texascavers Digest 27 Feb 2009 05:40:54 -0000 Issue 717
Topics (messages 10265 through 10277):
Re: The East<--West<--Texas-->East-->The West
10265 by: Don Arburn
10266 by: wa5pok.peoplepc.com
Re: New caving group starting up in East Texas :
10267 by: Aimee Beveridge
up in East Texas :
10268 by: Gill Ediger
Re: Brinco Otra Vez--Plz Fwd
10269 by: Geary Schindel
Trip leader training trip to Deep and Punkin for April 11-12
10270 by: Geary Schindel
Unusual ecosystem found in underwater Great Lake's sinkholes :
10271 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
More on Lake Huron sinkhole ecosystems :
10272 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
Re: Bat Conference in April
10273 by: Minton, Mark
Re: Wilderness Medicine Course
10274 by: Minton, Mark
A Great Opportunity
10275 by: speleosteele.tx.rr.com
10276 by: speleosteele.tx.rr.com
2009 Western Bat Working Group Conference and Wind Energy Workshop :
10277 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Begin Message ---
WTF is a Shinner!?
On Feb 24, 2009, at 7:19 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Ahhhhh shoot, I'll make it all real simple. If it ain't in Houston,
then
its a suburb of Houston ... ; ) ... anybody got another Shinner?
Later, ~F~
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Ahhhhhhhh, that durnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnn key is stickennnnnnnnnn
againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn .... now I have another keyboard ... ain't my
fault .... Shiner - a Texas medicinal fermented carbohydrate
beverage .... BTW ... H town is still anenxing land, I think the city
limits are getten' close to NYC and SD ...
> WTF is a Shinner!?
>
> On Feb 24, 2009, at 7:19 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Ahhhhh shoot, I'll make it all real simple. If it ain't in Houston,
> > then its a suburb of Houston ... ; ) ... anybody got another
> > Shinner?
> >
> > Later, ~F~
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail:
> [email protected] For additional commands,
> e-mail: [email protected]
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
And, Kevin was a former Chair-Thang for the UT Grotto!
--- On Tue, 2/24/09, Kevin W Stafford <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Kevin W Stafford <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] New caving group starting up in East Texas :
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 6:49 AM
For clarification --- I am not a New Mexico transplant, I am a Texan who
went to Grad School in New Mexico and returned to Texas this past
fall. Of course some would question if deep east Texas is really
Texas!!
We will see if the students can create a real cave club. Arkansas is
as close as Deep and Punkin for us here, so there are possibilities for this
group to go caving in either direction. Of course we only have sandstone
caves here in our backyard, which is not exactly the same as living in Austin
and becoming addicted to caving.
Cheers,
Kevin
On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:40:30 -0500 [email protected] writes:
A new university student group is forming in East Texas under
the guidance of Kevin Stafford, recent New Mexico transplant and newest
Director of the Texas Speleological Survey.
Jerry.
____________________________________________________________
Put your loved ones in good hands with quality senior assisted living. Click
now!
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
At 06:49 AM 2/24/2009, Kevin W Stafford wrote:
Of course we only have sandstone caves here....
Maybe you could build a house in it.
--Ediger
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Gill,
What are you hauling that you need someone to ride shotgun and aren't
guns a big problem in Mexico right now.
G
-----Original Message-----
From: Gill Ediger [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 5:28 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Texascavers] Brinco Otra Vez--Plz Fwd
Please pass this request on to any club or regional caver forum you
might be on.
I've got to go back down to Conrado Castillo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
within the next week and probably won't have a chance to return
before the upcoming Spring Break trip leaving the 13th. I need a
rider in the worst sort of way. Consider that the fuel and most of
your food will be paid for--you just gotta ride. I have to go down
anyway and badly need someone to ride shotgun. You don't even need to
be a caver.
