The Evolution of Cave Mapping and Cartography

“Does it go?” Is the initial question that has inspired many a cave explorer to push the extent of a cave system. But the answer only brings more questions…how far, how long, how deep does it go? During the exploration process, as a cave system reveals its complexity, the questions also change – what is the cave’s relationship to the surface, and to surrounding caves? What are the features and obstacles that the cave contains? Those involved in cave exploration know that the only way to answer these questions is with systematic documentation in the form of cave and surface surveys, detailed notes and observations and ultimately cave maps. A cave map not only portrays the geography of a cave, but also shows the location of features within the cave, and illustrates the relationship of a cave other caves and to the surface topography. The basic data that needs to be collected in order to produce a cave map has not changed much since the advent of cave survey and cartography. However, the evolution of survey and computer technologies has changed how caves are mapped and how cave maps are produced. This presentation will provide an overview on the evolution and development of cave mapping and cartography

Urban Karst Challenges: A Remediation Success Story

This trip focused on urban and industrial impacts to Hidden River Cave and what has been called “the greatest cave restoration success story in the United States.” Learn about how the American Cave Conservation Association played an integral role in changing a ‘domestic and industrial sew-er’ back into a healthy cave ecosystem and show cave now visited by thousands of tourists and students each year. Leader: Dr. Pat Kambesis, Chair International Projects, Cave Research Foundation; Instructor of Geography/GIS, Western Kentucky Universit

Exploring Best Practices in Data Management, Integration, and Visualization

Facilitators: Sarah Arpin, Geologist II, Kentucky Geological Survey, and Dr. Pat Kambesis, Center for Human Geoenviron-mental Studies, Department of Earth Environment and Atmospheric Sciences, WKU This workshop intended to help resource managers and researchers consider data from a data-management per-spective. An important focus was exploring tools and techniques for getting the most value out of data. A holisticapproach to storing, accessing, and processing data is key to better understanding, management, and protection of vulnerable resources, environments, and ecosystems. The integration of data of all types, sources, and formats for a unified view was also covered. Visualization of data beyond tables and graphs, using creative 2-D, 3-D, and spatialmaps and models, was explored. Limitations of various software programs used to access, manage, manipulate, andvisualize data were considered. Participants engaged in open discussion of current practices in data management,integration, and visualization, learned from peers, and received instruction on emerging techniques. Bothprofessionals and the public can benefit from community involvement through crowd sourcing data and citizen sci-ence. Making data available through an easy-to-use interface for visualization, searching, and reusability is key to understanding and protecting our natural resources

The Western Kentucky University Crumps Cave Research & Education Preserve

Crumps Cave is located about one kilometer northeast of Smiths Grove, Kentucky (Figures 1, 2, and 3). The only known entrance was purchased by Western Kentucky University (WKU) in 2009 through a grant from the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and the cave is managed as the focal point of a research and education preserve to study a wide range of environmental conditions and dynamics, and their interactions, using high-resolution electronic monitoring along with geochemical sampling, analysis and modeling. Crews from WKU’s Hoffman Environmental Research Institute visit the cave weekly for sampling, data downloading, and equipment maintenance, with a major emphasis on high quality data collection and management. Groups of scientists and students from around the country and world visit the cave on a regular basis for educational activities. The purpose of this extended abstract is to summarize the major data collection programs underway at the cave

Microbial Atrazine Breakdown in a Karst Groundwater System and Its Effect on Ecosystem Energetics

In the absence of sunlight energy, microbial community survival in subterranean aquifers depends on integrated mechanisms of energy and nutrient scavenging. Because karst aquifers are particularly sensitive to agricultural land use impacts due to rapid and direct hydrologic connections for pollutants to enter the groundwater, we examined the fate of an exogenous pesticide (atrazine) into such an aquifer and its impact on microbial ecosystem function. Atrazine and its degradation product deethylatrazine (DEA) were detected in a fast‐flowing karst aquifer underlying atrazine‐impacted agricultural land. By establishing microbial cultures with sediments from a cave conduit within this aquifer, we observed two distinct pathways of microbial atrazine degradation: (i) in cave sediments previously affected by atrazine, apparent surface‐derived catabolic genes allowed the microbial communities to rapidly degrade atrazine via hydroxyatrazine, to cyanuric acid, and (ii) in low‐impact sediments not previously exposed to this pesticide, atrazine was also degraded by microbial activity at a much slower rate, with DEA as the primary degradation product. In sediments from both locations, atrazine affected nitrogen cycling by altering the abundance of nitrogen dissimulatory species able to use nitrogenous compounds for energy. The sum of these effects was that the presence of atrazine altered the natural microbial processes in these cave sediments, leading to an accumulation of nitrate. Such changes in microbial ecosystem dynamics can alter the ability of DEA to serve as a proxy for atrazine contamination and can negatively affect ecosystem health and water quality in karst aquifers

Cars and Karst: Investigating the National Corvette Museum Sinkhole

On February 12th, 2014, a sinkhole occurred at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The collapse happened inside part of the building known as the Skydome and eight Corvettes on display were lost into the void that opened in the concrete floor. In this region of Kentucky, known as the Pennyroyal sinkhole plain, subsidence and cover collapse sinkholes are commonly found throughout the landscape. This iconic karst region in the United States is also home to Mammoth Cave, the longest cave in the world, and thousands of other caves and karst features. Investigation of the sinkhole collapse began immediately while the Corvettes were extracted from the debris cone inside the void. Techniques used for investigation included water jet drilling, downhole cameras and drone footage, a microgravity surface survey, and mapping of the void and accompanying cave. After exploration of the sinkhole by karst researchers and compilation of the data, the cause of the sinkhole was determined to be a cave roof collapse in a breakout dome. The cave underlying the collapse is about 220 feet (67 m) long and 39 feet (12 m) wide on average with an average depth of 65-85 feet (20-25 m). The structural integrity of the bedrock (thinly interbedded limestone and chert located at a contact between two major limestone units) is lacking in the area. Talus and breakdown are abundant in the cave in which the sinkhole formed. The progression of the roof failure likely occurred over a long span of time, eventually giving way due to a variety of conditions, including speleogenetic and climatic factors. Current remediation is underway and involves filling the sinkhole with gravel and sand, then installing a micropile supported concrete slab floor under the building. Future changes to the structure will be monitored to detect any activity