Speleology is a scientific specialty that is responsible for studying underground caves and cavities, thus analyzing their morphology, flora and fauna, as well as any other indication of the permanence of prehistoric beings in them. The founder of this discipline was Edouard Alfred Martel, a French lawyer who was interested in natural sciences and who promoted the first expeditions for scientific purposes and who by 1895 had founded the speleological society of France.
Speleology is a science that receives the collaboration of others such as geology, hydrology, zoology, anthropology, archeology and paleontology among others; which makes it a very complete discipline.
In general, different kinds of caving can be differentiated, these will be subject to the type of cavity that is intended to be studied:
- The karst Speleology: this is responsible for the study of caves located in the massive mountain very cold, with constant streams and underground water. In these types of caves, exploration is a bit complicated, due to the low temperatures of these water currents.
- Volcanic speleology: study volcanic caverns, these are those that have been formed naturally during the eruption of a volcano, thanks to the action of the lava that emanates during it. These types of caves usually form in a short time. The difficulties that can arise during the exploration of these caves are given by the existence of slightly narrow spaces and temperatures that in most cases are extremely hot.
- The espeleobuceo: is a kind of variant of spelunking, characterized by its high degree of difficulty at the time to explore, since in this case the study should be conducted in underwater caves. The people in charge of this exploration are the cave divers who must be professionals from both specialties (both diving and caving). It is important to mention that due to the adverse environment these spaces present, cave diving is considered one of the most risky activities in the world.
So much so, that even when the experts take all possible precautions, the errors that might appear would end up affecting the lives of the explorers.