Will leave from Austin ASAP and return about the 23rd March. You
could bus back earlier if necessary--actually, anytime after we get
there. Questions? Email, or call:
410-303-1177
--Ediger
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--- Begin Message ---
Folks,
I've scheduled a trip leader training trip for Deep Cave and Punkin Cave
for Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12. Here is a good
opportunity to visit the property and train to be a trip leader at Deep
and Punkin Cave. Reservations are required as there is a limit of 24
people on the property at any given time. Trips into the cave will be
scheduled for April 11 and 12.
Deep and Punkin Nature Preserve are located in Edwards County near the
community of Carta Valley. The property is approximately 35 miles
southwest of Rocksprings and the same distance from Del Rio. There is
camping on the property and a cabin with bunk space availability on a
first come first served basis (with exception to those with special
needs).
For more information on Deep and Punkin or other TCMA caves, you may
visit the TCMA web page at www.tcmacaves.org
Please feel free to email or call with any questions.
Geary Schindel
Property Manager
210-479-2151 home
210-326-1576 cell
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
_Scientists spot bizarre ecosystem in Great Lake’s sinkholes_
(http://silverscorpio.com/scientists-spot-bizarre-ecosystem-in-great-lakes-sinkholes/)
By _admin_ (http://silverscorpio.com/author/admin/) on February 25th, 2009
11 views
Washington, Feb 25 (ANI): Scientists have detected sinkholes that host
exotic and bizarre ecosystems below the surface of Lake Huron, the third
largest
of North America’s Great Lakes, where the fish typical of the huge freshwater
lake are rarely to be seen.
Instead, brilliant purple mats of cyanobacteria, which are cousins of
microbes found at the bottoms of permanently ice-covered lakes in Antarctica,
and
pallid, floating pony-tails of other microbial life thrive in the dense, salty
water that’s hostile to most familiar, larger forms of life because it lacks
oxygen.
According to Bopaiah A. Biddanda of Grand Valley State University, in
Muskegon, Michigan, groundwater from beneath Lake Huron is dissolving minerals
from
the defunct seabed and carrying them into the lake to form these exotic,
extreme environments.
Those ecosystems are in a class not only with Antarctic lakes, but also with
deep-sea, hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.
“You have this pristine fresh water lake that has what amounts to materials
from 400 million years ago being pushed out into the lake,” said team
co-leader Steven A. Ruberg of the Great Lakes Environmental Research
Laboratory of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The scientists report that some deep sinkholes act as catch basins for dead
and decaying plant and animal matter and collect a soft black sludge of
sediment topped by a bacterial film.
In the oxygen-depleted water, cyanobacteria carry out photosynthesis using
sulfur compounds rather than water and give off hydrogen sulfide, the gas
associated with rotting eggs.
Where the sinkholes are deeper still and light fails, microorganisms use
chemical means rather than photosynthesis to metabolize the sulfurous
nutrients.
Biddanda, Ruberg, and their team are probing the origins of ancient minerals
flowing in from beneath this fresh inland sea, striving to understand how
long ago the minerals were deposited that are now entering the lake and how
fast
the salty brew containing them is arriving.
The scientists also plan to chart transitions from light, oxygen-rich, fresh
water near the lake’s surface to dark, anoxic, salty soup down inside the
sinkholes.
The sinkhole research may shed light on how similar microbial communities can
arise in environments as disparate as Antarctic lakes, deep-sea vents, and
freshwater-lake sinkholes.
“It might also lead to the discovery of novel organisms and previously
unknown biochemical processes, furthering our exploration of life on Earth,”
said
Biddanda. (ANI)
_http://silverscorpio.com/scientists-spot-bizarre-ecosystem-in-great-lakes-sin
kholes/_
(http://silverscorpio.com/scientists-spot-bizarre-ecosystem-in-great-lakes-sinkholes/)
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Sinkholes below Lake Huron hold strange ecosystem: researchers
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | 2:07 PM ET _Comments10_
(http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/25/sinkholes.html#socialcomments)
_Recommend67_ (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/25/sinkholes.html#)
By Sharon Oosthoek, _CBC News_ (http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html)
The Middle Island sinkhole is open to Lake Huron, creating a gradient of
biological activity. A nine-metre boat is also visible in this aerial photo
for
sense of scale. (Scott Kendall/Bopi Biddanda/Grand Valley State University)
Twenty metres below the surface of Lake Huron, scientists have discovered
peculiar sinkholes where a bizarre ecosystem at odds with the rest of the lake
flourishes.
