“Fatuk-Kuak Hosi Timor Lorosa’e”: Caves of Timor-Leste
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“Fatuk-Kuak Hosi Timor Lorosa’e” : Caves of Timor-Leste. / Manuel, Freire; P., Pinto; M., Soares; Reboleira, Ana Sofia; A., Reis; M., Gomez.
Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Speleology. ed. / Kevin Moore; Susan White. Vol. 1 2. ed. Sydney : Australian Speleological Federation Inc., 2017. p. 31-36.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review
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TY - GEN
T1 - “Fatuk-Kuak Hosi Timor Lorosa’e”
T2 - Caves of Timor-Leste
AU - Manuel, Freire
AU - P., Pinto
AU - M., Soares
AU - Reboleira, Ana Sofia
AU - A., Reis
AU - M., Gomez
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Timor-Leste (formerly East-Timor) is one of the youngest nations in the world. Partly because of its troubled recent history, this small Southeast Asian country nowadays remains one of the least explored as far as speleology is concerned. With a total area of 15,000 km2, a high percentage of the country's territory is limestone and it hosts one of the largest poljes in the world. In September, 2016, the "Fatuk-kuak hosi Timor-Lorosa' e" project (Caves of Timor-Leste), created by four Portuguese caving clubs and joined by the only Timorese caving club, made its rst expedition to Timor-Leste, briey visiting some of its karst areas. During the month long expedition-carried out under the auspices of the International Union of Speleology (UIS) and the Portuguese Federation of Speleology (FPE) more than 50 caves were registered in the districts of Ainaro, Baucau, Lautém and Viqueque. e major highlights are: i) Bakua cave; this 650 m long, 197 m deep sink near Maubisse is the country's longest and deepest cave to date. e Biribui spring cave, the system's most probable resurgence point, lies roughly 800 m away and 350 m below; ii) e polje of Lake Iralalaro, one of the largest in the world, continuously drains its water through the Irasiquero River, which sumps aer 3.5 km at the (yet impenetrable) Mainina sink. e resurgence of this system is unknown and probably lies at the ocean bed, no less than 4 km away; and iii) the rst biospeleological survey, providing new species for science and the discovery of a rich biodiversity in these tropical caves. Access remains an obstacle to visiting some areas of the country, so some of the karst with the most potential for caves is yet to be visited. e "Fatuk-kuak hosi Timor-Lorosa' e" project will return annually, to continue exploration and support the development of Timorese speleology.
AB - Timor-Leste (formerly East-Timor) is one of the youngest nations in the world. Partly because of its troubled recent history, this small Southeast Asian country nowadays remains one of the least explored as far as speleology is concerned. With a total area of 15,000 km2, a high percentage of the country's territory is limestone and it hosts one of the largest poljes in the world. In September, 2016, the "Fatuk-kuak hosi Timor-Lorosa' e" project (Caves of Timor-Leste), created by four Portuguese caving clubs and joined by the only Timorese caving club, made its rst expedition to Timor-Leste, briey visiting some of its karst areas. During the month long expedition-carried out under the auspices of the International Union of Speleology (UIS) and the Portuguese Federation of Speleology (FPE) more than 50 caves were registered in the districts of Ainaro, Baucau, Lautém and Viqueque. e major highlights are: i) Bakua cave; this 650 m long, 197 m deep sink near Maubisse is the country's longest and deepest cave to date. e Biribui spring cave, the system's most probable resurgence point, lies roughly 800 m away and 350 m below; ii) e polje of Lake Iralalaro, one of the largest in the world, continuously drains its water through the Irasiquero River, which sumps aer 3.5 km at the (yet impenetrable) Mainina sink. e resurgence of this system is unknown and probably lies at the ocean bed, no less than 4 km away; and iii) the rst biospeleological survey, providing new species for science and the discovery of a rich biodiversity in these tropical caves. Access remains an obstacle to visiting some areas of the country, so some of the karst with the most potential for caves is yet to be visited. e "Fatuk-kuak hosi Timor-Lorosa' e" project will return annually, to continue exploration and support the development of Timorese speleology.
M3 - Article in proceedings
SN - 978-0-9588857-0-6
VL - 1
SP - 31
EP - 36
BT - Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Speleology
A2 - Moore, Kevin
A2 - White, Susan
PB - Australian Speleological Federation Inc.
CY - Sydney
ER -
ID: 189592949