Sharing information on Speleothems & Cave Minerals: A Workshop

Jill Rowling¹

Abstract:

Since the publication of the second edition of ``Cave Minerals of the World'' by Hill and Forti (1997), there are some matters still outstanding in the field of cave mineralogy, such as a database of cave mineral samples which would be readable by the public; records of publications on cave minerals since 1997; records of type localities of speleothem and mineral types and subtypes; naming conventions for new speleothem types and subtypes.

It was proposed that something be set up to cover these matters. The workshop discussed the potential benefits (or otherwise) of such a public database, the types of users, and some of the field definitions.

It was envisaged that the work would follow many of the ideas initiated by the IUS (International Union of Speleology) Informatics Commission. It would use the classification scheme for speleothems which are defined in Hill and Forti. Field definitions would follow IUS guidelines. The idea was to help prevent duplication of work on scarce resources, as well as improve the sharing of information where possible.

This paper then goes on to suggest some of the database tables for a cave minerals Sample database.