The huge lake's freshwater fish shun the dense, salty, oxygen-deprived waters
of these sinkholes off northeastern Michigan.
Instead, brilliant purple mats of cyanobacteria — cousins of microbes found
at the bottom of permanently ice-covered lakes in Antarctica — and pallid,
floating, ponytail-like microbes thrive.
Groundwater from beneath the lake is dissolving minerals from the ancient
seabed and carrying them into the lake to form these exotic, extreme
environments, says aquatic ecologist Bopaiah Biddanda of Michigan's Grand
Valley State
University, a leader of the team studying the sinkhole ecosystems.
"These are almost primordial Earth conditions, with high sulphur and low
oxygen like in the ancient oceans that covered the Earth three billion years
ago," Biddanda told CBC News.
"It gives us a window into the past and who knows what value it will hold."
The researchers describe this little-known underwater habitat in this week's
issue of Eos, published by the American Geophysical Union.
Although above-ground sinkholes in the area were discovered decades ago, the
submerged sinkholes were only recently uncovered.
Discovered 8 years ago
In 2001, researchers with the Connecticut-based Institute for Exploration
stumbled across them during an underwater archeological survey for shipwrecks
in
Michigan's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Scientists began to explore these sinkholes a couple of years later, finding
some just 20 metres below the surface and others extending 100 metres down,
where the sun never shines.
But their findings have trickled in over the last few years because of the
logistical problems in exploring lakebed sinkholes.
"Finding these little spots in a huge lake — you can't even compare it to
looking for a needle in a haystack," said Biddanda.
The most recent findings show an ecosystem that has more in common with
Antarctic lakes and deep-sea, hydrothermal vents than it does with a freshwater
lake.
"We were amazed to find these brilliant cyanobacteria mats," said Biddanda.
DNA sequencing of the purple mats show they are closely related to mats found
in the ice-covered, oxygen-poor Antarctic lakes.
Biddanda suspects similar ecosystems once existed all around the Earth but
largely disappeared as the planet's atmosphere became increasingly
oxygen-rich.
The team, including researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, suspects similar sinkholes exist under the other
Great
Lakes because, with the exception of Lake Superior, the lakebeds are all
composed of limestone, with ancient aquifers running beneath.
The researchers will continue to study the sinkholes this summer, keeping a
sharp eye out for the possible discovery of never-before-seen organisms and
biochemical processes.
_http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/25/sinkholes.html_
(http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/25/sinkholes.html)
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%3D62%26bcd%3DfebemailfooterNO62)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The following appeared on the NMCaver list and seems appropriate for
Texas cavers as well.
Mark Minton
http://www.wbwg.org/business/biennialmeetings/2009/2009WBWGconference.html
2009 WBWG Biennial Conference (April 15-18) and Bats and Wind Energy Workshop
(April 13-15)
2009 WBWG Biennial Conference and Bats and Wind Energy Workshop Flyer
The Western Bat Working Group, Bat Conservation International, and Texas Parks
and Wildlife are pleased to bring you the 2009 Western Bat Working Group
Conference and Wind Energy Workshop at the Town Lake Radisson in fun-filled
Austin, Texas.
The Bats and Wind Energy Workshop will run Monday April 13th through the
afternoon of Wednesday April 15th. Experts in the field of wind energy and bats
from North America and Europe will present a primer on the current issues
associated with wind energy and bats, provide technical training and
standardized protocols for conducting pre- and post-construction bat surveys,
and for conducting wind energy site assessments. This workshop will provide
state-of-the-art applications for addressing bats and wind energy issues.
