First Geological Society of Washington meeting of the new academic year
September 23
http://www.gswweb.org/
Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

Virginia Region of the National Speleological Society caving convention (but without the caving)
September 25-27
http://www.varegion.org/var/events/FallVAR/FallVAR.shtml
Battle of Cedar Creek Campground (Route 11, between Strasburg and Middletown, Virginia)

New York State Geological Association meeting
September 25-27
http://www.newpaltz.edu/geology/nysga.html
New Paltz, NY

Virginia Geological Field Conference
October 2-4
http://web.wm.edu/geology/vgfc/2009.php
Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat. Park, VA

Labels: caves, gsw, new york, shenandoah, structure, virginia

This was forwarded to me today; I'm posting it as a "public service announcement" for local cavers:


Prepared by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Natural Heritage Program in consultation with members of the caving community and staff from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). This statement is supported by the Virginia Cave Board, the Virginia Speleological Survey, the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias, the Board of the Virginia Region of the National Speleological Society, and the Butler Cave Conservation Society.

White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a condition that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds-of-thousands of bats in the northeastern United States since 2006. It is associated with a Geomyces sp. fungus that grows at cold temperatures and colonizes the skin of animals in cold environments. This is consistent with properties predicted for a causative agent of WNS-associated cutaneous infection. More on WNS can found here.

This winter cases of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) have been confirmed in Pendleton County, West Virginia. In February, surveys of significant bat and recreational caves in adjacent Highland and Bath counties in Virginia discovered what appears to be WNS in Breathing Cave in Bath County, located near the Highland County border. On March 3 in response to caver reports of dead bats, a survey of Clover Hollow Cave in Giles County identified a second apparent WNS outbreak. Specimens from both sites have been sent to USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin for analysis.

This winter, 18 Virginia caves in Giles, Bland, Page, Wise, Lee, Bath, and Highland counties have been surveyed for WNS. So far, signs of WNS have only been observed in Bath and Giles counties. However, since Highland County lies directly between Bath County and Pendleton County, West Virginia, along the same belt of karst, it is likely that WNS is present there as well. There is mounting evidence that humans may play a significant role in transmitting biological agent(s) responsible for WNS in bats. The strongest such evidence is that WNS is showing up first in the Virginias in recreational caves with high visitation. It is known that some of those cavers visiting the affected West Virginia Caves had previously visited WNS affected caves in New York. While it is unlikely that humans are the sole or even the primary vector, transmission of the disease by humans may increase both the rate of expansion and geographic extent of WNS.

The Virginia Cave Board and Natural Heritage Karst Program are asking for a moratorium (a voluntary ban) on all underground caving activity in Virginia until April 15, 2009. A new statement will be issued on or before that time. Please note that at that time, we may ask to further extend the moratorium. During the moratorium, three tasks will be accomplished.

1. Scientists from DGIF and DCR will work to identify significant bat caves to which access will be limited in an attempt to slow the spread of WNS by humans. A significant bat cave is defined as a cave used by rare or endangered bat species, significant numbers of common bat species, and/or a high diversity of bat species. Input from cavers is sought and encouraged. A list of these caves will be posted on the VAR List of Closed and Limited Access Caves. Please note that many of the significant bat caves are already gated, closed, and/or have limited (seasonal) access.

2. Additional caves will be visited by biologists to better assess the current extent of WNS in Virginia. We will work to temporarily restrict access to caves in which WNS is present.

3. DGIF and DCR scientists will work with other biologists studying WNS to establish and refine protocols to reduce the possibility of transmission of WNS by cavers. The two major protocols under consideration are listed below. Comment on these protocols is welcome, especially during the moratorium period. Cavers choosing not to observe the moratorium are strongly urged to follow these draft protocols. Once the moratorium is lifted, all cavers will be asked to follow protocols to reduce the risk of transmission of WNS.

