Speleology by a large number of human activities. Dam construction, limestone quarrying, water pollution and logging are just some of the disasters that can devastate or destroy underground biological communities. Speleologists also work with archaeologists in studying underground ruins, tunnels, sewers and aqueducts, such as the various inlets and outlets of the Cloaca Maxima in Rome. Speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). The term "speleology" is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of
French Federation of Speleology offered assistance (including financial) to cavers and prepared special legislation for the exploration, discovery and exploitation of underground systems. The published a quarterly newsletter and a "Spelunca" journal (2nd series) for the publication of scientific papers and detailed accounts of exploration. On 1 March 1936, proposed by Bernard Gèze, the became the (SSF), residing in Nîmes at the Natural History Museum. The intention was to give national status to a hitherto only regional group. The SSF admitted subsidiaries and affiliates. It also continued the publication of "Spelunca". The first national speleological conference took place in Mazamet in 1939. Unlike the