The book is the result of joint work and many years of mutual cooperation between researchers from Slovenia and Croatia. It was made as part of the transboundary project ŽIVO! Življenje – voda! (Life – Water!) (IPA CBC SI-HR 2007-2013), which involved the participation of authors from project partner institutions as well as invited authors who are famil­iar with the characteristics of the karst area of Northern Istria and the conditions there relating to drinking water supply. The monograph presents the natural features of Northern Istria, the karst and karst phenomena, karst hy­drogeology, ecology and microbiology, and highlights in particular the vulnerability of the karst to various human activities. The main focus of attention is on karst water sources. In assessing their characteristics we used available knowledge of karst water on both sides of the border and supplemented it with new research on the transboundary area in question, which was based on field measurements and sampling, and chemical, microbiological and biologi­cal analysis of water. The collected findings form the basis for planning more effective monitoring of the quality of karst water sources, their protection and consequently the improvement of their quality. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Knjiga je rezultat skupnega dela in dolgoletnega medsebojnega sodelovanja raziskovalcev iz Slovenije in Hrvaške. Nastala je v sklopu čezmejnega projekta ŽIVO! Življenje – voda! (IPA CBC SI-HR 2007-2013), kjer so sodelovali tako avtorji iz inštitucij projektnih partnerjev kot vabljeni avtorji, ki poznajo značilnosti kraškega območja severne Istre in tamkajšnje razmere pri oskrbi s pitno vodo. V monografiji so predstavljene naravne danosti severne Istre, kras in kraški pojavi, kraška hidrogeologija, ekologija in mikrobiologija, posebej pa je izpostavljena ranljivost krasa na različne človekove dejavnosti. Glavna pozornost je posvečena kraškim vodnim virom. Pri oceni njihovih značilnosti smo uporabili razpoložljiva spoznanja o kraških vodah z obeh strani meje in jih dopolnili z novimi raziskavami obravnavanega čezmejnega prostora, ki so temeljile na terenskih meritvah in vzorčenju ter kemijskih, mikrobioloških in bioloških analizah vode. Zbrani izsledki so osnova za načrtovanje bolj učinkovite zaščite vodnih virov in posledično za izboljšanje njihove kakovosti.

This book presents the latest advances in karstology by researchers at the ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute, Slovenia – home of Classical Karst. It features interdisciplinary investigations carried out on the karst surface, subsurface, caves, and associated waters. It covers various topics, such as analysis of karst processes, including the mineralogical and lithological characteristics of sediments and carbonate rocks; structural geological mapping; detecting the old traces of paleokarst; the formation of karst surfaces in a variety of types of rock and conditions; and the evolution of karst, which can aid in dating sediments, and in tracing aquifers using artificial and natural tracers. In addition, the book provides detailed information on the use and development of various research methods, ranging from comprehensive field research, long-term measurements, and laboratory analyses to computer and laboratory modeling. Integrating karst geology, geomorphology, hydrology, ecology, speleobiology, and microbiology research, these methods provide readers with a far deeper understanding of karst terrains.

Knjiga povzema rezultate znanstvenega sodelovanja med Inštitutom za raziskovanje krasa ZRC SAZU, Yunnanskim geografskim inštitutom in Geološkim inštitutom Kitajske akademije znanosti. Raziskave so potekale na območju v bližini Liupanshuija v zahodnem delu province Guizhou, na kraških planotah med Guizhouom in Yunnanom ter v Lunanskem kamnitem gozdu in kopastem krasu Xichoua v Yunnanu. Predstavljene so splošne značilnosti območja, litološka in strukturna zgradba ter geomorfološke, speleološke in hidrogeološke značilnosti, pa tudi različni tipi izrabe tal in njihovi vplivi na okolje.

Namen knjige je predstaviti rezultate 10 let trajajočih slovensko-čeških raziskav, ko smo predvsem z različnimi paleomagnetnimi metodami intenzivno raziskovali kraške površinske in jamske sedimente v različnih geografskih in geoloških območjih Slovenije. Paleomagnetne raziskave sedimentov so prinesle presenetljive rezultate glede starosti sedimentov v jamah in na površju in s tem tudi prve podrobne informacije o starosti jam in posredno tudi našega krasa. Pri vzorčevanju sedimentov za paleomagnetne analize smo v nekaterih primerih našli fosilne ostanke favne, njihova najdba je zelo pomembna ker, smo tako lahko rezultate paleomagnetnih in magnetostratigrafskih analiz postavili v točno določen čas.

Avtor sintetično obravnava razvoj jam in površja Divaškega krasa med Škocjanskimi jamami in Kačno jamo. Ta kras je z okrog 18 km znanih jamskih rovov dostopnih do globine 280 metrov eno najbolj zanimivih kraških področij v Sloveniji in tudi v svetu. Opisane so najstarejše jame, ki leže zaradi denudacije plitvo pod površjem ali pa jih je površje že prerezalo. Te brezstrope jame s sedimenti, ki jih tam najdemo, omogočajo rekonstrukcijo najstarejših faz oblikovanja krasa. Sledi poglavje, v katerem je prikazan jamski sistem Škocjanskih jam in Kačne jame. Pri teh dveh jamah je s pomočjo analize geološke strukture in morfološke primerjave rovov ter analize recentnih sedimentov obdelana geneza jam s poudarkom na nastanku velikih dvoran, kanjonov in udornic. Opisana je hidrologija podzemne Reke ob različnih vodostajih ter njeno raztekanje na več ločenih tokov. V posebnem poglavju najdemo rezultate datacij kapnikov oziroma sige, kar omogoča datiranje nekaterih faz v razvoju jam, predvsem pa dobro odraža klimatske spremembe v preteklosti. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Author describes the evolution of the caves and karst surface of the Divaški kras, an area above caves Škocjanske jame and Kačna jama. This karst is with 18 km of known cave passages, accessible to the depth of 280 m, one of the most interesting karst areas in Slovenia. There are descriptions of the oldest caves that are because of the denudation of the surface in shallow depth or surface already cuts trough them. These unroofed caves, which can be found there, enable the reconstruction of the oldest phases of the karst formation. In following chapter cave system of Škocjanske jame – Kačna jama is presented. In these two caves was with the analysis of the geological structure and comparison of the for these two caves geological structures, passage morphology, and recent sediments were sediments analysed in order to get evolution of the caves. Special attention was paid to the large chambers, canyons and collapse dolines. The hydrology of the underground river Reka is described, especially the bifurcations to several separated streams. In special chapter there are results of the datations of the stalagmites and other flowstone which dates some phases in cave evolution and well reflects the past climatic changes. In well designed book with rich photographic material an extensive bibliography is added and summary in Slovene and English language.