WKU To Host Major International
Karst Conference June 3-6
May 20, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Many of the world's leading karst researchers will be at Western Kentucky University in early June for the International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems.
Western, along with the National Park Service and the Cave Research Foundation, will host the conference June 3-6. Scientific presentations will be conducted at the WKU South Campus with field trips at Mammoth Cave National Park and other sites.
"This conference will be the most significant cave and karst meeting anywhere in the world in 2003," said Dr. Chris Groves, director of WKU's Hoffman Environmental Research Institute and conference coordinator.
The conference is a joint meeting of the four primary international karst research organizations -- the United Nations International Geological Correlation Program, the International Association of Hydrogeologists, the International Geographical Union and the International Union of Speleology.
Scientists from more than 20 countries, including United States, Russia, Hungary, China, England, Ireland, Jamaica, France, Armenia, Iran, Switzerland, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Canada, Australia, Spain and Ukraine, will make presentations during the event, Dr. Groves said.
Among the major benefits of the conference are the connections made between scientists from various areas that lead to new ideas and in some cases new research collaborations.
At a similar conference at WKU in 1998, for example, Dr. Groves met Professor Heather Viles of England's Oxford University during a coffee break, and a collaboration that followed still continues. Graduate students and faculty from both schools continue to exchange visits to apply knowledge of the chemistry of how limestone dissolves, gained from study at Mammoth Cave, to the problem of dissolving historic structures in Europe.
Western's research on caves, karst, water quality and environmental issues as well as its proximity to and collaborations with Mammoth Cave National Park "make this one of the key places for karst research," Dr. Groves said.
"This event has numerous positive aspects for the University," he said.
As scientists share information about common problems and develop collaborative efforts to solve those problems, the stature of Western's program will continue to increase worldwide, Dr. Groves said.
"Western now has scientific colleagues at virtually every corner of the Earth," he said, "and this conference will continue to expand that network."
Students also will benefit from the conference.
"We are working very hard in the Department to broaden our students' horizons by exposing them to international experiences and perspectives," said Dr. David Keeling, head of WKU's Department of Geography and Geology. "This conference is an excellent opportunity for Western students to interact with some of the world's leading karst scientists."
After the conference ends, a series of field trips to karst areas in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, New Mexico and Florida are scheduled for June 7-11.
More information on the conference is available online at http://karst.wku.edu/2003/
For more information, contact Chris Groves at (270) 745-4169. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
