Veternica (cave)

The name Vetrenica is a Kajkavian -en-adjective formed from the reflex of Proto-Slavic větrъ "wind", to which the denominal suffix -ica has been added. It is named for the wind that comes from the lower entrance of a cave as a result of temperature differences, except in the winter. The upper entrance in this case seems to be a pit cave discovered in 1973 and named Dvogača, which sucks in warm external air in summer but emits relatively warm internal air in winter, opposite of Vetrenica. ==Description==

Detailed descriptions of the cave itself can be found in Poljak 1934, Božičević 1960, In 2004, caver Vlado Božić proposed that the entrance to the cave had been completely covered before this flood, which created the initial opening. This was dismissed by geologists Srećko Božičević and Mladen Garašić as a "fantasy", but defended by geologist Hrvoje Malinar, who took Božić to evaluate the hypothesis in the cave on October 8th, finding multiple traces of an older flood in the main canal from the entrance to the stream, in addition to traces of high water level in the deeper parts of the cave where such levels had not been observed. Individual chambers are named, such as the Koncertna dvorana. • The 1st branch from the entrance is the vadose Ponor 16 metara with 68.5 m of passage, carrying the cave to its deepest known point only 75 m above the elevation of the Dubravica spring. It is a potential path to reaching the current phreatic zone, whose source is the Glavni siphon and exit the Dubravica spring, but high CO2 concentrations of unknown persistence may create safety issues. • The 2nd branch is the Velebitaški kanal with 730.5 m, opposite the Ponor 16 metara, mostly horizontal but with a deep vadose descent in the Velebitaški siphon. It extends towards the Družanica hill on the surface. The Velebitaški kanal is a narrow, canyon-type channel. • The 3rd branch is the Separe appendix with 35 m. Within it is the chamber Trbušasta dvorana. • Majmunski prolaz stretches from about 400 m to 900 m, exposed to geologically younger phenomena. It is narrower, with a gradually lower roof, and split into two levels at three discontinuous sections, the last of which is Ramzesovo šetalište-Pakao. • The 4th/5th branch is the Pakleni kanal with 563.5 m, extending towards Družanica from the junction between Ramzesovo šetalište and Pakao. It is even more difficult to traverse than the Velebitski kanal, because in addition to the narrow and wet passages it abounds with drops. • The 5th/4th branch is the Fosilna dvorana with the Kukušni vadose siphon, together with 88 m, entered at Pakao. It has a stream, and is a potential path to reaching the current phreatic zone. • The 6th branch is the Kanal iznad Limunove dvorane with 85 m, extending towards Družanica, entered from a Pakao chamber known as Limunova dvorana. A mostly narrow but relatively horizontal passage, apart from the Bubrezi section. • The hydrologically active section beyond that. Its main passage is the largest on average. • The 7th branch is the Glavni siphon, which receives most of the water from the sections deeper in. • The 8th branch is the Stari kanal with 85 m. It is wider and easier to pass. • "New Veternica" with 453 m, a complex network of exceptional beauty as with Kristalni kanal and Dvorana kipova. It includes the Velika dvorana, one of the largest chambers in the cave, and the Kanal slapova with 9 waterfalls, though the tallest waterfall in New Veternica at 13 m is in the Vjetrova dvorana chamber. • Alpinistički kanal with 531 m. Entered through the roof of the Tamna dvorana chamber, the 2nd largest chamber in the cave. It includes several chambers with abundant calcite decorations: Dvorana sa zidom, Lijepa dvorana, Kapelica. • Aneks. Connects the Tamna dvorana to the Alpinistički kanal. • Darijev kanal Begins with the Bijela dvorana chamber. The channel abounds with rhomboid calcite crystal formations. • Kanal iznad Razrušene dvorane. • Kanal iznad Visoke dvorane. • Željezničarski kanal. ==History==

