collaborative efforts of geologists, biologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and other scientists in speleological research.
Dr. Georgios Lazaridis
Dr. Vasilis Gerovasileiou
Dr. Konstantinos P. Trimmis
Dr. Ilias Lazos
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Quaternary is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cave ecology
- speleology
- karst systems
- speleothem analysis
- paleoenvironmental reconstruction
- geological processes
- geomicrobiology
- paleontological discoveries
- archaeological assemblages
- conservation of cave ecosystems
- cave minerals
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