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Post by jonsdigs on Apr 13, 2010 18:08:35 GMT -5
NZ Cavers Discover 1km Deep CaveTopNews 4/13/2010 Submitted by Medha Sood New Zealand cavers have marked history by discovering a 1km deep cave in a mountain west of Nelson, which has been recognized as the deepest in the country, so far. The discovery has been made by a team of three cavers, Kieran McKay, Aaron Gillespie and Troy Watson, who traced a link between two already identified caves in the Ellis Basin, on Mt Arthur in Kahurangi National Park. The new cave discovery stretched from 775m to 1026m entering the list of top 80 deepest caves across the world. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Mar 24, 2010 9:52:59 GMT -5
Subterranean SurprisesScientists are discovering that caves more complex than we ever imagined may yield vast riches about the origins of lifeBy Evan Hadingham Smithsonian magazine, October 2002 By Kevin DowneyA few miles south of Lovell, Wyoming, near the Montana border, the Burlington Northern railroad begins a gradual climb out of pastures and cottonwood groves. The track rises into a honey-colored gorge cut through Madison limestone, a formation already ancient by the time dinosaurs roamed Wyoming’s seashores, then passes above an underground chamber, 30 feet below, known as Lower Kane Cave. The cave entrance is nearly invisible, a crack almost buried by the steeply piled rubble of the railway embankment. Stumbling down this ankle-twisting slope behind a team of scientists, I squirmed feetfirst through the 30-inch crack. Bent double and fumbling my way forward in the gloom, I slipped into a fast-moving stream and floundered on all fours before finding enough room to stand upright on the mud bank. My eyes soon adjusted to the dim glow of my headlamp, but my skin remained sticky; unlike most caves at this latitude that stay pleasantly cool year-round, the temperature in Lower Kane hovers at an uncomfortably humid 75 degrees. An acrid, rotten smell stuck in my throat. Full Story & More Photos
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Post by jonsdigs on Mar 18, 2010 13:53:40 GMT -5
Pair Sentenced for Killing Endangered Bats at Carter CavesTwo men have been indicted on federal charges of killing endangered bats at Carter Caves State Park. Mar 18, 2010 WSAZ News Staff ASHLAND, Ky. (WSAZ) – Two men convicted of killing more 100 endangered bats at Carter Caves State Park learned sentences Thursday. Lonnie Skaggs, 31, of Sandy Hook, Ky. was sentenced to eight months in a federal prison and one year of supervised release during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Ashland. Kaleb Dee Morgan Carpenter, 20, of Olive Hill, Ky. received three years probation during the hearing. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Mar 15, 2010 19:10:09 GMT -5
Budapest: Cave Diving in the Capital3/15/10 Global Adventures Molnar Janos CaveBudapest (Global Adventures): Dating back to Celtic origins, Budapest was the capital of Lower Pannonia during the Roman Empire. In the 15th century, the town developed into a center of Renaissance humanist culture. After nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, Budapest became the second capital of Austria-Hungary. Today, it is home to 1.7 million people and the capital of Hungary. The Danube River still divides the Buda district on the west bank from Pest district on the eastern side. Margaret Island can be seen from either side and provides green space in the heart of the city. Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest also features 80 geothermal springs and the world’s largest known thermal water cave system. Since the hills of Buda consist mainly of limestone and dolomite, water seeping through cracks dissolved minerals and created many caves over thousands of years, the most famous ones are Pálvölgyi and Szemlőhegyi. So far, more than 170 caves have been found in Budapest’s underground, and many are still waiting to be explored. Full Article
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Post by jonsdigs on Feb 18, 2010 18:13:00 GMT -5
Bat fungus could wipe out huge ally in Tenn. agricultureInsect-eating machines are at risk with white nose syndrome
By Anne Paine THE TENNESSEAN February 18, 2010 Cave and Karst Program Manager Cory Holliday sets up equipment to count the number of bats that emerge from a gated cave in Gallatin. (LARRY McCORMACK / FILE / THE TENNESSEAN)A mysterious fungus that has wiped out entire bat colonies in parts of the eastern U.S., has arrived in Tennessee, prompting worries about how a loss of insect-eating bat populations could affect everything from farming to the increased spread of West Nile virus. Two bats that died during hibernation in Worley's Cave, also called Morril's Cave, in Sullivan County have tested positive for the highly contagious white-nose syndrome. The losses that could follow as it spreads could eclipse the estimated 1 million bat deaths over three years from New York state southward, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. That's because Tennessee has more than 9,600 caves, and, unlike in the Northeast, some here can host hibernating colonies of 100,000 bats or more each winter. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Feb 16, 2010 17:43:16 GMT -5
