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The International Journal of Speleology is the official journal of the Union Internationale de Spéléologie since 1978 and was founded in 1964. It is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, international scientific journal that publishes research and review articles concerning all sciences involved in karst and caves, such as geology, geomorphology, hydrology, archeology, paleontology, (paleo)climatology, cave meteorology, (geo)microbiology, environmental sciences, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, etc. IJS is published three times per year.

Articles are open access at http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/ijs. The journal is abstracted and indexed in the following services: Directory of Open Access Journals, ISI Thomson Services (Science Citation Index-Expanded including the Web of Science, ISI Alerting Service, Current Contents/Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences), Bibliography & Index of Geology (GeoRef, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, EarthScienceWISE (Oxmill Publishing), EBSCO publishing, Geobase, Speleological Abstracts (UIS), Ulrich’s Periodical Directory ™, BIOSIS Zoological record, SCOPUS (Elsevier), and SCImago Journal and Country Rank.

LATEST IMPACT FACTOR 2023: 1.3
In Journal of Citation Reports®, Thomson Reuters 2023

SPECIAL ISSUE IN PROGRESS: Volume 54, issue 3 (2025)

Current Issue: Volume 54, Issue 1 (2025)

Articles

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Counter-intuitive links between cave genesis and subaerial stream dynamics in the Têt valley–Lachambre network, eastern Pyrenees, France
Stéphane Jaillet, Gabriel Hez, Marc Calvet, Magali Delmas, Edwige Pons-Branchu, and Yanni Gunnell

  • Links between cave passages and fluvial terraces are not a simple altitudinal relationship
  • The longitudinal profiles of the terraces are ten times steeper than the underground profiles
  • New U/Th ages and published 26Al/10Be burial ages are faced on the same low-gradient cave passage
  • This cave passage is active during MIS 6, MIS 4, and MIS 2, and records several alluvial cycles
  • Caution is needed when using caves as tools to quantify valley incision

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Cave minerals of the 21st century: A 2025 review and update
Bogdan P. Onac

  • List of cave minerals of the world updated
  • 54 new minerals added
  • Volcanic caves and lava tubes contributed the most minerals to this update

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Cyanobacteria and algae from Chýnov and Koněprusy caves (Czech Republic)
Michaela Wipplingerová, Jan Pokorný, and Jan Kaštovský

  • First phycological study of lampenflora in two open Czech caves
  • Localities are dominated by Trebouxiophyceae/Chlorophyceae and filamentous cyanobacteria
  • Diatoms, Streptophyta, Xanthophyceae and Euglenophyta are accompanying groups
  • Molecular methods have revealed several new species for this type of habitat

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Contribution to the knowledge of cave-dwelling fauna from the Prokletije Mountains
Joanna Kocot-Zalewska, Iwona Słowińska, Paweł Domagała, Jakub Bienias, Dominik Szymański, Dawid Szymański, Hubert Szymański, Paweł Sienkiewicz, and Andrzej Józef Woźnica

  • The article describes the fauna of selected caves from Prokletije Mts.
  • This mountain range is located on the border of Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo
  • The elevation of caves is between 1800-2200 m a.s.l., and some are filled with ice
  • As a result mainly insects, arachnids, and millipedes were collected

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Temperature-driven air circulation in caves with blind passages
Chris Hendy Dr, David J. Merritt, Shannon Corkill, and Cross Cross

  • Two blind-passage single-entrance caves in New Zealand were monitored for temperature and CO2
  • When the outside was warmer than inside, CO2 partial pressures increased
  • When the outside was cooler, CO2 partial pressures decreased
  • Both caves end in upper breakdown zones through which air percolates, accumulating CO2 from the soil

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Siliciclastic cave or diamond mine? Multiapproach investigation in Igatu Village, Chapada Diamantina, northeastern Brazil
Raphael Parra, Ricardo G. F. de A. Pereira, Leonardo F. Vieira, and Rubson P. Maia

  • Canal da Fumaça is a mined cave, preserving both natural and anthropogenic features
  • Metasandstone karstification occurs mainly through phyllosilicate matrix dissolution
  • Fracture planes and lithology variety guided the karstification processes
  • Mining increased the dimensions of the cave, enlarging conduits and excavating new ones
  • An evolution model was proposed, based on a significant data set

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Bat occurrence and microclimatic conditions of the Sima del Órgano Cave, Mexico
Luis A. Hernández, Jaime E. Gómez, and Cyntia Reyes

  • Sima del Órgano, a hot cave (34.1ºC), hosts over 276,000 bats in humid conditions
  • Cave hosts seven bat species, including two at risk of extinction in Mexico
  • Sima del Órgano is a regional conservation priority cave in Mexico