Post by Sharon Faulkner on Nov 3, 2006 8:43:51 GMT -5
WKU and China work together for water quality
By Byron Crawford
November 3, 2006
South-central Kentucky and southwestern China have something in common: major karst systems -- or cave landscapes -- through which rainfall is funneled into a vast network of limestone caverns.
And both have Western Kentucky University geology students studying their underground streams, developing methods of improving the quality and availability of water.
When WKU geosciences professor Chris Groves, director of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, and some of his students first visited southwestern China in 1994, they found that the region's immense caves were the only source of water for millions of rural families who are living below China's poverty level, the equivalent of about $75 a year. "In some cases they're having to walk several miles each way to get every drop of water that they're using, not just what they're drinking," said Groves. "I've been to places where they literally have to climb down a cliff on a switchback trail, 600 or more feet in elevation to a cave entrance, go into the cave, fill up a jug of water, come back out and retrace that climb 600 or 700 feet up and then back to the village."
Over the past 14 years, a group of 54 American and Chinese exchange students and researchers have visited each other's cave systems, partnering in mutually beneficial education and problem-solving. "The water is there, but they can't get to it. What they're lacking in many cases is access to information, and in some cases, electricity," said Groves.
Earlier this month, the Western Kentucky University China Environmental Health Project, with assistance from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's office, was awarded a grant through the U.S. Agency for International Development to continue its field research, training exchange and assistance in hydrology development. The project, managed by WKU scientist Wie-Ping Pan, is a collaborative effort with the China Environment Forum of the U.S. and the Institute of Karst Geology of China.
So far, Groves and his colleagues have not been in a cave in China that is known to be as extensive as Kentucky's Mammoth Cave system, but they have seen several passageways that dwarf the Mammoth Cave corridors. "Individual passages can just be awesome -- 300 feet or more wide, and the ceilings so high that you can't even see them," said Groves. "Some of their sinkholes have vertical walls that are 2,000 feet deep."
WKU graduate geology student Pat Kambesis, who has conducted workshops in China relating to the karst environment, said unwise surface practices on both continents have harmed cave water resources. She noted that a Chinese government edict, years ago, that all trees be cut in many areas to provide fuel for industry has left a scarred landscape. "There are places where there are no trees anywhere, as far as you can see," she said. "That's caused a huge problem with erosion."
Having slept in villages and shared meals with rural families in China, Groves said the interaction on a person-to-person basis has been "fantastic." "Part of the reason why I've continued to try to do this work and build up this program over the last ten years is that I love China and have had just really positive experiences there," he said. "In fact, my wife and I have a little adopted daughter from China."
Article
By Byron Crawford
November 3, 2006
South-central Kentucky and southwestern China have something in common: major karst systems -- or cave landscapes -- through which rainfall is funneled into a vast network of limestone caverns.
And both have Western Kentucky University geology students studying their underground streams, developing methods of improving the quality and availability of water.
When WKU geosciences professor Chris Groves, director of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, and some of his students first visited southwestern China in 1994, they found that the region's immense caves were the only source of water for millions of rural families who are living below China's poverty level, the equivalent of about $75 a year. "In some cases they're having to walk several miles each way to get every drop of water that they're using, not just what they're drinking," said Groves. "I've been to places where they literally have to climb down a cliff on a switchback trail, 600 or more feet in elevation to a cave entrance, go into the cave, fill up a jug of water, come back out and retrace that climb 600 or 700 feet up and then back to the village."
Over the past 14 years, a group of 54 American and Chinese exchange students and researchers have visited each other's cave systems, partnering in mutually beneficial education and problem-solving. "The water is there, but they can't get to it. What they're lacking in many cases is access to information, and in some cases, electricity," said Groves.
Earlier this month, the Western Kentucky University China Environmental Health Project, with assistance from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's office, was awarded a grant through the U.S. Agency for International Development to continue its field research, training exchange and assistance in hydrology development. The project, managed by WKU scientist Wie-Ping Pan, is a collaborative effort with the China Environment Forum of the U.S. and the Institute of Karst Geology of China.
So far, Groves and his colleagues have not been in a cave in China that is known to be as extensive as Kentucky's Mammoth Cave system, but they have seen several passageways that dwarf the Mammoth Cave corridors. "Individual passages can just be awesome -- 300 feet or more wide, and the ceilings so high that you can't even see them," said Groves. "Some of their sinkholes have vertical walls that are 2,000 feet deep."
WKU graduate geology student Pat Kambesis, who has conducted workshops in China relating to the karst environment, said unwise surface practices on both continents have harmed cave water resources. She noted that a Chinese government edict, years ago, that all trees be cut in many areas to provide fuel for industry has left a scarred landscape. "There are places where there are no trees anywhere, as far as you can see," she said. "That's caused a huge problem with erosion."
Having slept in villages and shared meals with rural families in China, Groves said the interaction on a person-to-person basis has been "fantastic." "Part of the reason why I've continued to try to do this work and build up this program over the last ten years is that I love China and have had just really positive experiences there," he said. "In fact, my wife and I have a little adopted daughter from China."
Article