Caves are important markers of surface evolution, since they are, as a general rule, linked with ancient valley bottoms by their springs. However, caves can only be dated indirectly by means of the ...sediments they contain. If the sediment is older than common dating methods, one has to use multiple dating approaches in order to get meaningful results. U/Th dating, palaeomagnetic analysis of flowstone and sediment profiles, cosmogenic dating of quartz pebbles, and mammalian dating allowed a robust estimate of speleogenesis, sediment deposition, climatic change at the surface, and uplift history on the Periadriatic fault line during the Plio-Pleistocene. Our dates indicate that Snežna jama was formed in the (Upper) Miocene, received its sedimentary deposits during the Pliocene in a rather low-lying, hilly landscape, and became inactive due to uplift along the Periadriatic and Sava faults and climatic changes at the beginning of the Quaternary. Although it is only a single cave, the information contained within it makes it an important site of the Southern Alps.
•We present a comprehensive dating approach to sediments of a Slovenian cave.•We interpret the results in the light of climatic change and tectonic uplift.•We show that collaborative work on one single cave can yield results of broader interest.
The Skuta Glacier in the Kamnik–Savinja Alps (in northern Slovenia) is one of the two remaining glaciers in Slovenia. It is located in a cirque oriented toward the northwest, which shields it from ...sunlight for most of the year. The glacier lies at an average elevation of 2070m. In recent years, its average area has measured around 1.5 hectares. Monitoring of the glacier has been performed since 1946. In 1962, regular photographing of the glacier with various cameras started from various non-fixed standpoints. Using the single image interactive orientation acquisition method, in which a single photograph is compared with the projection of a modern digital terrain model, seventeen photographs covering the period from 1970 to 2015 were used to acquire the 3D-perimeters of the glacier. The data shows that the elevation of glacier’s upper edge decreased by approximately 40m in the last half-century. Changes in the glacier’s area and average upper edge elevation were compared with average annual temperature and maximum seasonal snow cover depth.
The Triglav Glacier in the Julian Alps and the Skuta Glacier in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps are among the south-easternmost glaciers in the Alps. Historical data show that ice masses are undergoing mass ...loss as the overall climate warms. Glacier ice and cave ice contain a wealth of paleoclimatic information, and rapid sampling is needed if any such information is to be saved before the ice is completely melted. We present the first comprehensive geochemical and water isotope data from glacier ice, meltwater, spring water, and cave ice in the Mount Triglav area and glacier ice from the Skuta Glacier. The samples primarily reflect the initial precipitation signal that has been greatly modified by the input of local CaCO3-rich dust with lesser amounts of marine aerosol and vegetation debris.
On very steep dolomite slopes in the western foothills of the Kamnik Alps (Ravni hrib, Javorov vrh, Zaplata, Kriška gora) and southwestern Karavanke Mountains (Dobrča) we conducted a ...phytosociological study into montane grasslands (former hay meadows, partly pastures) where
a species of European conservation concern, also occasionally occurs. They were compared with similar montane grasslands (former hay meadows) on sunny slopes of the Stol ridge above Breginj in the southwestern foothills of the Julian Alps. Based on this comparison we described three new syntaxa:
and
. Both new associations are classified into the alliance
and treated as a long-term successional stage in the belt of altimontane beech forests from the association
A less known damaging earthquake in southern part of Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Slovenia, in 1840 is described. The main shock was on 27 August 1840 with the epicentre in Tuhinj Valley. The maximum ...intensity was VII EMS-98 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and in Eisenkappel, Austria. It was felt as far as Venice, Italy, 200 km away. The macroseismic magnitude of the main shock, estimated from the area of intensity VI EMS-98, was 5.0. The effects of the main shock and its aftershocks are described, and an earthquake catalogue for Slovenia in 1840 is provided. Available primary sources (newspaper articles) are presented.
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