BRITISH CAVE RESEARCH
ASSOCIATION 
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BRITISH CAVE RESEARCH
ASSOCIATION |
Home Page |
Contact Us |
BCA
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The British Cave Research Association is a UK registered charity, and a constituent body of the British Caving Association, undertaking charitable activities on behalf of BCA. BCRA's object is to promote the study of caves and associated phenomena. It attains this object by supporting cave & karst research; by encouraging original exploration (both in the UK and on expeditions overseas); by collecting and publishing speleological information; maintaining a library; and organising educational and scientific conferences and meetings. You do not have to be a member of the BCRA to take part in its activities or to purchase its publications. However, if you do want to join BCRA, please note that membership of BCA is handled as an 'option' to our parent body, the British Caving Association. Shortcuts:
News & Events |
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| BCRA News also see BCRA Newsletters | ||||
 AGM Papers for
2008 For information about the 2008 AGM please go to BCRA Annual General Meeting 2008 BCRA
Publications Schedules To see a list of the latest publications issued by BCRA, please go to BCRA Publications Schedules. Membership / Subs. RenewalsFor most of our members and subscribers, your membership/subscription expired with Cave & Karst Science 33(3) which was shipped in January 2008. UK members should have received a membership renewal notice from BCA in December 2007. All other members and subscribers should have received a renewal notice with newsletter 9 at the end of May 2008. Special Offer to ex-members. BCRA Research Fund The Cave Science and Technology Research Initiative: £25,000 Grant Money over Five Years. See Young Researcher of the Year Award | Report in newsletter 8 (August 2007) |
Newsletter Newsletter 9 was issued in late May 2008. You can read it online here Cave &
Karst Science 34(1) C&KS 34(1) was mailed on 1 August 2008 Speleology Magazine #10/#11 (a double issue) was published in March 2008. This is the late-running August/December 2007 issue. Issue #12 (April 2008) is expected to be produced in August 2008. Cave & Karst Science
Online For 2008, BCRA is offering a lower membership fee to members who do not wish to receive Cave & Karst Science on paper. All members will have access to C&KS online from the date when C&KS 34(1) is published. From volume 34, the paper version of C&KS will be printed with some inside pages in colour. Further details here. BCRA survey
gradesBCRA's grading system for cave surveys is described here. |
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| Events Diary | ||
| BCRA Cave Science Symposium 8 Mar 2008,
Loughborough University Presentations of short papers on Cave & Karst Science topics. Abstracts are required by 11 January 2008 |
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| The meeting will be hosted by Dr. Paul Wood, of the Department of Geography. Dr Trevor Faulkner t.faulkner[at]bcra... will act as Lecture Secretary, to whom any further enquiries should be made. | ||
| Whether you are an academic, an amateur scientist or a caver wanting to find out more about the underground environment, you should find something of interest at the Symposium. Each year the talks and posters cover a wide range of cave science topics - from archaeology to hydrology, and from biology to geology. | ||
| Contributions are invited on any aspect of cave or karst science or caving technology (see BCRA's cave science policy). Poster papers, displays or preliminary presentations by postgraduate and undergraduate students are especially welcome. Full papers are not required, but submissions to Cave and Karst Science are also invited. | ||
| Those wishing to give a presentation should contact the lecture secretary, Trevor Faulkner, preferably by email to t.faulkner[at]bcra... or, for initial queries, by telephone to +44 (0)1625 531558. Please give the provisional title of your paper and the type of presentation (oral or poster). Titles and abstracts of up to one side of A4 should be sent as Microsoft Word files by email by Friday 11 January 2008. These should include full first names, contact details and affiliations of all authors, with presenters underlined, and may be 'extended' to include references. | ||
| Facilities available: A video projector will be available but please bring your own computer. If you require any other facilities, e.g. 35mm slide projector, OHP, audio/videotape/DVD playback it is essential that you request these well in advance. Oral presentations will be 15-20 minutes in length. Poster boards are 850mm x 1200mm and you may request two panels if required. | ||