Draft protocols to reduce transmission of WNS in Virginia by humans

1. Geographic isolation of caving activity and/or gear: Cavers are requested to limit their caving activity to one caving area as defined by a county or group of counties. The designation of caving areas appears at the end of this document. We are asking this because sterilization procedures are likely not 100% effective, especially since neither the specific causal agent nor mode of transmission has yet been definitively identified. Cavers choosing to cave in more than one of the defined caving areas are asked to dedicate a specific set of clothing and caving gear for each respective caving area. If you must go caving in multiple areas, complete disinfection of vehicles is recommended between trips to different areas. Special care should be taken to segregate any cave clothing and equipment dedicated for use in a given area from all other sets of clothing and equipment dedicated for use in other caving areas.

2. Strict adherence to decontamination procedures when moving between caves (even within the same geographically designated area). After exiting one cave and prior to entering another cave, even within a designated caving area, decontamination practices as outlined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be strictly adhered to. ALL equipment must be cleaned! These procedures are posted online here. To reduce the risk of harboring or carrying the disease on their persons, cavers should thoroughly clean and scrub themselves with soap and hot water following each trip to each cave. All clothes worn while traveling to and from the caving area should be laundered as soon as possible following caving trips.

List of Virginia Caving Areas
Alleghany Highlands: Alleghany, Bath and Highland counties
Shenandoah Valley: Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta, and Page counties
Middle James and Roanoke River basins: Botetourt, Rockbridge, Roanoke, Craig (except RT 42 south of Newcastle) counties
New River North: Giles, Montgomery, and Craig counties (only RT 42 south of Newcastle)
New River South: Bland, Pulaski, and Wythe counties
*Holston: Smyth and Washington counties
*Clinch: Scott, Russell, and Tazewell counties
*Powell: Lee and Wise counties
_________________________________________________________________________________
* - These areas are in the upper Tennessee River basin, and include the northeastern boundary of the range of the Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens). This species is not yet affected by WNS. If you are caving in these areas, please only cave in these areas. If you are not caving in these areas, please do not start.

Labels: caves, disease, mammals, virginia, west virginia

Yesterday, I mentioned the results of the Virginia DGMR symposium's breakout session on Blue Ridge geology. Today, for completeness' sake, I'll also post the results of the other two breakout sessions (one on the Valley and Ridge province, and one on water issues):

Session 2: Unresolved Issues in Valley and Ridge Geology
In general, the consensus was that continued support for detailed geologic mapping is needed, which provides essential information for a number of major issues that need to be resolved. Major issues discussed during the Breakout Session generally fell into one or more (much overlap) of the following categories:

Geologic Framework:
Need to find better ways to communicate the value of geologic mapping (e.g. beyond the anticipated development along the I-81 Corridor).
Better communication between geologists working in the BR and VR regarding the timing and influence of major tectonic events; presently somewhat disconnected.
Evaluate the influence of basement normal faults.
Better understanding of the sequencing of thrust faults in the VR.
Better understanding of the transition between brittle and ductile fracturing in the VR.
Influence of the Rome Trough on VR structural framework.
Better understand the link between Allegheny Front and BR overthrust.
Better define stratigraphic units with economic and geohazard potential that are currently lumped (e.g. SDu, Ols, etc).
More focus on deep stratigraphy, where there is potential for deep saline aquifers that may provide geologic storage of CO2.

Geologic Hazards:
Identify, evaluate, and prioritize geologic hazards in VR.
Karst/sinkhole digital database; better understanding of the interplay between geologic controls and land use.
Large block slides, recognizing risk areas.
Better understand the nature of brittle on ductile fractures in context of subsidence risk along the western margin of the Blue Ridge
Quaternary history (e.g. evaluation of flood risks)

Economic:
Better understand the distribution of high-Ca limestones; not just limited to the middle-Ordovician units.
Stratigraphic relationships between Devonian shale units (e.g. Millboro, Marcellus)
Evaluate occurrences and distribution of non-polishing aggregate resources.
Evaluate occurrences and distribution of high purity silica (glass sands); (e.g. depositional character of the Oriskany).