We will kick off The 2009 Western Bat Working Group Conference Wednesday April
15th with an evening social (Texas style of course). The platform papers will
begin Thursday morning with a special session on the latest in wind energy
research. This session will include presentations from some of the
international instructors from the special wind energy workshop so that they
have a chance to share their latest research efforts. Platform papers for the
rest of the session will cover a range of conservation, management and research
topics as driven by abstract submissions. Back by popular demand, the Poster
Session will include Technology Demos like we had in Portland in 2005.
Abstracts must be submitted by March 15, 2009 to Michelle Caviness. Your
involvement in the Saturday morning workshop will be especially important this
year as we will be working on a strategy to raise the awareness and prevention
of potential spread of White Nose Syndrome to The West. WNS has continued
spread at an alarming rate and there is a good chance its arrival in The West
could be human caused. We will be addressing questions such as, "who do we need
to reach out to? Partner with? What steps do we need to take to protect roosts?
What are the priority roosts? How can we help to better inventory and monitor
roosts without potentially escalating the very problem?" We will never have a
better opportunity to fight WNS than prior to when it arrives - let's pull
together and make it happen starting Saturday morning, April 18, 2009.
The Bob Berry Fund will be launched with applications being accepted by late
February and the first grants will be awarded at the meeting. Also, you will be
saying adios to the outgoing Officers and welcoming your new Board of Officers.
A bat conference in Austin wouldnâ?Tt be complete without a field trip to
Bracken Cave (Thursday evening, dinner included) and of course we will have
another spectacular auction with amazing items you canâ?Tt possibly live
without â?" if you have something to donate please contact Pat Brown. There is
yet another great bat t-shirt in the works, and Speleobooks will be joining us.
So, get registered, dust off your bat brain, grab your sunscreen, camera, and
cowboy boots and join us in Austin!
Registration Fees:
Student: $160.00
General: $180.00
After March 15:
Student: $180.00
General: $200.00
_______________________________________________
NMCAVER mailing list
[email protected]
http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/nmcaver_caver.net
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Here's another post from NMCavers that might be of interest to Texas
cavers.
Mark Minton
From: Jordan Messerer
Sent: Thu 2/26/2009 2:09 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [NMCAVER] wilderness medicine
The Outdoor Pursuits Center at Texas Tech University will be host a Wilderness
First Responder (WFR) and Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course.
The WFR is an 80 hour course and a national recognized curriculum. This course
will be hosted at our campus in Junction, TX, on March 14-22. The cost is
$525 and includes lodging.
The WFA is a 24 hour course which will be offered in Lubbock on April 4-5.
This class is part Distant Learning which requires viewing lectures by DVD and
taking a pre-test on-line before the hands-on proportion of the class on April
4-5th. The cost of this class is $195 if you registered before March 20th.
This WFA can also be used to renew a WFR.
More information on these course can be found at
http://www.wildmedcenter.com/home.html or you can contact me at [email protected]
_______________________________________________
NMCAVER mailing list
[email protected]
http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/nmcaver_caver.net
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Those of you on this listserv, and it's also in the latest issue of the Texas
Caver, have probably read about our epic trip to Honey Creek Cave last month.
I'm sure that all 27 cavers who helped with the tank haul to the far reaches of
Texas' longest cave will never forget it. This certainly goes for the Houston
caver who goes by the name of Puppy.
Anyhow, if you missed the trip, or if you went, and want to do it again, let me
know. We're doing a repeat of the same trip on June 6. Sign up now. Don't let
Texas caving history pass you by. Challenge yourself.
Know this. One guy has only been caving twice. Both of his trips have been this
tank haul to the upstream HS Sump. And he's coming back a third time. I don't
want to take him caving anywhere else just to keep him pure.
Contact me directly to get on the list of participants or for inquiries.
