Cave investigation is one of the most interesting research field in natural and earth sciences, showing a rapid development with technological progress. It coincides with a number of scientific disciplines to address the early human histrory, habitats of living lives and specimens. This book will be useful to students and researchers as well as to earth scientists, archeologist, biologist, natural sciences, and other experts in a other related of disciplines. The volume consists of three sections sorted thematically, each focusing on a certain aspect. The book presents results on the determination and definition of caves discussed by means of geographic, geophysical, and geological applications. Geomorphometric analysis using GIS and laser scanning, the importance of electric tomography method in cave detection, the use of groundwater sources in agricultural areas, and the habitats of bats and species are studied on several cave studies.

This book describes Hungarian karst areas and Hungarian karst research results. The chapters present the general characteristics of karst areas, their geology, their paleokarst, their hydrology, their surface and subsurface morphology (more significant caves are classified according to karst areas and their morphology and development is described), ecology and flora and fauna. This book also includes a separate chapter which deals with the history of Hungarian karst and cave research. Another chapter deals with theories that were made during Hungarian karst researches.

The earth's subsurface contains abundant and active microbial biomass, living in water, occupying pore space, and colonizing mineral and rock surfaces. Caves are one type of subsurface habitat, being natural, solutionally- or collapse-enlarged openings in rock. Within the past 30 years, there has been an increase in the number of microbiology studies from cave environments to understand cave ecology, cave geology, and even the origins of life. By emphasizing the microbial life of caves, and the ecological processes and geological consequences attributed to microbes, this book provides the first authoritative and comprehensive account of the microbial life of caves for students, professionals, and general readers.