Other:
Source and structural implications of Eocene-age igneous rocks (Highland Co) and alkaline dikes (Augusta Co).
Need for improved educational outreach.

Session 3: Integrating Geologic and Hydrologic studies - Benefits and Challenges
The group was divided into geologic information providers, hydrologic information providers, and hydrogeologic information users. The provider groups developed a list of the most important types of information they provide. The User group developed a list of the most important types of information they need. Based on the results of this exercise and the interest of the group, the remainder of the meeting focused on addressing gaps in available information for end users.

Geologic data providers provide:
Geologic formation information - descriptions, structure data, "cover" materials
Fracture/joint data and analysis
Detailed and regional maps
Ground truth on karst features

Hydrologic data providers provide:
Well data - location, yield, logs, geochemistry
Spring data - location, discharge, geochemistry, dye trace results
Water use information - ground water and surface water
Technical /Assistance
Hydrographs

Users of hydrogeologic information need:
Geologic maps at an appropriate scale.
Water well data - yield, depth to water table, etc.
Hydrographs

Users noted the following characteristics of information would be helpful:
Widely available and accessible information (Internet)
Standardized - uniformity of format and methodology (example pumping tests) on at least a statewide basis
Geologic descriptions and maps could include a characterization of saprolite.

Providers and users believed there was good agreement between the type of information that is being provided and that which is needed. The clear problem was recognized to be a lack of data in many places and the lack of easily accessible information (digital format, available on internet)
To address this problem, it was suggested the users of hydrogeologic information may be able to provide some assistance, such as:
Well data - construction characteristics, yield, drawdown, geochemistry over time
Soil data - maps, field notes
GIS Capabilities and data processing - especially county governments.

An identified issue:
Disconnect in some cases between geologists and soil scientists

Next Steps:
Water for America initiative may be an opportunity for geologic and hydrologic data providers to work together at the state level and provide hydrogeologic information to end users.

Based on USGS efforts in Northern Shenandoah Valley, integrated studies have both benefits and challenges. A future meeting to highlight these may be helpful to state level geologists and hydrologists.

Labels: caves, conferences, geology, valley and ridge, virginia, water resources

Just got this on my RSS feed: a nice tutorial on sinkholes, from the website How Stuff Works.

Labels: caves, florida, geology, websites

On the way back up from the VGFC this weekend, we briefly detoured off the interstate (81) to go up Route 11, and across a singular natural feature in Virginia: Natural Bridge. This is a span of limestone going over a creek (and because it spans a watercourse, it is thus not an arch, but a bridge).

Unfortunately, this is all we saw of it:


The bridge is privately owned, and it's fenced off from view from Route 11, in spite of the fact that the road actually goes over the bridge. So we drove across it, but we couldn't really tell. And we didn't feel like stopping and paying the $$ to get in to see it from underneath.

In spite of that disappointment, what's pretty cool about the area is that it shows up well in this Google Maps "terrain" view:


Kind of wild: a natural bridge that's actually used as a bridge...

Labels: caves, limestone, valley and ridge, virginia

This weekend, I took 14 NOVA students caving in West Virginia. We hit three caves in the vicinity of Franklin, WV, on Saturday. On Sunday, we headed out towards Spruce Knob to experience two terrific caves: Stillhouse and the Sinks of Gandy. Here are some photos (and a video) of those last two caves.

Stillhouse Cave:









The sinkhole out of which we crawled...


Whose helmet is that emerging?


It's Hope!


A Cecropia caterpillar (according to What's That Bug?) that Tiffany found:

Sinks of Gandy:

The crew poses at the entrance. Gandy Creek flows through the entire cave!






Exiting into the light and trees and humidity and cows:


Ricky Q, caver man extraordinaire:


Video of the final watery exit from the Sinks:

I had a great time on this trip: felt like we all really bonded and had a fun adventure. Thanks to all the students who went and to the Student Activities counselor who co-led the trip with me, Jessie Zahorian! It was fun!

