Speleology

CONTENTS
What is Speleology…………………………… 3
The meaning of spelunking…………………... 4
What do the speleo-tourists…………………… 5
Ethics kaleohano………………………………6
Speleology as a sport………………………...7-8

Speleology is a science that deals with a comprehensive study of natural underground spaces (caves), their origin, evolution, age, morphology, minerals, composition and migration of underground waters, host rocks, the organic world (underground ecosystems), remnants of ancient material culture, as well as issues of modern practical use of caves.

The idea is to travel through natural underground cavities (caves) and overcome various obstacles in them (siphons, wells) using various special equipment (aqualungs, carbines, ropes, hooks, individual safety systems, etc.), opening new speleotouristic routes combined with the study of caves.

Speleologists are usually a fairly small group of people who conduct research for sports or educational purposes or participate in competitions. Most often speleologists:
-create maps;
-conduct a study on groundwater;
-train in passing;
-study the composition and structure of rocks;
-develop a complete analysis of the environmental system of the underground space.
Then, based on the collected materials, conclusions are drawn, information is formed that is useful not only for historians, but also for representatives of such professions as archaeologists, biologists, geographers and ecologists.

Special requirements are placed on the ethics of speleotourists, their behavior in caves, and their attitude to nature underground. This is due to the extreme fragility of the object of their interest — the cave, its ecosystem, various types of rock formations, mineral and ice crystals. For example, a broken stalactite is restored only after tens or even hundreds of years. As a result of exploring the caves many mineral formations were destroyed.

It should be noted that, as in any sport, the speleo-tourists receive their discharges. To get the category of sports tourism in the discipline "speleo route", you first need to pass several caves.