International Speleothem Conference and Summer School

Delegates to the International Summer School Conference

Buxton Civic Association hosted an International Speleothem Summer School at Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre during the last week in August. Speleothems are mineral deposits formed from groundwater within caverns. Stalagmites, stalactites, and other forms may be annually banded or contain compounds that can be radiometrically dated.

Using Poole's cavern as a base, the conference was aimed at researchers studying stalagmite growth and atmospheric changes in caves around the world and how climate change patterns can be recorded and analysed. The conference hosts included Prof. John Gunn and Prof. Ian Fairchild who led seminars and field trips around the cavern and surrounding Limestone hills. Delegates included experts from as far afield as Russia and Spain as well as Birmingham University, Oxford and Royal Holloway.