Labels: caves, field trips, nova, travel

NOVA students: This is a reminder that I'm going to be leading a two-day caving trip through the Annandale campus' Office of Student Activities. The trip runs from 8am on Saturday, September 13 to about 7pm on Sunday, September 14. We'll be going to a series of caves near Franklin, West Virginia: Trout, New Trout, Hamilton, and Keys. We'll also drive out to the Spruce Knob area to take in Stillhouse Cave and the Sinks of Gandy (which has a river flowing through it). I've led this caving trip many times over the past 15 years; it's awesome. Last time I took students there was for a GMU GeoClub trip in Fall 2005. Some photos from that trip are available here.

There is space for about 15 students on the trip. The trip has a cost of $35, which covers all food except for Saturday's lunch (bring that in a bag). For dessert on Saturday night at the campground, I'll be fixing Grandma Bentley's famous peach cobbler. If you're interested in going, please contact Jessie Zahorian in the Office of Student Activities at 703-323-3484 or jzahorian [AT] nvcc.edu. First come, first served! Other denizens of the geoblogosphere: sorry, but it's only open to NOVA students.

Labels: caves, nova, west virginia

NOVA students: I'm going to be leading a two-day caving trip through the Annandale campus' Office of Student Activities. The trip runs from 8am on Saturday, September 13 to about 7pm on Sunday, September 14. We'll be going to a series of caves near Franklin, West Virginia: Trout, New Trout, Hamilton, and Keys. We'll also drive out to the Spruce Knob area to take in Stillhouse Cave and the Sinks of Gandy (which has a river flowing through it). There is space for about 15 students on the trip. The trip has a cost of $35, which covers all food except for Saturday's lunch (bring that in a bag). For dessert on Saturday night at the campground, I'll be fixing Grandma Bentley's famous peach cobbler. If you're interested in going, please contact Jessie Zahorian in the Office of Student Activities at 703-323-3484 or jzahorian [AT] nvcc.edu. First come, first served! Other denizens of the geoblogosphere: sorry, but it's only open to NOVA students.

Labels: caves, nova, west virginia

Now that I'm back in DC, I can actually start downloading the photos I took all summer. Here's some from the first two days of my summer's travels, in Kentucky at Mammoth Cave.

There was a big cicada emergence happening there. This insect is 17 years old!


Cicadas weren't the only wildlife. I also saw a Tyrannosaurus rex in the trees near Cave City.


On the Wild Cave tour, we entered Mammoth Cave in a roomy passage, but were soon crawling through very small tunnels...


Caving attire: tres chic.


Fossil coral weathering out of the roof of the cave...


"Snowball" concretions on the ceiling of the Snowball Room, where there is a subterranean cafe. I had a bowl of soup and a Snickers bar from their extensive menu.


The Snowball Cafe featured a bathroom, too. I was struck by the contrast between the modern tile and ceramic fixtures and the looming limestone ceiling...


The group of folks (not one of whom I knew) after we got out of the cave and back into the sultry Kentucky summer air.

Labels: caves, critters, dinosaurs, kentucky, travel

Howdy folks,

I've been on the road for several days now, and thought it would be time for an update. On my first day, I got up at the crack of dawn and drove from DC out to Winchester, Virginia, where my brother lives, and had breakfast with him and his family. After saying goodbye to my passel of nieces, nephews, and the dogs Cubby and Slick, I hit the road proper. Down the Shenandoah Valley on I-81, then west on I-64 across the wide part of West Virginia. This was the Valley and Ridge province, and it's hell on the gas mileage. I dropped from 54 mpg to 53.5 by the time I got out the Allegheny Plateaus. I also saw the most expensive gas I've seen so far: $4.75 a gallon for regular unleaded. (The lowest I've seen is $3.78.)