Discovery The entrance to the cave was once only 45 cm wide and 29 cm high, requiring a prostrate entry; so unlike Velika peć na Rogu or the Pećina Svetog Marka, it was not mentioned in printed literature until the regional onset of speleology, beginning with the account of Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger in 1899. An account of the first recorded entrance into the cave in February 1933 by Stanko Gršetić with his brother and father was published on 8 March 1934 in the newspaper Večer, which popularised the cave and in the resulting exploration frenzy, the more accessible parts of the cave were quickly stripped of speleothems and the walls covered in names and dates of early explorers, as a 12 November 1934 article in Večer complained. In reaction, the Društvo za poljepšavanje Stenjevca secured the entrance and began requiring an entrance fee. as far as the Viktorija waterfall. In the light of the Bombing of Zagreb, the Ministry of War of the Independent State of Croatia had ordered late in the year to explore the possibility of repurposing the cave as a storage shelter, but nothing came of it. Though it was never the longest cave in the Dinarides thanks to the earlier exploration of Postojna Cave, it did eventually become the longest cave in SR Croatia. In 1973, Jopićeva špilja - Bent system surpassed Veternica as the longest cave in SR Croatia, with a length of 6247 m against Veternica's 5994 m. Veternica would eventually catch up but not before being surpassed in length by other caves. On 20 November 1983, shortly after an expansion of Jopićeva špilja in the summer, the Panjkov ponor - Varićakova špilja system surpassed it as the longest cave in SR Croatia, ending competition between Veternica and Panjkov ponor, only to be surpassed itself as such on 1 September 1984 by the Đulin ponor - Medvedica system. With further exploration of the Željezničarski kanal, June 1979 saw the total length of the cave reach 5996 m. 113 m of canal were explored, so that the total length of the cave at the beginning of 1992 was 6767 m. Although no further explorations were , several hundred meters further were explored by 1999, for a cumulative length of 7128 m. due to differences of opinion on the importance of exploration. But some work was allowed to continue until a 2020 document by the new rector Marina Popijač restricted the maximum caving time to 6 hours on 1 day of the month, making exploration trips impossible. The Commission for Speleology of the Croatian Mountaineering Association confronted the park administration about it in a 2021 meeting, but their concerns were dismissed on the grounds of the results of an internal investigation on improper behaviour in the cave by members of an unnamed organisation, and declined to comment on the reasons for their restrictions upon a request from the editors of the Speleolog magazine. The only notable steps towards exploration by cavers since the takeover were the 2009 laser telemetry of the main part of the cave from the entrance to the PVC siphon, providing greater vertical accuracy; and the discovery of a new chimney inside Markulinova dvorana in 2012, alongside a few other minor passages. ==Climatology==

The temperature in the cave is roughly 10°C year-round. Hydrology As of 1977, water was known to run through 36% of the cave. The ponors of the Jaruga doline drain into the Velebitaški kanal and the Pakleni kanal, which also receives water from the southern end of the Staglišče doline. The northern end of the Staglišče doline drains into the deeper parts of Vetrenica, which also receives water from the Ponikve polje. One of the three largest streams in Veternica enters through the Alpinistički kanal. A smaller stream flows through th Kanal iznad Razrušene dvorane. In the 1970s, an experiment was conducted during which the Stream 13 was rerouted into the Fosilna dvorana. ==Geology==

As of 1977, 53.2% of the cave was in dolostone, the rest being at the dolostone-limestone contact or in limestone. layers I-D were deposited during the Würm glaciation, This is layer G. layer B and the humus layer A formed in the Holocene. ==Paleontology==

Anthropology Layers H, I and J The remains were radiocarbon dated to the Roman period in 2024. 9 Mousterian One of the charcoal samples is too old for 14C dating, with a minimum result of 50 ka BP. The same applies to the chert and quartz implements discovered in layer D, although layer D also included one fire pit. At the very end of the NW passage, there was a walled Neolithic graveyard with strewn human bones, The skeletal remains of five recent individuals (three males, one woman and one child) unearthed in 1949 were likewise found near the entrance. This was in addition to a number of Panthera spelaea bones, The Crocuta spelaea specimen found in layer F remains unconfirmed. ==Fauna==

