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Post by dhparker on Apr 20, 2007 6:44:36 GMT -5
Ok. This is probably another really silly question. Here goes, anyway.  Admittedly I haven't been in many caves, only show caves, but my overwhelming "sound" memory is WATER--dripping, gurgling, splashing. Also voices sounded a little hollow and echo-y, especially in the larger caverns. What else might my character hear while she's alone in her wild Missouri cave? Bats? Other creatures? Things I've never even thought of? When you get tired of my dumb questions, let me know and I'll creep away.  |
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Post by Azurerana on Apr 20, 2007 7:24:21 GMT -5
Auditory hallucinations. I'm serious. It's part of the sensory deprivation experience. Far off water often manifests as vocal murmur, just beyond the ability to be sensical. Visual hallucinations are not uncommon, either, after being alone, in the dark, beyond about 45 minutes or an hour.
Sound travels fairly well through rock. If the cave is anywhere near a road, railroad, or other surface sound producing device, you can hear it underground.
And falling rocks...when rocks let go from the ceiling. Think ka-BOOM...BOoom ..boom...boom...booom...
Its the weirdest sound.
I forgot. You can hear earthquakes underground, too.
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Apr 20, 2007 8:05:40 GMT -5
Actually you ask some pretty good questions.  Yes she would hear the bats in the cave (echolocation). If they were flying close to the character she may even hear the sound of their wings as the bat flew by her. She may hear the bats hanging from the cave wall make a hissing noise if she was too close. There's a list of other animals that could be roaming in the cave - so she might possibly hear hodags, raccoons, coyotes, panthers, etc, etc. Depends on what might in the cave with her. Alone in a cave (hallucinations) she may think she hears footsteps or people talking - when there is no one else around. Cavers often refer to this as the Little People. ;D As Az mentioned the character could hear rocks as they tear away from the mud and then when they fall. A rock tearing away from a muddy wall makes one noise and it hitting the floor another. And she could also hear pebbles as they dislodge and fall to the cave ledge or cave floor. One time when we were surveying and mapping a small cave we heard the trampling hoof's, whinnies, and nostril exhales of the heard of horses above ground.  |
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Post by dhparker on Apr 20, 2007 19:03:12 GMT -5
WOW!! Have I said lately how thankful I am to have found this place?  I'm sure glad I asked that question. Your answers have opened up so many more possibilities. Auditory hallucinations--fantastic! And calling the noises "the Little People" is perfect since one of the characters is Irish. Hearing the horses or an earthquake if you were alone underground could cause some tense moments, too--especially if you didn't know such things could happen. About the bat echolocation sounds, some of the things I've read say that they are beyond a human's ability to hear. Maybe it depends on the bat. Or maybe they're talking about some different sound and I just read it wrong. I didn't know about the hissing, either, which could be fun for my poor heroine. So, THANK YOU! |
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Post by gillip on Apr 20, 2007 20:09:45 GMT -5
I always find it amazing how running water eventually sounds like voices after a long time underground. I have also noticed that if you are in a very quite cave (usually meaning a dry cave) you will begin to hear things - real things that are so quite that you normally cannot hear them.
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Apr 20, 2007 21:08:42 GMT -5
WOW!! Have I said lately how thankful I am to have found this place? I'm sure glad I asked that question. Your answers have opened up so many more possibilities. Auditory hallucinations--fantastic! And calling the noises "the Little People" is perfect since one of the characters is Irish. Hearing the horses or an earthquake if you were alone underground could cause some tense moments, too--especially if you didn't know such things could happen. About the bat echolocation sounds, some of the things I've read say that they are beyond a human's ability to hear. Maybe it depends on the bat. Or maybe they're talking about some different sound and I just read it wrong. I didn't know about the hissing, either, which could be fun for my poor heroine. So, THANK YOU! Bats use many frequencies for echolocation to differentiate their signal from others. They do make audible chirps and squeaks we humans can hear though. The hissing seems to be a warning to back off when threats are near. They are often very cute and cock their heads side to side when observing us while hanging. Then again some bare their teeth to try and scare us away. I have observed some bats that fly right at your head and turn away at the last second in what I presume to be an attempt to scare off visitors approaching a colony of bats. Eventually they give up and go warn the colony which stirs them all up. For the cavers out there these observations were made at safe times for bats and during studies of a few bat colonies with bat experts. No bats were harmed. |
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Post by Azurerana on Apr 21, 2007 13:10:21 GMT -5
Every so often, some media outlet runs a story about how there are only 15 places in the world where you cannot hear human made sound--airplanes, hums, etc., not just the rattly jabber of the typical suburb or city.
