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
French Federation of Speleology its intense activity and partly because of the production of numerous publications including the "Proceedings of the International Congress of 1953". At the general meeting of the CNS appointed 10 May 1958, Geo Marchand was designated to organise the 2nd National Congress of Speleology in Cahors in 1959, with the group , of which he was President. Three hundred cavers from the CNS and the SSF took part in the event, from 6–10 September 1959. It gave rise to the presentation of 26 papers and five different films and inspired in the participants a desire for unification. The year 1961