White Nose Confirmed in Tennesseeby Blake Farmer WPLN News February 16th, 2010 Tri colored bat with White Nose Syndrome in Worley's Cave, Sullivan County. Credit TWRA/Sterling DanielsA mysterious fungus that’s been killing bats by the hundreds of thousands across the Northeast has reached Tennessee. State biologists have confirmed the first cases of White Nose Syndrome in the state. Three tri-colored bats were found dead in upper east Tennessee with the characteristic white nose associated with the killer fungus. They had been hibernating in Worley’s Cave, which is located in Sullivan County and frequented by cavers. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Feb 11, 2010 18:34:24 GMT -5
Cave research suggests fast-forming glaciersFebruary 11, 2010 CBC News A geologist peeks out from the water of a pond in a cave on the island of Majorca. Research done in the caves may change the way geologists think about glacier formation. (Tony Merino)Scientists studying the history of sea levels in Spain say they've found evidence that glaciers can form and melt faster than previously thought. The research done in caves on the Spanish island of Majorca suggests that the sea level 81,000 years ago was more than a metre higher than it is today. The sea level rises when glaciers melt and falls when glaciers form. Between the last warm interval, 125,000 years ago, and the last ice age, 20,000 years ago, the sea fell by about 130 metres. Read more:
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 20, 2010 18:41:26 GMT -5
Cave Reveals Southwest's Abrupt Climate Swings During Ice AgeSarah Truebe, a geosciences doctoral student at the University of Arizona, checks on an experiment that measures how fast cave formations grow in Arizona's Cave of the Bells. (Credit: Copyright 2010 Stella Cousins.)ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2010) — Ice Age climate records from an Arizona stalagmite link the Southwest's winter precipitation to temperatures in the North Atlantic, according to new research. The finding is the first to document that the abrupt changes in Ice Age climate known from Greenland also occurred in the southwestern U.S., said co-author Julia E. Cole of the University of Arizona in Tucson. "It's a new picture of the climate in the Southwest during the last Ice Age," said Cole, a UA professor of geosciences. "When it was cold in Greenland, it was wet here, and when it was warm in Greenland, it was dry here." Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 2, 2010 19:13:30 GMT -5
Archaeologists: 50,000 Years Old Volcanic Cave Discovered in Syria By H. Sabbagh Sunday, 03 January 2010 Syria (Damascus) - The Syrian Society for Exploration and Documentation discovered recently in Sweida city (Southern Syria) the largest volcanic cave in the country, naming it Soua'ada Cave. Secretary of the Society Khaled Nuwailati said the exploration and documentation committees organized a walk in December 18 2009 after receiving information on undiscovered caves in that area. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 16, 2009 23:52:41 GMT -5
Authorities: Man falls into pit in Ky. cave, dies(AP) 12/16/09 TATEVILLE, Ky. — A man slipped into a deep pit and was killed Wednesday while exploring a treacherous southeastern Kentucky cave, officials said. Crews worked for hours to recover the body of Steven Troxell, 21, who died of blunt force trauma, said Pulaski County Coroner Richard New. Troxell and two companions were walking inside the Sloans Valley cave when he fell into the cone-shaped, 30-foot-deep pit. His companions called 911 about 3 p.m. EST, officials said. The coroner said the three were not experienced cavers. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Dec 16, 2009 20:43:27 GMT -5
Authorities Searching for Man Lost in Kentucky CaveAssociated Press/Fox News Wednesday, December 16, 2009 BURNSIDE, Ky. — Emergency officials have responded to the scene of an accident in the Sloan's Valley cave system in southeastern Kentucky. The sheriff's department couldn't immediately provide details about the incident near Burnside. WLEX-TV reported that three people entered the caves Wednesday morning but two of them later called emergency workers for help, saying a companion had fallen from a ledge. Search and rescue teams entered the cave in the afternoon but couldn't locate the man on their first attempt. They returned to the cave for another try and had searched 2 miles into the cave by early evening. Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Nov 20, 2009 16:10:13 GMT -5
Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe PoopRichard A. Lovett National Geographic News November 20, 2009 Colorful cave deposits long thought to be ordinary minerals are actually mats of waste excreted by previously unknown types of microbes, scientists say. Bright orange blotches coat the lava-rock walls of Gruta do Carvão in São Miguel, one of the Portuguese Azores islands, in an undated picture.
