“California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to a new study by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor Isabel Montañez.” Quoted from the UCDavis press release.
About 30 years ago, oil companies created a brine well beneath an area near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Man-made caverns like this have collapsed nearby, which is causing concern that another collapse may occur.
Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey space scientist, suggests that craters near Mars’ Arsia Mons volcano could be collapse features above caves or lava tubes.
This is a photo slideshow of some new organisms found living underground in the Australian outback. The animals include tiny snails, eels, crustaceans, scorpions, spiders, beetles, cave eels and cave fish. Many of the creatures are eyeless or blind.
The Arizona Geological Survey has lots of geologic hazards information for homeowners and home buyers that can be downloaded and viewed immediately for free from their website.
Their webpage for real estate hazards includes information on floods, earthquakes, problem soils, mass movements, subsidence and earth fissures, radon, karst, abandoned mines, volcanic hazards, radon and more.
The largest cave in the world has been discovered: the Son Doong cave. It is located in Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. This article links to a few photos taken inside the limestone cavern.
A large artificial cave has been discovered near Jericho, in the West Bank. The cave may have initially been an underground quarry, and is thought to date to the year 1 A.D.
“Caves in northern Arizona and western New Mexico are being researched and inventoried by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating agencies. Southwestern caves have been little studied, and scientists are now finding that these lightless and nutrient-poor natural systems are home to life forms found nowhere else on Earth. This research has identified unique communities of arthropods (insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) that include 3 new genera, or groups of species, and at least 15 new species—some only known to exist in a single cave.” Quoted from the USGS release.
Many caves are being closed to the public by the Forest Service to prevent the spread of white nose syndrome in bats. The disease has already claimed the lives of 500,000 bats – that equates to over a million kilograms (2.4 million pounds) of extra insects flying around this summer!
Cave explorers in Vietnam believe that they may have discovered the world’s largest cave passage – 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. This article includes a photo gallery.
Protect your important field notes by writing them in a waterproof notebook with waterproof ink. You work hard to collect important field data, don’t take chances with it. Available in spiral and cloth-bound formats.
Some caves may retain local climate records in their stalagmites. Caves in the Nordeste region of Brazil have evidence of climate history preserved by speleothems.
This narrated slide show gives you a short tour of the Giant Crystal Cave discovered near Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico in 2000. The cave has crystals that are 36 feet long. The narrator is Dr. Chris McKay of NASA.
Thousands of bats have been affected with white-nose syndrome in the northeastern United States, and researchers are still unclear on how the disease is spread. People who come into contact with any bats are advised not to touch them, and inform their local wildlife authority of bats that are dead or seem to be sick. Additionally, special precautions should be taken by anyone who is planning on entering a cave or mine which houses bats.
This image from NASA’s Earth Observatory shows the karst topography of Croatia’s Biokovo mountain range. The mountains, which border the Adriatic Sea, are composed mostly of Mesozoic limestone.
There is a mysterious pillar of salt in Mount Sedom, near the Dead Sea in Israel. The pillar, which stands about 20 meters (almost 66 feet) tall, is likely the result of a karstic cave which collapsed during a large earthquake.
A seven-part YouTube video series titled Under Shnongrim. “…a caving film about exploring underneath the Shnongrim ridge, in the Jiantia Hills, Meghalaya, India. The team consisted of 30 cavers from around the world and some local Meghalayian cavers.”
Go to the YouTube site to see the video full size and navigate to the other six parts.
If you missed the documentary on the enormous crystals within Mexico’s Naica mine, you can read the story at National Geographic’s website. There is also a short video and a photo slideshow of the amazing cave. One of the explorers appropriately described their experience as “if you are a tiny insect in a geode”.
Three scientists explored the “Crystal Cave of Giants” in Mexico’s Naica Mountain for a National Geographic documentary. The cave has some of the largest gypsum crystals in the world – some the size of redwood trees.
A group of explorers has mapped and photographed the depths of the Xe Bang Fai River cave. They found some unique geologic formations within this little-known cave in central Laos.
“Scientists are furthering the ability to detect caves on Earth, the moon and Mars by studying the conditions under which caves are detectable in thermal infrared. Finding caves on Earth is important for locating habitats of bats and other animal populations. Martian cave detection is vital to the search for life
“Outlook”, a weekly television show on West Virgina Public Broadcasting will feature a special program titled “Underground West Virginia”. It will be on at 9:00 PM on Thursday and rerun at 6:00 PM the following Sunday.
Small stalagmites in caves of the midwest United States might be useful for documenting historic earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and possibly provide data for predicting future earthquakes.
There is a mineral formation about four miles long in the Fort Stanton Cave of New Mexico. It is a huge covering of calcite crystals, in which some new species of microbes have been found. This article includes some great photos of the “crystal river”.
This article has a little history about the Fort Stanton Cave, located in New Mexico. It also has a few details about “Snow River” which is supposed to be the single longest cave formation known in the world.
An acoustics expert has visited some paleolithic rock art sites in France, and noticed that the images seem to be concentrated in areas of greater acoustic resonance. This suggests that these areas were chosen as a place for singing and chanting.
This GEOTIMES article features the karst topography in the Guilin area of China. The author recommends combining a trip to the Olympic Games with some geological sightseeing.
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Hobart King
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