Speleology meteorology and cartography to develop portraits of caves as complex, evolving systems. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the scientific value of caves was considered only in its contribution to other branches of science, and cave studies were considered part of the larger disciplines of geography, geology or archaeology. Very little cave-specific study was undertaken prior to the work of Édouard-Alfred Martel (1859–1938), the 'father of modern speleology', who through his extensive and well-publicised cave explorations introduced in France the concept of speleology as a distinct area of study. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted
International Journal of Speleology Museo di Speleologia "V. Rivera" also contributed to the financial support of the journal. The issues of the journal were alternatively dedicated to biospeleology and physical speleology until 1998 when the journal was split into two different series: "A" for Biospeleology (which ceased publication in 2003) and "B" for Physical Speleology. In addition to the regular issues of the journal, in 1996 a "Manual for Karst water analysis" by W.E. Krawczyk was printed. International Journal of Speleology The International Journal of Speleology is since 1978 the official peer-reviewed scientific journal of the "Union Internationale de Spéléologie". Since 1981 it has