| The Location is Loughborough University in Leicestershire. How to get to the University. Provisional Start Time: 10am, finish at 4pm. | ||
| Registration will take place at the start of the Seminar. A small admission charge will cover tea and coffee in the morning and afternoon. Lunch will not be included, but suitable catering suggestions will be suggested. We are also thinking of arranging an evening meal in a local restaurant for those who are interested. We encourage all potential delegates and speakers to subscribe to the 'meetings' mailing list (caves.org.uk/lists/meetings.html) so that they can be kept up to date with arrangements. | ||
| Download the 'second circular' as a PDF file
(39K) |
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| Download the 'third circular' as a PDF file
(73K) (includes directions to venue) |
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| Download the Programme as a PDF file (199K)
(includes abstracts. Version 2, 4 Mar 2008) |
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| Further details about the programme can be obtained from the Lecture Secretary: Dr Trevor Faulkner +44 (0)1625 531558, t.faulkner[at]bcra... | ||
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| BCRA Cave
Technology Symposium 18-20 April 2008, Mendips Presentations of short topics on cave surveying, electronics, computing, lighting, photography, cave radio, radio-location and other aspects of caving "technology". Abstracts are required by 5 April 2008. |
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| Further Information | ||
| This one-day symposium (on 19 April) is being hosted by members of BCRA's special interest groups: the Cave Surveying Group (CSG), the Cave Radio & Electronics Group (CREG) and the Explosives Users Group (EUG). Technical facilities will be provided by the Hidden Earth technical team. The event will co-incide with a weekend CSG field meeting. The symposium lecture secretary is David Gibson d.gibson[at]bcra.... Enquiries about the CSG field meeting or accommodation for the weekend should be sent to Allan Richardson csg-meetings[at]bcra.... | ||
| Contributions are invited on any aspect of caving technology in the form of short lectures, poster papers, or more informal practical sessions. Cave survey posters and cave photographs are particularly welcome for display. Those wishing to contribute should contact the lecture secretary, David Gibson. Digital projection facilities will be available, but please bring your own computer. (If OHP or 35mm projection is required, please let us know in advance). Whatever type of contribution you are offering, a publishable abstract of around 100-300 words is requested, so that we can publish a programme in advance. | ||
| The Location is the Hunters Lodge Inn, Priddy, WELLS, BA5 3AR. Grid ref: ST 549 501. Starting Time 10:00am (doors, coffee etc 9am), finish by 5:00pm. A programme will be posted here a day or two before the event. | ||
| We encourage all potential delegates and speakers to subscribe to the 'meetings' mailing list (caves.org.uk/lists/meetings.html) so that they can be kept up to date with arrangements. As an additional precaution against last-minute changes to the arrangements you are advised to contact us if you intend to attend. | ||
| See
latest information |
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| A small admission charge on the door will provide light refreshments. The cost of lunch is not included but food is available at the bar in the pub. | ||
| The CSG's weekend field meeting is likely to include field trips and classroom events on the Sunday. For further information please contact CSG (see above). | ||
| Further Information | ||
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| Cave Science Field
Meeting Wednesday 2 July, Lathkill Dale, Derbyshire A walk led by Prof. John Gunn and Dr. Paul Wood |
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| Whether you are an academic, an amateur scientist or a caver wanting to understand more about the Derbyshire karst, you should find this to be an enjoyable, informal but informative excursion during which aspects of geology, karst geomorphology, speleogenesis, ecology and conservation will be discussed. | ||
| Participants will need to wear boots and bring outdoor clothing for the walk down the valley, but caving equipment will not be needed. Packed lunches should also be brought, which will be eaten at a convenient place along the walk. Car sharing will be arranged for those who do not wish to walk the 5km back to their car at the end of the excursion. | ||
| There will be no charge for the meeting, but intending participants should register their interest by Wednesday 25 June 2008 by email to t.faulkner[at]bcra... or, for initial queries, by telephone to +44 (0)1625 531558. Final communications about the meeting place, parking and transport will be sent by email to those who have registered. | ||