The discovery could offer clues in the search for life on Mars and beyond, researchers said in October at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. "We're finding that you need to look at things you might write off as not being biological—they might be biological," said Penelope Boston, a cave scientist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Nov 12, 2009 20:32:42 GMT -5
New Find at Sulphur Caveby Jennie Lay Steamboat Magazine, Steamboat Springs, CO A smelly Steamboat curiosity yields an extraordinary scientific discovery. The cave's unique worms are believed to live on sulfur's chemical energy, similar to the way tube worms live without light at the bottom of the ocean.SULPHUR CAVE has never been a big secret. Cavers know it’s in downtown Steamboat Springs – a small, malodorous hole near the base of a travertine slope that is Howelsen Hill, Colorado’s oldest operating ski area. But at a mere 10,000 years young, it isn’t as old, pretty or big as other caves. It also has other things keeping it off most spelunkers’ radar. “The signs that say you could die in there are very persuasive,” says Rocky Mountain Caving editor Richard Reinhart. Then veteran caver Mike Frazier came to Steamboat in 2001 and changed everything. Climbing inside Sulphur Cave for a quick peek, Frazier spotted snotties, soft colonies of microorganisms that hang inside caves and resemble the gooey nose drippings for which they are named. Snotties are so globally rare (there are only two other known instances in Colorado, one in Mexico and one in Italy) that it raised scientific curiosity. In 2007 a team of scientists, cavers and photographers took on the task of exploring this local labyrinth. To date, the team has ventured inside four times using highly specialized gear to combat a toxic atmosphere that burns clothing (and skin) as it condenses and drips, and blackens pocketed pennies. This fall, the team learned that their pain has yielded an extraordinary scientific gain. The expedition initially focused on the snotties, but the big discovery is worms. More specifically, scientists found squirmy clumps of red worms bearing rare bacteria, known as extremophiles, which may live on hydrogen sulfide. A few species like this live in hydrothermal vents along the Pacific’s mid-ocean ridge, but Sulphur Cave’s worms may turn out to be Earth’s first animals dependent on hydrogen sulfide ever discovered on land. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Oct 27, 2009 12:57:49 GMT -5
Bats reintroduced into Vermont caves hit by fungus10/27/09 By MICHAEL HILL (AP) ALBANY, N.Y. — Wildlife biologists studying a mysterious fungus killing off hundreds of thousands of bats around America want to find out if they can repopulate caves decimated by the disease. Researchers will introduce 79 healthy little brown bats to two hibernation sites in Vermont hit hard by the fungus, which may have killed as many as 500,000 bats in the eastern United States over several winters. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Oct 6, 2009 21:25:43 GMT -5
Bats set up homes on the highwayBats born under bridges are larger and grow faster than those born in caves10/5/09 By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News Concrete bridges could make better roosts for certain species of bat than natural caves, according to research. Scientists in the US monitored the birth weight and growth of bat pups that were born under bridges over busy freeways, and pups born in caves. They found that, rather than the relatively noisy man-made roosts being detrimental to the animals, pups born in bridges were larger and grew faster. The findings are reported in the Journal of Zoology. Full Story & Video
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Post by jonsdigs on Sept 14, 2009 2:47:42 GMT -5
Bat experts watch health of Northwest coloniesAfter Northeast bat colonies suffer a deadly infection, a local bat study takes on new urgency.By Sandi Doughton Seattle Times science reporter A little brown bat rests in the green-gloved hands of specialist Pat Ormsbee.ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMESWENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST —The tiny male bat didn't expect to wind up in a biologist's hand when he set out in search of a nighttime snack along Box Canyon Creek. After being snagged in a net, weighed and measured, the unhappy creature gnashed its teeth and squirmed as Pat Ormsbee stretched its wing for inspection. The light from a headlamp shone through the translucent tissue, revealing bones tinier than toothpicks. "This is one of the key things we need to be looking for," Ormsbee said, scanning for rips or scars that could signal infection with white-nose syndrome, the mysterious blight that has devastated bat colonies in the northeastern United States. Full Story + More Pics & Video
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Post by jonsdigs on Sept 8, 2009 21:39:21 GMT -5
