UIS Commission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis

 "Integrating Science and Engineering to Solve Karst Problems"St. Louis, Missouri, USA,  January 10-14, 2011: ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS 

About the Conference

This highly successful interdisciplinary biennial conference series is the most important international meeting that concentrates on the practical application of karst science. It serves as a means for geologists and geographers, who study how and where karst develops and how sinkholes form, to interact with engineers and planners, who apply this information to building and maintaining society's infrastructure while protecting our environment.

Since the first meeting in 1984, the goal of these conferences is to share knowledge, experience, and case studies that emphasize scientific understanding of karst with practical technological applications. Karst impacts groundwater and surface water resources, waste disposal and management, highways and other modes of transportation, structural foundations, utilities, and other infrastructure. Karst underlies about 25% of the USA and the land surface of the world, making this conference highly relevant to civil, geotechnical and environmental professionals, as well as to geologists, biologists, geographers, planners, developers, government officials, and others who work in karst areas."

Organizing Committee    

Co-Chairs:
James LaMoreaux, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
George Veni, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.     

Honorary Chair: Barry Beck, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Program Chair: Jim Kaufmann, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Program Vice-Chairs:
Calvin Alexander, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lynn Yuhr, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Session Organizers-Engineers:
Robert Bachus, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tony Cooley, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Joseph Fischer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Session Organizers-Geologists:
Ralph Ewers, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lewis Land, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Brad Stephenson, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Short Course Coordinator: Ralph Ewer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.       
Field Trip Chair: Glenn Adams, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Exhibits/Sponsorship Chairs: Yongli Gao, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
International Coordination: Gheorghe Ponta, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
EWRI Liaison/Student Program: Amy Chan Hilton, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ASCE Conferences/ Geo-Institute Liaison: Carol Bowers, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
AEG Liaison: Ira Sasowsky, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Conference Format

The conference will open with a Welcome Social in the Exhibit area on Monday evening. To achieve the goal of interdisciplinary communication, technical papers will be presented in plenary sessions Wednesday through Friday. An optional field trip will be offered on Tuesday (see below). Sessions on  the main topics will be introduced by internationally recognized speakers, Dr. Lu Yaoru and Dr. Martin Sauter. Breakout sessions for each of the main topics will be scheduled in the afternoons. A special Poster and Exhibit Viewing Session will be held Wednesday evening, accompanied by a wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres reception, though the posters will remain on display throughout the entire conference. A printed  volume of abstracts will be distributed to participants at the conference. The proceedings will be published as a USGS Scientific Investigation Report and distributed to participants upon publication. Selected papers will be included in a special issue of Carbonates and Evaporates published by Springer, Science and Business Media.

The Exhibit Hall will be integrated into the conference venue and will be open from Tuesday evening through Friday lunchtime. The Welcome Social and all breaks will be held in the Exhibit area.

A Conference Banquet is planned for Thursday evening, featuring a topical and entertaining speaker   William K. (Bill) Jones). Additionally, one of our professional colleagues will be honored at the banquet for their contributions to multi-disciplinary efforts in practical karst applications.

Key Dates:

July 1, 2010: Abstracts due.
August 1, 2010: Authors  notified of abstract acceptance.
October 1, 2010: Draft papers due.
November 15, 2010: Authors provided with review comments.
February 15, 2011: Final papers due. 

Conference Tracks and Topics

Sessions on the following tracks are tentatively planned, but all practical papers are welcome.

Karst Development & Mapping

· The Formation of Karst and Sinkholes
· Applications of Geophysics for Investigating Karst
· New Geotechnical Investigation Techniques for Karst
· GIS Mapping and Computer Databases of Karst Features
· Karst Imaging

Pro-Active and Remedial Engineering in Karst Terrain

· Foundation Design and Construction, Shallow or Deep
· Dams and Impoundments
· Engineering Man's Infrastructure in Karst
· Sinkhole Mitigation and Repair
· Grouting Techniques
· Low Permeability Barrier

Karst Water Resource Management

· Hydrology of the Saint Louis Karst Area and Water Resources Management
· Groundwater Tracing
· Storm Water & Waste Water Management
· Contaminant Monitoring and Remediation in Karst
· Modeling Groundwater Flow in Karst
· Planning and Regulation

Field Trip

An optional Field trip will precede the technical sessions on Tuesday January 11, 2011. The field trip will focus on urban karst, the city of Saint Louis, MO sits on karst.

