Chairmen: Augusto Auler (Americas), Zhang Cheng (Asia/Oceania), Zoran Stevanovic (Europe/Africa); Editor: Augusto Auler

NEW PAPER ON THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF CARBONATES/KARST AQUIFERS

The WOKAM (World Karst Aquifer Map) project has just published in Hydrogeology Journal its second paper, an updated review of carbonate areas/aquifers in the world. Besides providing a revised estimate of the distribution of carbonate aquifers and karst areas in the planet, it brings information on how climate, population and topographic settings relate to these areas. This open access publication can be downloaded at: [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-020-02139-5]

WOKAM is a Karst Commission project, supported by several of our members. Besides the two papers, a map ( [https://doi.org/10.25928/b2.21_sfkq-r406]) has also been released. The project was led by Nico Goldscheider and Zhao Chen from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany). Over 80 regional experts provided information and helped check the final product.

UNESCO KARST 2020 WILL GO VIRTUAL

As announced in our March Newsletter, the UNESCO Karst 2020 meeting has been postponed to August 17-21. The meeting has now been scheduled to take place in an online-only format, with reduced registration fees. Further details can be found at the conference website at: [https://unescokarst2020.com/].

KARST COMMISSION MID-TERM REPORT

As one of the commissions of the IAH, the Karst Commission operates with a license of 6 years, renewed in 2017. Being half way into our license, the KC is required to submit a "Mid-Term Report" which was sent to IAH officers a few weeks ago. The Report represents a summary of our main activities in the period 2017-2020. It can be accessed here

CHORAL EVENT IN IRELAND

As announced in the February KC News, the event entitled "Inception Horizon - a Celebration of Subterranean Karst Cave Systems" took place in the Museum Building, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, on March 07. Members and friends of the Karst Commission participated in this choral event, a most original way of bringing karst hydrogeology to the general public.

A short film about the event has been released: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR999XSZ9gE].

A video of the Mellow Tonics choir performing the whole of the Inception Horizon piece can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCuV4U3y-Q&feature=youtu.be