Great tits found hunting bats for foodIan Sample The Guardian (UK) 9/9/2009 In a cave in Hungary hibernating pipistrelle bats are falling prey to the odd eating habits of great tits. Photograph: AlamyIn British gardens they are welcome visitors, stopping off to sing and snack on the caterpillars. But in a remote cave in Hungary they are exhibiting some unusual behaviour. There, great tits have turned into predators who search out and eat roosting bats. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Aug 13, 2009 14:26:52 GMT -5
Cave Complex Allegedly Found Under Giza PyramidsRossella Lorenzi Discovery News Aug. 13, 2009 Caves at Giza | Discovery News Video An enormous system of caves, chambers and tunnels lies hidden beneath the Pyramids of Giza, according to a British explorer who claims to have found the lost underworld of the pharaohs. Populated by bats and venomous spiders, the underground complex was found in the limestone bedrock beneath the pyramid field at Giza. "There is untouched archaeology down there, as well as a delicate ecosystem that includes colonies of bats and a species of spider which we have tentatively identified as the white widow," British explorer Andrew Collins said. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 13, 2009 7:31:04 GMT -5
Future of The Cave Next Door in hands of CongressAssociated Press - July 12, 2009 MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Federal officials would like to see The Cave Next Door in southwestern Oregon become part of the Oregon Caves National Monument. Even though the cave is part of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the caves monument could be expanded to include it if Congress passes an expansion bill. Monument officials say the National Park Service supports the bill. The U.S. Forest Service managed the monument until 1933, when its administration was turned over to the park service. Park Service officials say preserving the cave is a high priority. link
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 12, 2009 23:16:10 GMT -5
The Cave Next DoorJuly 12, 2009 By Paul Fattig Mail Tribune (OR) Man hopes 10-year quest to find 'the big one' will culminate sometime this year during 100th anniversary of the creation of the Oregon Caves National MonumentDavid Hodges climbs down a 57-foot shaft he dug near the Oregon Caves National Monument, hoping to find the mother lode: a cave big enough to rival the Oregon Caves. Photo: Jamie LuschDavid Hodges isn't always up to climbing down into the nearly six-story vertical shaft in the mountain. "There are times when I haven't been here for a few months and it's raining, everything is wet and slick, I look down that hole and say, 'Nope, not today,' " said the rural Cave Junction resident. After all, the shaft plunges 57 feet straight down into the bowels of the Earth in a fashion that would curl the toes of Gimli, the stout dwarf who was at home in mountain tunnels of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But the bearded Hodges, with steel gray eyes, also is made of stout stuff. It's a rare day when he backs off climbing down the shaft to continue his 10-year quest: to unveil a cave that could rival the Oregon Caves. And in his gut, he knows he's very, very close. "I believe this might possibly be the biggest cave in Oregon," he said. Full StoryFor more information on the Cave Next Door, visit www.cavenextdoor.org. The site includes photos taken of the cave, as well as how to contact David Hodges.
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 10, 2009 9:48:50 GMT -5
Salem, N.H. girl spends hours stuck in caveThe Eagle-Tribune (MA} By J.J. Huggins July 10, 2009 GORHAM, N.H. — A Salem, N.H. girl spent about three and a half hours stuck in a cave yesterday, according to a state police press release. Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Miller was hiking and exploring small caves on Pine Mountain around 4 p.m. when she got stuck in a tight spot locally referred to as "the lemon squeeze." This cave is located at the base of a small rocky outcropping just north of Pine Mountain, the press release said. Full Story
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Post by jonsdigs on Jul 10, 2009 5:18:25 GMT -5
Bat cave party leads to arrestsRutland Herald (VT) By Brent Curtis Staff Writer July 10, 2009 DORSET — A drinking party at the bat caves off Dorset Hill Road late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning led to three arrests, a number of citations and a broken police cruiser windshield, according to state police. Four state police troopers and one officer from Manchester were called to the caves about 11 p.m. for reports of heavy, loud and "reckless" traffic on the remote roadway leading to them. "Many of the cars were driving recklessly and well over the speed limit with music blaring from within," Trooper John-Paul Schmidt said in a statement on the incident. Schmidt said officers found several vehicles parked at a trailhead along the road that leads up to the caves. As the officers prepared to set off up the trail, people in trucks, sport utility vehicles, on ATVs and on foot began returning to the cars. Schmidt said "most" were under the age of 21 and the "majority" showed signs of alcohol and other drug use. More
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