UIS Commission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis

Research

Research related news

Discovery of new coronaviruses in bats

Bats are the source of not a single but many new coronaviruses. As confirmed by resent discovery in small region of Yunnan province in China, genetically some of them are very close to Covid-19. One of the viruses sampled from horseshoe bats that roost in caves and hunt at daylight is called RpYN06 and it is very similar to SARS-CoV-2 virus which is causing the current pandemic.

Dear planetary caves explorers/researchers:

If you’re receiving this email, you’ve been identified as a researcher knowledgeable in planetary science and/or engineering. A research group of 34 scientists and engineers have developed a list of questions across seven disciplines in planetary caves science and exploration — these are big picture/multidisciplinary, astrobiology, cave environment, geology, robotics, instrumentation, and human exploration.

We are requesting that you assist us in identifying the “Fifty fundamental questions in planetary caves science and exploration”. Provided here is a link to a Google survey form. The survey consists of 152 questions across the aforementioned disciplines. It will take about 20 minutes to complete. The results of this survey will be used to develop a peer-reviewed publication on this topic.

By completing this survey, you are aiding the community in advancing planetary caves science and exploration. Please complete this survey by 11 AUG 2020.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Many thanks in advance and be well —

Jut

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J. Judson Wynne, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Center for Adaptable Western Landscapes

Dear colleagues.

We are happy to announce two funding opportunities from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for White-nose Syndrome (WNS) and are now accepting applications. Please help spread the word.

1. WNS Grants to States and Tribes (F20AS00184)
2. WNS Research Grants (F20AS00183) 

We highly encourage applicants to submit proposals for either funding opportunity by the early (soft) deadline of July 20. Applications submitted by this date will be evaluated for possible decisions before the close of the Service's fiscal year. Applications submitted after July 20 and before the final deadline (August 25) will be accepted and evaluated for possible awards in Fiscal Year 2021. Please contact the USFWS WNS coordinator in your region if you have questions.

Best regards.

The USFWS WNS Team

Dear colleague,

If you have missed a call for papers for a special collection (issue) of the journal “Frontiers in Earth Science” titled “Advances and Frontiers in Hypogene Karst Studies”, it is still possible to join a group of 31 authors who have already expressed their willingness to contribute.

This Frontier’s Research Topic is hosted by Dr(s) Alexander Klimchouk (Ukraine), Yuri Dublyansky (Austria), and Cathy Hollis (United Kingdom). For more information on the article collection, please visit the dedicated webpage.

It is still more than two months left until the submission deadline (25 September 2020). Now, you may indicate your intention to contribute as an author (follow the respective link on the Research Topic page) or/and submit an abstract for your intended article, for initial approval by the Topic Editors. This is not compulsory but is very helpful in enabling a strong overview for the Editors, and to ensure that your contribution fits within the scope of the collection.

Here are quick links to:
- Author guidelines.
- List of article types and publishing fees.

We look forward to receiving your abstract.

Best Regards,

Alexander Klimchouk, Yuri Dublyansky, Cathy Hollis

Dear Colleagues,

NCKRI is pleased to announce our next round of seed grants in support of cave and karst research. The NCKRI National Seed Grant Program is designed to enable new cave and karst research, and encourage new principal investigators to enter the field.

Proposals for NCKRI National Seed Grants are due August 10th, 2020. Applications can be submitted at the following link.

Please direct any questions about submission or budget preparation to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Other questions about this RFP can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., NCKRI Academic Director.

We will also have another call for graduate and undergraduate student grants (the NCKRI Scholar Fellowship Program); that RFP will be announced later this year.

Please help spread the word about this opportunity, and please consider applying yourselves!

Sincerely,

Daniel S. Jones, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Geobiology, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science
Academic Director, National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI)
314 Mineral Science and Engineering Complex (MSEC)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM 87801