| This is the first cave science field trip to be held for a while, and we hope you will join us to help re-launch this event so that similar activities can be staged in the future. | ||
| Lathkill Dale The River Lathkill, and its tributary the Bradford, are unusual in that they rise, and flow over, Carboniferous limestone for their whole length. Water tracing experiments have established that the Lathkill catchment extends at least as far as Chelmorton, but is entirely autogenic because there is no contribution from streams flowing off overlying strata. |
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| The route that will be followed on the field meeting runs through Lathkill Dale site of special scientific interest (SSSI), part of which falls within the Derbyshire Dales national nature reserve (NNR). | ||
| A central section of the river is also included in the Lathkill and Mandale Mines Scheduled Monument. It supports aquatic faunal and plant communities typical of the White Peak, including several Biodiversity Action Plan species and the only eyeless population of Gammaridae recorded in the Peak District to date. Visitor surveys have revealed that it is the focal point of the Reserve for many of the 100,000+ visitors each year. | ||
| The mid-reach of the river was canalised in the 19th century by lead miners and / or fishery managers, both of whom had their own reasons for trying to keep the river flowing on the surface. However, since the 1980s (and probably earlier) this reach has been characterised by prolonged low flows, losses of sensitive aquatic species and an increase of terrestrial vegetation in the channel. | ||
| There has been a long debate over the extent to which flow in the upper reach has been lost to Magpie Sough but it is clear that in the mid-reach a considerable proportion of the river's low flow discharge is lost to Lathkill Sough. Ongoing research aimed at restoring surface flow will be discussed during the walk. | ||
| John Gunn and Paul Wood | ||
 Hidden Earth
2008 26-28 Sept, Otley, YorkshireThe annual caving conference and weekend convention. Field trips, trade and club stands, competitions, talks, discussion groups, entertainment ... |
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| This year's caving conference will be at at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley, West Yorkshire. (See Location Info). Otley is situated close to the cities of Leeds and Bradford and is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park. See the UK caving meetings list to receive brief notices; or visit BCA's Hidden Earth Forum to read the latest discussion or announcements. | ||
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| Meetings Information If you are thinking of organising a BCRA-backed event please contact meetings-secretary[at]bcra... or see page contacting us. We will be pleased to offer help and advice. For a more complete listing of UK caving events see the British Caving Association's newsletter [at the time of writing (Jan 2005) this is not available on-line, only on paper]. The cavers' magazine Descent also carries an events diary and is obtainable in caving shops (and some climbing and outdoor shops) throughout the country. For International Events the UIS online diary carries information on events world-wide. BCRA has sponsored an Internet e-mailing list to keep you in touch with arrangements for caving meetings. For more information, see the web page at caves.org.uk/lists/meetings.html |
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| Grant Application Deadlines & Council Meetings | ||
| Cave Science &
Technology Research Initiative (CSTRI) 1 April, 1 August, 1
December each year Contact research-fund[at]bcra... or see page contacting us |
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| Ghar Parau
Foundation 31 January, 31 August each year Contact gpf-enquiries[at]bcra... or see page contacting us |
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| BCRA Council Meetings 09-Mar-2008, 29-Jun-2008,
16-Nov-2008 Council meetings are usually held in March, June and November. These are not public meetings, but members are informed so that relevant business can be scheduled. Items for inclusion on the agenda should be with the secretary 8 days before the meeting. For information about the 2008 AGM please go to BCRA Annual General Meeting 2008. |
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British Cave Research Association (UK
registered charity 267828). Registered Office: The Old Methodist Chapel, Great
Hucklow, BUXTON, SK17 8RG
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