texascavers Digest 11 Mar 2009 19:00:56 -0000 Issue 722
Topics (messages 10321 through 10326):
Death in our comunity
10321 by: bob cowell
March PBSS meeting notice
10322 by: J. LaRue Thomas
Suspension Trauma
10323 by: Minton, Mark
Researchers Study Caveâs âBreathingâ for Better Climate Clues :
10324 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
TSS work session
10325 by: Ron Ralph
Additional information about White Nose Syndrome (WNS)
10326 by: Allan Cobb
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On Friday Margaret Bamberger died in her sleep. Margart wife of J David
Bamberger (Selah Ranch, home of the first man made cave designed to research
bats.) Margaret underwent a long boute of cancer, never ending the fight. She
had a treatment and came home to sleep never awakening. Margaret will be buried
in a green funeral on the ranch with the imediate family in attendence. Please
no flowers anyone may send donations to the ranch care of the Margaret
Bamberger Educational Fund.This hyper link is Margarets have a look leave your
comments. She was a great lady and a good friend http://brp-journal.blogspot.com
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Greetings all cavers, cave people and just folks who are regular except for
an inexpicable desire to learn about or go caving
The 302nd meeting of the Permian Basin Speleological Society will be on
Tuesday March 10th, 7:00 PM in the back room at Murray's Deli which is
located at 3211 West Wadley in Midland.
Topics of discussion: More ICS trip leader trainings for Deep Cave, DUES!
Next 5M dig date maybe April 18th, DUES! Other cave stuff?
For further information contact an officer: Jacqui Thomas
[email protected] , Sharon Long sharon_long2006 at yahoo.com , or Bill
Bentley caver at caver.net
PBSS web page:
http://www.caver.net/pbss/pbss.html
The Permian Basin Speleological Society was founded in October 1983 and was
chartered as the 300th grotto of the National Speleological Society on
January 18, 1984. The Permian Basin Speleological Society is an affiliated
Grotto or Caving club with the Texas Speleological Association and the
Southwestern Region of the National Speleological Society and supports the
cave conservation ethics of the National Speleological Society.
National Speleological Society web page:
http://www.caves.org/
Texas Speleological Association web page:
http://www.cavetexas.org
Southwestern Region of the NSS web page:
http://www.caves.org/region/swr/
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There's an interesting PowerPoint show on dealing with suspension trauma
(harness hang syndrome) at <http://www.suspensiontrauma.info/training/>. It's
the last link on the left (under Submenu) or
<http://www.suspensiontrauma.info/training/suspension-trauma.zip>.
Mark Minton
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Researchers Study Cave’s ‘Breathing’ for Better Climate Clues
Newswise — A University of Arkansas researcher studying the way caves “
breathe” is providing new insights into the process by which scientists study
paleoclimates.
Katherine Knierim, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, together
with Phil Hays of the geosciences department and the U.S. Geological Survey
and Erik Pollock of the University of Arkansas Stable Isotope Laboratory, are
conducting close examinations of carbon cycling in an Ozark cave. Caves “
breathe” in the sense that air flows in and out as air pressure changes.
The researchers have found that carbon dioxide pressures vary with external
temperatures and ground cover, indicating a possible link between the carbon
found in rock formations in the caves and seasonal changes. They presented
their findings at a recent meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The movement of carbon in cave systems is controlled by the concentration of
carbon dioxide. When conditions are right, this carbon can be deposited as
layers in stalagmites, stalactites and soda straws. These layers resemble the
rings found in trees, except that they can date back millions of years, hold
information about cave conditions.
“People have been using these formations as paleoclimate records,” Hays
said. However, researchers make an assumption when they do so.
“The problem is that you have to assume you are getting even carbon and
oxygen isotope exchange,” Knierim said. Isotopes, or atoms of the same type but
with slightly different weights, are found in plants, animals, organic matter
and rocks. Different types of material have unique “signatures,” or
proportions of a particular atom at a particular atomic weight.