After crossing the border into Kentucky, I deviated to the south, and around 8pm EST (7pm CST), I pulled into Mammoth Cave National Park. I got a campsite, set up the tent, and popped a bottle of homebrew. (I brought my last six bottles of Whatchagot Ale with me.) There was a racket coming from the trees: a 17-year cicada emergence was in progress, and the seething insects pulsated as they coordinated their shrill call: positively primordial. For my evening's entertainment, I attended the Park Service's "campfire" program. (Today, "campfire" means "PowerPoint slideshow," which has its advantages and its disadvantages.) It was a hot and humid night's sleep.

The next morning, I got up and made some coffee. After breaking camp, I took a hike down to the "River Styx," an emergent spring where a stream of water flows out of Mammoth Cave and into the Green River (the same Green River, by the way, of John Prine fame). I also passed one of the many entrances to the Mammoth Cave system, and felt an amazing cool breeze oozing out of the hole and flowing down a classic solution valley towards the Green River. At 10am, my tour of the cave began. Mammoth offers multiple tours of different parts of the cave at different activity levels. I signed up for the gnarliest one on offer: the so-called "Wild Cave" tour. (Tuff Cookie presciently recommended this to me, though I had in fact reserved it a couple of weeks ago.) The Wild Cave tour is different from most Mammoth tours because it's real caving, with crawling and mud and tight squeezes, and climbing skills. You've got to be reasonably fit and trim for the Wild Cave tour to work. Joining me where 11 other people with various backgrounds, including seven from the ESPN auto racing circuit. They had a fun, jocular attitude, with a lot of mutual joshing and teasing.

I was struck by a few things about Mammoth: (1) It's really big. But that's why we bother going there, and why it's a national park (it's the longest cave system in the world), so this is no big insight. (2) It's got a lot of gypsum in it. In many places, "flowers" of gypsum crystals sprout from the ceiling and walls. I asked, where's the sulfur coming from? The guides said there was a pyrite rich layer above, which was being leached by rainwater. (3) There's not a lot of stalactites in Mammoth. I've spent a lot of time in caves in West Virginia, and there are many places in them where it's nothing but stalactites. I'm not sure what's up with that, but it was noteworthy to me. (4) There are some HUGE rooms in Mammoth, with ceilings that are easily five or six stories tall. Very impressive; cathedral-like. (5) Mammoth Cave has been a tourist destination for a LONG time. People have been trekking to this destination long before there was a road network to bring them there. Back in the day (late 1700s and early 1800s), people arrived via the river rather than overland. Some of the cave was developed early on to support these visitors. Nowadays, the Park Service continues this tradition with paved walkways, lighting, and even a subterranean cafe in "sacrifice" areas of the cave. My tour passed in and out of these areas throughout our six-hour expedition.

After exiting the cool cave back into the Kentucky afternoon heat, I took a shower (the best $2 I've spent so far on the trip!) and popped into the Prius for some more driving. I headed north again, crossing briefly into Indiana, and then Illinois. I spent the night at a hotel near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Yesterday morning, I got up and drove west all day, back on I-64 and then on I-70. I crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis, and then crossed Missouri. Into Kansas after that: it wasn't nearly as flat as I remembered it. Part of the insight into Kansas' topography was courtesy of the Prius, which showed me (via the mpg indicator) when I was going uphill and down. A strong headwind lowered my fuel efficiency significantly, dropping it down to 52.7 mpg by day's end. There's a lot of wind out here! I was also struck by the clouds: such crazy, distinctive forms. I can see how if you were growing up here, you could get into meteorology big time. I saw a massive storm system to my south, and the local NPR affiliate was broadcasting storm warnings and tornado watches all afternoon.

