A speleologist is who? What does the speleologist do? What does the speleologist learn?

A speleologist is who? A similar question arises in many people who have heard the name of one of the most dangerous and useful professions. The thing is that this is not the most common work, there are not so many true professionals, so it has not gained wide popularity. Speleologists are brave, nature lovers who are not accustomed to sit at home in front of the TV. These people are constantly on the road, they are experiencing their own strengths and nerves, making their way to the most dangerous places on the planet, risking their own lives.

The meaning of the speleologists is to study the caves, the causes and mechanisms of their occurrence. For some, this kind of work seems like a waste of time, but in reality it is not. Speleologists are practices that provide material for research to historians, archaeologists, geologists and other theorists.

What is the science of speleology?

Speleology is a branch of geology that studies the formation, evolution, age, ecosystem, morphology of caves of natural origin. This science is very important, because it allows more detailed study of biology, history, hydrology, archeology, palaeontology. Speleology also implies the study of the migration of groundwater, the search for sources of geysers, emissions of natural gases, magma. If most scientists do research only on paper or in equipped laboratories, then the speleologists are constantly on the move, traveling around the world.

Who is a speleologist?

Often you can hear the question: "A speleologist is who and what does he do?" This is not surprising, because this profession is rather rare and not popular. Specialists in this field are rarely issued by the Faculty of Geology. Yet among professional speleologists there are people with an appropriate diploma, although most of them are physicists. Such specialists serve for the benefit of the economy and science, helping in the development and prosperity of these areas.

Representatives of the science of speleology can not sit in libraries for days, since their main prey is materials collected in expeditions. They do not make any assumptions, but they are looking for evidence of scientific hypotheses. After all, only samples of crops or rocks found in caves can refute or confirm the truth of a theory invented by a theoretician.

For those who wish to devote themselves to this science, it is important to know what the speleologist does, because this profession requires certain skills. The specialist must be strong both physically and morally, because working often is necessary in a situation of high risk. Speleologists are mostly extremals, eager for adventure. This profession does not imply comfort, a normal working day, and expeditions themselves can last for more than a month, so specialists should be prepared for long-term business trips.

Equipment for the speleologist

What the speleologist does is not only about certain skills, but also about the equipment. First, you should buy the right clothes. The most comfortable person will feel in overalls, the material must let in air, keep warm, protect from dampness, not cause allergies or irritation. The safety system should be designed for each participant in the expedition and for the whole team as a whole.

Exploring caves is working in the dark, which means you need to get a quality flashlight with a set of spare batteries and lamps. A light rope is also needed, the speleologists attach one edge of it to the entrance, unraveling the coil as it moves, so it is easier to find a way out and not get lost in the labyrinth of countless passes. What the speleologist is doing, also assumes constant descents and ascents, sometimes even on a steep wall, so the equipment must have a strong and long rope. To conduct research, you will also need paper, a pencil, a compass and a map. Of course, you need to take care of the elements of protection.

Speleotourism

Speleology is not only a necessary and serious science, but also a very fascinating activity for people with an active lifestyle. Today speleotourism is very popular among people who want to get acquainted with caves, look at underground rivers and lakes, grottoes, steep wells, and also understand what the speleologist is doing. Before the expert there are research tasks, he climbs into the cave to make a route, to extract natural minerals, to make some historical and archaeological finds.

The speleologist works in extreme conditions, requiring physical strength, skill, self-mastery, resourcefulness and quick reaction. Speleoturism, of course, is not suitable for weak and sick people, but does not require the presence of professional skills and skills, tourists go accompanied by a specialist on well-studied routes and simply contemplate the surrounding beauty. At the same time, people's lives are not threatened.

Features of speleotourism

"The speleologist is who?" - so often ask young people who first heard the name of this dangerous but very interesting profession. Not only professionals, but also amateurs can get acquainted with the masterpieces created by nature itself. Especially for this purpose there was such kind of entertainments, as speleotourism. This direction has some features that should be taken into account by all participants of the expedition:

• In the caves is dark, so you need to stock up sources of artificial lighting.
• The complexity of the route depends on the terrain, narrow slots, deep wells, underground lakes or rivers may occur along the way.
• During the expedition there is a high degree of autonomy.
• The caves have low temperature and high humidity.

Beauty, opening the eyes of speleologists

The speleologist is a profession that reveals the unparalleled beauty of the underworld. Water year after year throughout the centuries tirelessly creates unique masterpieces. Some caves, especially old ones, have a huge depth to get into the hall, specialists have to squeeze through narrow cracks, make their way through the lagoons, plunge into the cold water of the wells. But what you see is worth all this, because sometimes there are such galleries, the beauty of which can not be compared to any royal palace.

The formation of caves never stops, drops of water, passing through the earth, condense on the walls, dissolve the minerals, forming solutions, from which the crystals subsequently drop out. Heliktities, stalagmites, stalactites, corallites, striking with their beauty and grandeur, are created not for a year and not for a decade, but for thousands of years, growing a drop by drop. Having visited at least once in a cave, you will understand what the speleologists are doing in the profession - these brave souls are exploring the underworld.

Speleotherapy

Caves are interesting not only to scientists and tourists, but also to sick people, because their unique microclimate is able to treat. Speleotherapy has a long history, its history is more than 2,5 thousand years. It assumes a long stay of a person in a microclimate of salt mines, karst caves. Used for treatment and underground thermal springs, as they are characterized by radioactivity. What a speleologist is studying is not only good for science, but for medicine as well. Millions of people around the world have recovered from respiratory diseases, have strengthened immunity, and have recovered. Natural caves are one of the best climatic resorts.

What the Oceanologist does

A speleologist is a person who studies the underworld, but who is an oceanologist? Already from the title it is clear that the sphere of its activity is connected with the ocean. Such specialists monitor the state of the shelf and the bottom, study representatives of the underwater fauna and flora, observe the processes occurring deep under the water. Materials produced by oceanologists are actively used in hydrotechnics, fisheries, and biology. Theorists make predictions, but the practitioners present real facts that allow developing a strategy for saving endangered species of underwater fauna.

What unites the oceanologist and speleologist?

The oceanologist, the speleologist is who, and what are they doing? Uninformed people may think that this is a completely meaningless job, more like a hobby, providing interesting pastime or shooting documentaries under the water or in caves. In fact, the work of both speleologists and oceanologists is used by many branches of science. Thanks to professionals new facts from the past are opened, the present is more clearly represented, reliable forecasts are made for the future. The oceanologist and speleologist are extremals who adore dangerous adventures and risks.