speleonet

Volunteers cleaning up bats' home

Via the Cincy Post...

Workers have found a lot of variety in the trash, from soft-drink cans to a cow skeleton, refrigerators and a 17-foot john boat, along with license plates from as far away as New Jersey.

... full text here.

Ultima Patagonia 2006

Excellent 40 page PDF here on Federation Francaise de Speleologie's 2006 expedition to Patagonia's Madre de Dios archipelago. Scroll down for info on the 2008 expedition.

Robotic submarine reaches new depths

Via the New Scientist...

Entering El Zacatón Cenote in eastern Mexico for the first time on Wednesday, DEPTHX dived down to 270 meters, creating the first map of the giant cavity, which is large enough to swallow New York's Chrysler Building.

The maps show that the sinkhole has a sloped bottom, about 290 meters at shallowest and extending down to over 300 meters.

... read more.

... go here for two animated maps detailing the data retrieved during the May expedition.

Naturalists wonder if chlorine gas drove bats from cave

Via the Belleville News Democrat...

"Our noses, eyes and throats were burning," said Forir, a naturalist and cave expert with the Springfield/Greene County Parks Department. "We actually put on our gas masks and were constantly checking on each other. We turned around pretty quickly because we didn't know where the chlorine was coming from."

... read the rest.

It's a bug's life for cave biologist

Via the Courier-Journal.com...

Lewis, 53, whose six secluded acres lie near Borden, agrees his career is odd though hardly silly. His cross to bear, he said with a grin. His is a specialty ever in demand, affording him an interesting, challenging life and one without regret.

... read the rest.

Cavers work to save Lake Cumberland creatures

Via Kentucky.com...

Most don't realize it, but the lowered water level of Lake Cumberland has affected an immense ecosystem below ground.

Those most familiar with this effect are cavers and environmentalists who spend their weekends crawling, climbing and sliding through the Sloans Valley Cave System in Pulaski County.

... rest is here.

Endangered bat species is found in Baxter County cave

Via the Baxter Bulletin.com...

On Thursday, Kampwerth rappelled down a 25-foot shaft into a cave in Northern Baxter County hoping to catch a whiff of that familiar scent.

"I don't smell anything yet," he said as he reached the bottom of the shaft. "Wait. Yeah, there it is. I can smell it."

... rest is here.

2 Clips...

... a short "Wildlife Chronicles" featuring Jill Yeager and others diving a Cuban cenote in search of new species.

... Marty Stouffer's "Wild America" episode 86: Beneficial Bats.

Planet Earth: Caves clip

Here's a portion of the upcoming BBC Planet Earth episode on caves featuring the critters in and around Deer Cave.

 

8 Rivers Sharps Cave Tour

8 Rivers Safe Development.com has posted an excellent tour of Sharp's Cave (text and photos by George Dasher), on their site...

"The photos from inside Sharps Cave clearly show the complex and unique features of this significant cave system," said George Phillips, president of Eight Rivers Safe Development, Inc.

"Obviously, any leaks from the pipeline or overflows from manholes or the pumping station will result in raw sewage entering Sharps Cave causing an immediate and negative impact to the cave and groundwater in the Big Spring Fork Valley.