Vertebrates 18 species of bat have been recorded in Veternica, of which 12 regularly hibernate in the cave. The bat population was discovered to be in decline in 2003. To protect the bats, winter visits to the cave were banned in 2004, and a bat-friendly gate was put in place in 2005. In January 2019, the R. hipposideros population consisted of 1290 individuals, but after 15 years of constistant growth a drop to 528 individuals in January 2021 was noticed. Over the next three winters, the population continued to decline. Летучая мышь в стене ущелья.jpg|Myotis emarginatus Rhinolophus euryale.jpg|Rhinolophus euryale Rhinolophus ferrumequinum 3 (cropped).jpg|R. ferrumequinum Малък подковонос от пещера Водната пещ.jpg|R. hipposideros Rhinolophus mehelyi.jpg|R. mehelyi Invertebrates It is the only known locality for Pseudosinella dallaii , described at this site. though in 2014 this was shown to be Chthonius raridentatus . Niphargus likanus , Plusiocampa cf. nivea , Troglophilus cavicola . Heteromurus nitidus (38303282682).jpg|Heteromurus nitidus Mesoniscus graniger Serbia 01.jpg|Mesoniscus graniger Scoliopteryx libatrix 2836 16 010 Zackeneule (cropped).jpg|S. libatrix Troglophilus cavicola Kollars Hoehlenschrecke m Felsenkeller-1911-12 20220413.jpg|Troglophilus cavicola Microfauna The Veternica cave is home to at least 47 protist species. The highest diversity (36 species) and abundance (>500 individuals/mL) is found in those sinter pools richest in bat guano. The most widespread protist is Euglypha laevis . Sphatidium sp. are only found in clay pools. A. rotundata is restricted to a hygropetric habitat. Amoebozoa Amoebozoa include the Veternica endemic Centropyxis bipilata and a number of other species: Arcella artocrea , A. rotundata , Centropyxis aculeata , C. aerophila , C. constricta , C. elongata , C. laevigata , C. plagiostoma , Cochliopodium sp., Cryptodifflugia oviformis , C. pusilla , C. sacculus , Cyclopyxis eurystoma , Cyphoderia ampulla , Difflugia oblonga , D. cf. pristis , Diplochlamys sp., Diplophrys sp., Euglypha bryophila , E. laevis , E. rotunda , E. tuberculata , cf. Flamella sp., Frenzelina sp., Heleopera sp., Korotnevella sp., Mayorella sp., Microchlamys patella , Microcometes paludosa , Plagiopyxis declivis , Pyxidicula sp., Rhizamoeba sp., Tracheleuglypha dentata , and Trinema lineare , T. enchelys , Vahlkampfia sp., Vanella sp. Collection Penard MHNG Specimen 88-2-2 Centropyxis aculeata.tif|Centropyxis aculeata Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3 (Centropyxis bipilata).jpg|Centropyxis bipilata from Veternica Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3D.jpg|Cryptodifflugia oviformis from Veternica Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3 (Cyphoderia ampulla).jpg|Cyphoderia ampulla from Veternica Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3 (Difflugia oblonga).jpg|Difflugia oblonga from Veternica Collection Penard MHNG Specimen 403-3-6 Euglypha laevis.tif|Euglypha laevis Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3 (Euglypha tuberculata).jpg|Euglypha tuberculata from Veternica Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 3E.jpg|Trinema lineare from Veternica Ameba, Trinema Enchelys.jpg|Trinema enchelys Heliozoa Heliozoa include Acanthocystis myriospina and Raphidocystis marginata . Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 4 (Acanthocystis myriospina).jpg|Acanthocystis myriospina from Veternica Protists (10.3897-subtbiol.42.78037) Figure 4 (Raphidocystis marginata).jpg|Raphidocystis marginata from Veternica Ciliophora Ciliophora include Cinetochilum margaritaceum , Colpoda steini , Cyclidium glaucoma , Euplotes sp., Glaucoma sp., Litonotus lamella , Nassulida sp., Pleuronema sp., Pyxicola sp., Sphatidium sp., Vorticella sp. Cinetochilum magaritaceum - 400x (9001020746).jpg|Cinetochilum margaritaceum Cyclidium glaucoma - 400x (10003533313).jpg|Cyclidium glaucoma Litonotus lamella - 160x (23750442880).jpg|Litonotus lamella Heterokonta The cave is also home to the Stramenopiles species Actinophrys sol and the Heterotrophic Flagellate species Peranema trichophorum . Actinophrys sol.jpg|Actinophrys sol ==Selected works==

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