I decided to stop for the night in Hays, Kansas, home of fellow geoblogger Ron Schott. As it turns out, Ron is not actually in town this week, but I may be able to hook up with him for some Kansas chalk scouting on my way back east in late July. But there's a lot to do in Hays. For dinner, I went to the Lb. Brewing Company, a craft brewery and brewpub downtown. I got a sampler of eight (small glasses) of their various beers, and enjoyed them all. Most unusual was a lemon beer which tasted a lot like lemonade. After dinner (reading Oceans of Kansas with my turkey panini), I watched another massive storm system pass to the north, with towering gray clouds and sporadic pulses of lightning. Wow.

This morning, I'm off for a run (need to stretch those legs!) and then to the Sternberg Museum of Natural History here in Hays (an affiliate of Ron's university, Fort Hays State University). The Sternberg has a reputation as having awesome fossils from the area's sedimentary strata laid down in the Western Interior Seaway. Looking forward to it.

Next stop: Denver, hopefully by 7pm so I can attend the "Geography Goes Digital" event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. More later...

Labels: caves, kansas, kentucky, prius, travel

The talented science writer Joel Achenbach has a piece on the Washington Post website about new research which suggests the Grand Canyon as an erosional feature is much older (~17 Ma) than we previously thought (~6 Ma). Achenbach's article is based on a study published in today's Science by Victor Polyak, Carol Hill, and Yemane Asmerom, of the University of New Mexico. These researchers* calculated the ages of cave mammillaries (rounded speleothems that form in caves near the water table) with U/Pb isotopic dating to infer when the water table had dropped in the past, implying a deep canyon.

* With all the talk in the geoblogosphere about death-defying geological research, it should be noted these folks were rappelling hundreds of feet down the canyon's cliffs to get to some of these caves...

Anyhow, dates from the calcite deposits suggest that the water table dropped more slowly (and hence the erosion rate must have been slower) in the western canyon than in the eastern section. The western part of the canyon yields inferred erosion rates of 55 to 123 m/Ma, while the eastern canyon's caves yield inferred rates of 166 to 411 m/Ma (about 3 times as fast). The authors interpret this to mean the Grand Canyon formed in two pieces: one started slowly propagating from the west, then another formed from the east (relatively rapidly working its way westward), and the two broke through and met in the middle, yielding the Canyon we know and love.

The photo above is a view from one of the sampled caves. [Photo is by Art Palmer, taken from the "Achenblog" site (Joel Achenbach's blog).]

Check out more details here. Or see the NYT's treatment here.

Main reference:
Victor Polyak, Carol Hill, and Yemane Asmerom, 7 March 2008. "Age and Evolution of the Grand Canyon Revealed by U-Pb Dating of Water Table-Type Speleothems." Science, Vol. 319. no. 5868, p. 1377 - 1380. DOI: 10.1126/science.1151248

Commentary in the same issue of Science:
Tim Atkinson and Mike Leeder. 7 March 2008. "Canyon Cutting on a Grand Time Scale." Science, Vol. 319, no. 5868, p.1343-1344. DOI: 10.1126/science.1155286

Labels: caves, grand canyon

An article in the current issue of Current Biology describes a fascinating experiment with profound results. Like the best science, the experiment is simple and elegant. Researchers took blind cave fish from two different cave systems and mated them. The offspring had fully functional eyes. It turns out that different parts of the developmental system had broken down in the eye-producing mechanisms of these two different fish populations. In essence, they represented two different evolutionary trajectories. Technically, a certain spot in the genes for making one part of the eye mutated in one population of cave fish, and another spot (or "locus") mutated in a second population. The fish were both blind, but they were blind for different reasons. What was wrong with one was right with the other, and by breeding them good genes cancelled out bad, at least in some of the offspring. The remarkable implication is that researchers produced sighted fish from two populations that hadn't seen in over a million years! It's a powerful confirmation of their independent origins in different cave systems -- basically a subterranean example of how evolution takes populations of organisms in different directions based on their own individual circumstances and histories.

A summary of the work is found at National Geographic's website, for those of you who don't subscribe to Current Biology.

Labels: caves, evolution