And every time I heard it, I just grin-- if you discount the noises your own body makes-- breathing, gurgles, heartbeat-- I know of tens of thousands of places where you cannot hear human made sound-- in CAVES! (I actually was in a forest before the leaves came about about a month ago--for 5 minutes, there was no sound there--no breeze, no birds, nothing. COOOL!)
gillip-- hence the 'babbling brook!' Actually, I know of one Ozark place where a large spring pool
emerges into a branch over a gravel substrate, through big rocks and aquatic plants-- If you sit there for an hour or so, you can hear an entire water orchestra-- bass rumbles, midrange gurgles and sloshing, piccolo water-metal pings and dings. Yep. People think I'm crazy, but *I* enjoy it!
I've tried making a portable tape recording, but it doesn't have the acoustical range to catch it all.
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Post by Innermostphoto on Apr 21, 2007 22:26:27 GMT -5
A few years back I was on a solo photo trip into Merrybranch Cave. After putting on my wetsuit I proceeded to cave and take pictures along the way until I got to the back of the cave when I started hearing strange noises. Trying not to let it get the best of me I continued photographing all the while the recent story of the Squirrel Man was referencing through my head. (Squirrel Man is a local legend that inhabits the Lost Creek Cave system which includes Merrybranch Cave) The trickling sound of the water soon turned into a menacing roar and I packed up my lights and proceeded to the entrance as I had soon had enough. The noise of my own sloshing through the water made the silence disappear and I was no longer "spooked" at the possibility of someone or something in the cave with me. Having come close to the entrance I decided to take one last picture and that is when I discovered one of my flashes along with a slave unit were missing. The last time I used them was in the back of the cave where my fears got the best of me. I quickly calculated the cost of each item and was hoping I could come to a rational decision how NOT to go back in after the flash unit. Quick coming to my senses ( and hiding my thumbs :0 )I realized this was silly and dashed back to the end of the cave to retrieve my property which was sitting on a ledge just as I had left it. Despite having many subsequent solo trips this was the only one that the noises in the cave really got to me. bob biddix Innermost Imagery www.innermostimagery.com |
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Post by dhparker on Apr 24, 2007 6:36:21 GMT -5
Thanks, again, everybody! These insights and personal experiences are so very helpful. If this book is ever published, U.S. Cavers Forum will definitely have a mention in the "thank you to" part of the dedication page.
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Apr 24, 2007 12:29:01 GMT -5
Thanks, again, everybody! These insights and personal experiences are so very helpful. If this book is ever published, U.S. Cavers Forum will definitely have a mention in the "thank you to" part of the dedication page. Wow, that's a very kind gesture. Thank you! |
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Post by brentwalker500 on Jul 2, 2007 18:13:56 GMT -5
A year or so back Eric Jacobson put together an outstanding 'Sounds of Caving' CD for 'The Georgia Underground'.. Volume 41, Number 1. He covers all of the sounds of a cave in a very interesting way as well as narrating 4 fantastic cave trips including Ellisons. If you (or anyone else for that matter) let me know and I will see if he would allow me to publish them on the web.
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Jul 5, 2007 8:22:32 GMT -5
I'm interested in Eric's sounds of a cave. Please let us know if he lets you publish them on the web. Thanks! |
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