Bill Steele
Chairman, DFW Grotto
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Those of you on this listserv, and it's also in the latest issue of the Texas
Caver, have probably read about our epic trip to Honey Creek Cave last month.
I'm sure that all 27 cavers who helped with the tank haul to the far reaches of
Texas' longest cave will never forget it. This certainly goes for the Houston
caver who goes by the name of Puppy.
Anyhow, if you missed the trip, or if you went, and want to do it again, let me
know. We're doing a repeat of the same trip on June 6. Sign up now. Don't let
Texas caving history pass you by. Challenge yourself.
Know this. One guy has only been caving twice. Both of his trips have been this
tank haul to the upstream HS Sump. And he's coming back a third time. I don't
want to take him caving anywhere else just to keep him pure.
Contact me directly to get on the list of participants or for inquiries.
Bill Steele
Chairman, DFW Grotto
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
2009 WBWG Biennial Conference (April 15-18) and Bats and Wind Energy
Workshop (April 13-15)
The Western Bat Working Group, Bat Conservation International, and Texas
Parks and Wildlife are pleased to bring you the 2009 Western Bat Working Group
Conference and Wind Energy Workshop at the Town Lake Radisson in fun-filled
Austin, Texas.
The Bats and Wind Energy Workshop will run Monday April 13th through the
afternoon of Wednesday April 15th. Experts in the field of wind energy and
bats
from North America and Europe will present a primer on the current issues
associated with wind energy and bats, provide technical training and
standardized protocols for conducting pre- and post-construction bat surveys,
and for
conducting wind energy site assessments. This workshop will provide
state-of-the-art applications for addressing bats and wind energy issues.
We will kick off The 2009 Western Bat Working Group Conference
Wednesday April 15th with an evening social (Texas style of course).
The platform papers will begin Thursday morning with a special session on
the latest in wind energy research. This session will include presentations
from some of the international instructors from the special wind energy
workshop
so that they have a chance to share their latest research efforts.
Platform papers for the rest of the session will cover a range of
conservation, management and research topics as driven by abstract
submissions. Back by popular demand, the Poster Session will include
Technology Demos like we had in Portland in 2005. Abstracts must be
submitted by March 15, 2009 to Michelle Caviness.
Your involvement in the Saturday morning workshop will be especially
important this year as we will be working on a strategy to raise the
awareness and prevention of potential spread of White Nose Syndrome
to The West. WNS has continued spread at an alarming rate and there is
a good chance its arrival in The West could be human caused. We will be
addressing questions such as, "who do we need to reach out to? Partner
with? What steps do we need to take to protect roosts? What are the
priority roosts? How can we help to better inventory and monitor roosts
without potentially escalating the very problem?" We will never have a
better opportunity to fight WNS than prior to when it arrives - let's
pull together and make it happen starting Saturday morning, April 18,
2009.
The Bob Berry Fund
will be launched with applications being accepted by late February and
the first grants will be awarded at the meeting. Also, you will be
saying adios to the outgoing Officers and welcoming your new Board of
Officers.
A bat conference in Austin wouldn???t be complete without a field
trip to Bracken Cave (Thursday evening, dinner included) and of course
we will have another spectacular auction with amazing items you can???t
possibly live without ??? if you have something to donate please
contact Pat Brown. There is yet another great bat t-shirt in the works, and
Speleobooks will be joining us.
So, get registered, dust off your bat brain, grab your sunscreen, camera,
and cowboy boots and join us in Austin!
Registration Fees:
Student: $160.00
General: $180.00
After March 15:
Student: $180.00
General: $200.00
For more information, see :
_http://www.wbwg.org/business/biennialmeetings/2009/2009WBWGconference.html_
(http://www.wbwg.org/business/biennialmeetings/2009/2009WBWGconference.html)
**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy
steps!
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%3D62%26bcd%3DfebemailfooterNO62)
--- End Message ---
