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Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some evidence that karst may occur in more weathering-resistant rocks such as quartzite given the right conditions.
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their composition, structure, physical properties, history, ecology, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). The term speleology is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of exploring caves, but this is more properly known as caving, potholing, or spelunking. Speleology and caving are often connected, as the physical skills required for in situ study are the same.
A stalagmite is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist of lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat.
At 150.4 miles (242.0 km), Lechuguilla Cave is the eighth-longest explored cave in the world and the second deepest in the continental United States. It is most famous for its unusual geology, rare formations, and pristine condition.
Snottite, also snoticle, is a microbial mat of single-celled extremophilic bacteria which hang from the walls and ceilings of caves and are similar to small stalactites, but have the consistency of nasal mucus. In the Frasassi Caves in Italy, over 70% of cells in Snottite have been identified as Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, with smaller populations including an archaeon in the uncultivated 'G-plasma' clade of Thermoplasmatales (>15%) and a bacterium in the Acidimicrobiaceae family (>5%).
Sistema Ox Bel Ha is a cave system in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is the longest explored underwater cave in the world and ranks second including dry caves. As of January 2024 the surveyed length is 496.8 kilometers (308.7 mi) of underwater passages. There are more than 160 cenotes in the system.
Zacatón is a thermal water-filled sinkhole belonging to the Zacatón system - a group of unusual karst features located in Aldama Municipality near the Sierra de Tamaulipas in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. At a total depth of 339 meters (1,112 ft), it is one of the deepest known water-filled sinkholes in the world.
Sistema Sac Actun is an underwater cave system situated along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with passages to the north and west of the city of Tulum. Discovery of a connection to Sistema Dos Ojos in 2018 made it the longest known underwater cave system. As of January 2023, it is the second longest underwater cave system in the world, only surpassed by Sistema Ox Bel Ha.
Dr. Hazel A. Barton is an English born microbiologist, geologist and cave diving explorer, interested in extremophile microorganisms. She is a Professor and Director of the Integrated Bioscience Program at the University of Akron and has appeared in several documentaries.
Penelope J. Boston is a speleologist and astrobiologist. She was associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico, along with founding and directing the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro. Among her research interests are geomicrobiology of caves and mines, extraterrestrial speleogenesis, and space exploration and astrobiology generally.
The Wittenberg University Speleological Society (WUSS) is a student-run grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS) created in 1980, dedicated to the advancement of speleology. WUSS has more than 500 members, current and past students, faculty and staff of Wittenberg University, as well as community members dedicated to the scientific study, exploration, and preservation of caves and karst environments. The organization is based out of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
The Butler Cave Conservation Society (BCCS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Virginia corporation dedicated to the conservation, exploration, survey, preservation, and scientific study of the caves and karst in and around Burnsville Cove, Virginia.
Tears of the Turtle Cave is located in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in western Montana and is currently the deepest known limestone cave in the United States since passing New Mexico's Lechuguilla cave in 2014. As of August 2024, the cave is known to be 2,477 feet (755 m) deep and 1.88 miles (3,030 m) long. The cave consists mostly of narrow fissure passages passing over approximately 50 short rope drops. The cave has a temperature of 37 °F (3 °C), and it is muddy and poorly decorated.
Matthew D. Covington is an American speleologist, most known for his work in hydrogeology and geomorphology, especially in the field of mathematical modeling of karst systems, as well as by his contribution to Cueva Cheve project in Mexico, since 1999.
Nora Noffke is an American geologist who is a professor in the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Noffke's research focuses on the sedimentology of biofilm forming sedimentary structures in modern aquatic environments, where clastic deposits dominate. Such structures occur in the fossil record as well. Her studies are interdisciplinary combining sedimentology with microbiology, geochemistry, and mineralogy.
Patricia Kambesis is an American caver, cartographer and educator.
Annette Summers Engel is an American earth scientist who is Donald and Florence Jones Professor of Aqueous Geochemistry at the University of Tennessee. Her research considers how microbes interact with rocks and minerals. She was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2019.
Friars Hole Cave System is a cave in West Virginia's Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties. First surveyed in the 1960s, it is one of the longest in the United States and the world.
Kathleen Hoey Lavoie was an American microbiologist and explorer who was Professor of Biological Sciences at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Lavoie was a Fellow of the National Speleological Society and the Cave Research Foundation. She was a specialist in biospeleology, and, in particular, the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
References
- ↑ Barton, Larry (2011). Microbial ecology. Diana E. Northup. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-01582-7. OCLC 757394257.
- 1 2 "NSS Science Awardees". caves.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ↑ Northup, Diana E (2002). Geomicrobiology of caves (Thesis). OCLC 51209753.
- ↑ "SLIME Team People". www.caveslime.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- 1 2 "The Explorers Club -". explorers.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ↑ "Diana Northup on Nova". biology.unm.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- 1 2 "NOVA | Mysterious Life of Caves | The Lives of Extremophiles | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ↑ "Diana Northup". extraordinarywls.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ↑ "NSS Fellows Awardees". caves.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ↑ "2015 Luminary Series - Diana Northup". National Speleological Society. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ↑ TEDx Talks (2011-10-26). TEDxABQ - Dr. Diana Northup - Using your Passion to Mentor . Retrieved 2024-10-01– via YouTube.
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