31st International Karstological School in Postojna
The 31st International Karstological School in Postojna was held from June 17th to June 21st . We participated with two poster presentations entitled: „Seasonality in cave air and drip water properties – implications for speleothem palaeoclimate studies, Nova Grgosova cave (Croatia)“ and „Chronology building using fluorescence in Late Holocene stalagmite from Nova Grgosova cave, NW Croatia“. The school was a great opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow colleagues from Croatia and abroad.



8th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium
The 8th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium was held in Zagreb at the Faculty of Science, from April 26th to April 27th. As a 1th year PhD student, Iva held a talk entitled: „Identifying main drivers of oxygen isotope variability in precipitation as a prerequisite for speleothem-based palaeoclimate investigations“. Apart from learning about different research fields, this event was a great opportunity to share PhD journey experiences with other more or less experienced fellow students.


Confocal imaging at University College London
In March 2024 Iva visited University College London to perform confocal imaging of stalagmite thin sections. During her three-day stay in London, she learned about the principles of confocal laser scanning microscopy and its potential in extracting palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental data when performed on speleothem samples. She went back home with a large amount of data which will help her to resolve the chronology of the stalagmite NG2 in great detail.


Project team meeting
On the 8th of March, the UNLOCK-CAVE team meeting was held at the Croatian Geological Survey. The team meeting was organised following the recipient of the first-year progress report. The team members went through the activities and results collected throughout the first year and discussed future plans and objectives. Following the formal part of the meeting, the team members visited Nova Grgosova Cave and finished the day with lunch in the town of Samobor.



UNLOCK-CAVE on National Television
We are pleased to have been invited to present the UNLOCK-CAVE project on one of the best-known Croatian Radiotelevision science shows, Prometej!
The episode is available on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsmrlIIHnVE&list=PLuEWODEWd3kOY-AhAL7LLe3crhWNlj4eS&index=3 (0:47-5:26 min)




Geoscience Hour at the Croatian Geological Survey
In December 2023, Iva presented the topic of her PhD research at the Geoscience Hour organized by the Croatian Geological Survey (HGI-CGS). In her online presentation entitled: „Late Holocene paleoenvironmental investigations using speleothems from Nova Grgosova cave“, she talked about the research questions and aims of her PhD research at the Nova Grgosova cave and showed some preliminary results.

Participation in the Croatian speleologists meeting
The Croatian speleologists meeting was held in Čakovec from November 24-26, 2023. Our team member Iva, also a member of the Speleological Club Ozren Lukić, gave a talk about the advantages and significance of utilizing speleothems in palaeoclimate research, sharing examples of speleothem research practices from Nova Grgosova cave.

Completing the speleothem stable isotope record!
After a busy summer full of conferences and summer school, it was time to shift back to lab work. Again, in Innsbruck, at the Quaternary research group facilities. During her two-week visit, Iva completed microsampling of the NG2 stalagmite started in May. She sampled and analysed a total of 1100 samples! Although it was a lot of hard work, there was still enough time to bond with fellow colleagues at the official Wednesday research group meetings and the not-so-official Friday geology students gatherings.


Participation in the 7th Croatian Geological Congress in Poreč, Istria
We are pleased to have been able to present our work at the 7th Croatian Geological Congress, held in Poreč, Istria, October 2-4. Iva participated with a poster presentation entitled: „Exploring the oxygen isotope variability in precipitation as a precondition for palaeoclimate interpretations“ in which she presented preliminary results of the precipitation monitoring program currently being conducted at the Nova Grgosova cave site.



Summer School on Speleothem Science in Brazil: a unique training experience
for our PhD student Iva
After a longer break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the speleothem science community members were finally gathered again at the fifth, long awaited, Summer School on Speleothem Science (S4). The event exceeded all our expectations thanks to the amazing organizing committee who managed to host the event in São Paulo, Brazil and despite the challenging location, to bring together students and experts from all around the world. The S4 event was held from the 6th of August to the 13th of August and it took place at two different locations – the city of São Paulo and PETAR state park. For those not familiar with the S4, it is a student-led training school aimed for both PhD students and early career researchers studying in the field of speleothem science…
Plenary lecture at the 36th International Meeting of Sedimentology
The project leader Dr.sc. Petra Bajo gave a plenary lecture at the 36th International Meeting of Sedimentology, held June 12-16 in Dubrovnik. In her presentation entitled Past climate changes- a view from the karst underground, Petra presented some examples of the use of speleothems in palaeoclimate research, including the study conducted as part of the UNLOCK-CAVE project.



Our PhD student Iva Palatinuš visits Innsbruck Quaternary Research Group
In May 2023, our PhD student Iva visited the Institute of Geology at the University of Innsbruck to perform stable isotope analyses on a stalagmite sample from Nova Grgosova cave. Since there is no facility for stable isotope analyses of carbonate samples in Croatia, the analyses were conducted in the premises of the Innsbruck Quaternary Research Group led by professor Christoph Spötl. During her stay, Iva sampled and analysed a total of 400 powder samples. Besides laboratory work, Iva had the opportunity to meet the members of the Quaternary Research Group and join them in their weekly meeting. The acquired knowledge, results and gained experience will certainly be of great help for her further research within the UNLOCK-CAVE project and beyond.