Short Courses

Optional Short Courses will be offered on Monday. January 10, 2011. Short courses under consideration include:

·  Karst Aquifer Dye Tracing
·  Introduction to the Conduit Flow Process for MODFLOW-2005
·  Geologic Site Characterization in a Karst Setting
·  Grouting for Geotechnical Support and Groundwater Control in Karst
·  Geophysics in Karst
·  Environmental Investigations and Management of Karst

Poster Session

Certain topics, such as maps, are most appropriate for presentation as posters. In other cases, those who are not fluent in English may wish to present their paper as a poster. At the conference a special poster viewing session will be held on Wednesday evening, January 12, 2011 with light refreshments. If you wish to present a poster, please so indicate in your abstract. If the oral presentation portion of the conference is over-subscribed, the committee will designate some papers as poster presentations. The manuscripts of poster presentations will be included in the Proceedings and all requirements will apply.

Abstract Submission & Notification

Each abstract for the Twelfth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst™ must be submitted by July 1, 2010. Each abstract must be written in English and should be a brief, concise summary of results; it is limited to one page and the contents should not have been published previously. Abstracts should include names, titles, affiliations, and complete mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of each author and co-author.

Abstracts

Abstracts should summarize the main facts and conclusions to be presented at the conference.     (An abstract does not simply list what will be discussed.) The family or last name of each author and co-author should be underlined. Please indicate the conference topic that best fits your paper, or indicate other. At the end of the abstract, please provide the name of the author who is expected to present the paper at the conference.

The Organizing Committee of the Twelfth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst™ will accept or reject papers based on the abstracts and will assign papers to appropriate sessions. Notification of acceptance and full format and submission instructions will be emailed to authors and co-authors. The full manuscript must be received by October 1, 2010. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed and the reviewers' comments will be returned to the author by November 15, 2010. A  final Camera-ready paper must be received by February 15, 2011 for publishing in the conference proceedings. If an acceptable camera-ready copy of the manuscript is not received, the paper will be removed from the proceedings. If the paper is not presented at the conference it will not be included in the proceedings.

We regret that scholarship or travel funds are not available for conference attendees.

Submission of Abstracts & Papers

Electronic submission of abstracts and papers is required. Please complete the abstract and submit to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words on one printed page (U.S. 8.5X11 inches) and include all contact information for the authors, including e-mail addresses. The proposed topic area should be indicated from the list of conference topics published in this call for papers, or you may indicate "other". To facilitate our work, authors outside the U.S. are requested to electronically format their abstracts and manuscripts to 8.5X11 inch size, (not A4).

Exhibits & Sponsorship Opportunities

If your organization offers equipment, products, or services to environmental or geotechnical professionals or to owners, developers, planners, regulators, or agencies that may have an interest in karst, the Twelfth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst™ is an excellent opportunity for your company to engage potential customers. Since its beginning in 1984, this conference series has regularly drawn participants from all over North America and the world who need tools, technology, and services to solve their karst problems.

Each exhibit booth includes one ticket to the Conference Banquet and one copy of the Proceedings. The Welcome Social and all breaks will be held in the exhibit area, maximizing exposure for exhibitors. Exhibitors will be listed in the printed conference program and may also insert materials in the conference registration packet. Vendors desiring additional recognition are encouraged to become sponsors of conference events and/or contribute door prizes to be awarded during the banquet. Be a part of this unique and highly-focused opportunity! For more information, please contact Yongli Gao at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For maximum exposure and increased name recognition, your company can be a corporate sponsor of the conference. Sponsors are being solicited for the conference and for social events to be held during the conference. Their generous support will be acknowledged at each event, in the program, and at the banquet.

Special events that can be sponsored are the Welcome Social, Poster Session reception, wine course to accompany the banquet, each day of plenary sessions, conference lunches, and conference coffee breaks. If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Yongli Gao at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mail:

P.E. LaMoreaux & Associates, Inc. (PELA)
1009A 23rd Avenue  Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone:
205-752-5543  Fax: 205-752-4043 

Website:
www.pela.com/sinkhole2011.htm

Download Registration Form:
www.pela.com/sinkhole2011reg.pdf