By looking at carbon isotope ratios in cave topsoils, the cave atmosphere and
the stream within the cave, Knierim and her colleagues will be able to
determine the different contributions of carbon sources to the formations.
This
will help scientists develop more accurate paleoclimate conditions from cave
formations.
A greater knowledge of how carbon cycles through cave systems also will help
scientists develop better methods for watershed management.
The researchers are in the geosciences department of the J. William Fulbright
College of Arts and Sciences.
_http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/549811/_ (http://www.newswise.c
om/articles/view/549811/)
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Cavers,
There is a scheduled second Wednesday work session of the Texas
Speleological Survey March 11th, tomorrow, at the JJ Pickle Research Center
on Burnet Road north of highway 183. We will put together the PowerPoint
presentation for ICS and could use some assistance. We will copy all of Hays
County files for the new data manager and continue to update electronic
files. Come by and see if you would like to organize one of our cave rich
counties. And both sale and the library will be open. If you attend, you
will be able to work on your own projects as well. The door will be open at
5:00 p.m. and stay open till we adjourn.
The TSS office phone is 475-8802 if you get lost or stopped by the guard.
Remember it is best to arrive before 6:00 pm, or the gate guards might not
let you in! If you have questions or problems, please contact me at
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] or call my cell phone
(512.797.3817) or go to
<http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/tss/tsscalendar.htm>
http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/tss/tsscalendar.htm for additional
information.
Ron Ralph
Cell: 797-3817
Map to the place is at: http://www.utexas.edu/maps/prc/ On PRC map 2 ("NW
Area"), 18-A is the little building just above the "ra" in "Granberry". Park
to the south in the PETEX lot across the street (Read Granberry Trail) from
building 18-A
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Peter Youngbaer, NSS WNS Liaison, has requested that the following information
be sent out on the Grotto Conservation Network (GCN). Please forward this
info out to your membership.
For Jim Werker and Val Hildreth-Werker, NSS Conservation Co-Chairs
Steve Smith
GCN Coordinator
..........................................................................
Dear Val and Steve,
It would much appreciated if you could send the following out to the
conservation and grotto networks. While plenty of people search out the NSS
WNS website and other WNS pages and chats, many cavers also get news through
their grottos and local list servers. We really need to make sure we are
communicating through as many channels as possible. Thanks very much for your
help. Peter
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
White Nose Syndrome has now been confirmed in several new states this
winter: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. A likely
site has also been reported in Virginia. Wildlife officials in Illinois have
closed all but one of their caves to the public. Further reports are likely
before the end of winter. What had been limited to the northeast is quickly
becoming a far more national issue.
Below is a link to an excellent, in depth, and up-to-date report on WNS
including the latest research findings. It includes photographs from West
Virginia, and interviews with several of the leading WNS researchers. Some of
what they report was discussed at length in a national WNS webinar on February
20 in which over 45 university and laboratory researchers, federal and state
wildlife officials, and ngos BCI and the NSS participated.
http://www.earthfil es.com/news. php?ID=1529&category=Environmen
t>http://www.earthfil es.com/news. php?ID=1529&category=Environmen t>
As cavers and cave conservationists across the country are unfortunately
becoming more personally affected by the reach of WNS, it is important to
re-emphasize the need to clean and decontaminate clothing and gear. The USFWS
has protocols on this for cavers and researchers working with bats which can
be found at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/whitenosemessage.html.
Please know that we understand these protocols are challenging and
inconvenient. They are being examined for better efficacy, and to balance the
biological containment needs with safety, have been updated, and are likely to
change again as more is learned about WNS. Please check the site regularly
before caving.
A number of states have suspended their regular winter bat surveys in
order to prevent further spread of WNS as much as possible, and to permit
hibernating bat colonies under stress from being disturbed further. While it
may be likely that WNS will continue to spread on its own - bat to bat - we
can do our part to help slow it down, possibly buying time for the research to
catch up.
Cave clean, cave safely, and cave softly. Thank you.
Peter Youngbaer NSS 16161
NSS WNS Liaison
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