http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/caving/ Caving news. Learn about the latest cave research and discoveries, spelunking methods and more. en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:05:01 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/caving/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm Not just birds, but also a few species of bats face a long journey every year. Researchers have studied the migratory behavior of the largest extant family of bats, the so-called "Vespertilionidae" with the help of mathematical models. They discovered that the migration over short as well as long distances of various kinds of bats evolved independently within the family. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112131842.htm Alberta is crisscrossed with hidden glacial valleys that hold both resource treasures and potential danger. Researchers discovered a 300-meter-deep valley hidden beneath the surface of the ground near the community of Rainbow Lake in northwestern Alberta. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112131842.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928095214.htm Australian researchers have discovered a huge number of new species of invertebrate animals living in underground water, caves and "micro-caverns" amid the harsh conditions of the Australian outback. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928095214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824115813.htm During a cave diving expedition to explore the Tunnel de la Atlantida, the world's longest submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, a team of scientists and cave divers have discovered a previously unknown species of crustacean, belonging to the remipede genus Speleonectes. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824115813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803185832.htm New research provides even more evidence that a previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus is associated with white-nose syndrome, a condition linked to the deaths of up to 1,000,000 cave-hibernating bats in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Since the winter of 2006-2007, bat populations plummeted from 80 to 97 percent at surveyed bat-hibernation caves, called hibernacula. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803185832.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801185900.htm Infection with Marburg virus and the related Ebola virus can produce severe disease in people, with fever and bleeding. During outbreaks, as many as 90 percent of those infected have died. The natural reservoir for Marburg virus, and its cousin Ebola virus, has been the subject of much speculation and scientific investigation. Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801185900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611142354.htm At times in the distant past, an abrupt change in climate has been associated with a shift of seasonal monsoons to the south, a new study concludes, causing more rain to fall over the oceans than in the Earth's tropical regions, and leading to a dramatic drop in global vegetation growth. Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611142354.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603091254.htm The examination of the fossil remains of rodents and insectivores from deposits in the cave of El Mirón, Cantabria, has made it possible to determine the climatic conditions of this region between the late Pleistocene and the present day. In total, researchers have pinpointed seven periods of climatic change, with glacial cold dominating during some of them, and heat in others. Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603091254.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090529085103.htm A new study is the first to show that there is a previously unrecognized role for environmental pollution in liver disease in the general US adult population. This work builds upon the groups' previous research demonstrating liver disease in highly-exposed chemical workers. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090529085103.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515084039.htm How will the Netherlands, dominated by water, be affected by future climate change? Dutch researcher Martin van Breukelen hopes to answer that question by analyzing stalagmites from the South American Amazon tributaries in Peru as a way to reconstruct climate changes in the past. Sat, 16 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515084039.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502190016.htm White-nose syndrome, a wildlife crisis of unprecedented proportions, has killed hundreds of thousands of bats from Vermont to West Virginia and continues unchecked. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking those who use caves where bats hibernate - called hibernacula - to take extra precautions and to curtail activities to help prevent the spread of WNS. Sat, 09 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502190016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505174159.htm Caves on many state properties in the U.S. will temporarily close as a precaution against the uncontrolled spread of white-nosed syndrome, which is killing bats in record numbers in the eastern United States. Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505174159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325155429.htm When high-energy cosmic rays interact with molecules in the atmosphere, they produce muons, negatively charged elementary particles that can be detected at ground level or underground. The rate of these muons detected by underground detectors has been found to correlate strongly with temperature changes in the upper air. Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325155429.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309210846.htm Researchers are studying the way caves "breathe" to providing new insights into the process by which scientists study paleoclimates. Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309210846.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305102709.htm White-nose syndrome is a poorly understood condition that, in the two years since its discovery, has spread to at least seven Northeastern states and killed as many as half a million bats. Now researchers have suggested the first step toward a measure that may help save the affected bats: providing localized heat sources to the hibernating animals. Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305102709.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225181423.htm Climate researchers expected to see wet/dry periods in Brazil's Nordeste region similar to the rest of South America in the past 9,000 years. But the area experienced the opposite, drought when rain was expected. Using stalagmite data, researchers identify unexpected air circulation as the cause. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225181423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203172713.htm Several hundred little brown bats are dead from White-Nose Syndrome in Lackawanna County, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission is looking to residents for help uncovering other sites where this deadly disorder may have surfaced. Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203172713.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202140046.htm Over 14,000 years ago during the last Pleistocene Ice Age, when a large part of the European continent was covered in ice and snow, Neanderthals in the region of Gibraltar in the south of the Iberian peninsula were able to survive because of the refugium of plant and animal biodiversity. Today, plant fossil remains discovered in Gorham's Cave confirm this unique diversity and wealth of resources available in this area of the planet. Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202140046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090113100111.htm Tropical oceans are known as the deserts of the sea. And yet this unlikely environment is the very place where the rich and fertile coral reef grows. Dutch researchers have investigated how caves in the coral reef ensure the reef's continued existence. Although sponges in these coral caves take up a lot of dissolved organic material, they scarcely grow. However, they do discard a lot of cells that in turn provide food for the organisms on the reef. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090113100111.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081219172031.htm Deep inside the Frasassi cave system in Italy and more than 1,600 feet below the Earth's surface, divers found filamentous ropes of microbes growing in the cold water, according to a team of researchers. Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081219172031.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125203143.htm Enormous cave bears, Ursus spelaeus, that once inhabited a large swathe of Europe, from Spain to the Urals, died out 27,800 years ago, around 13 millennia earlier than was previously believed, scientists have reported. The new date coincides with a period of significant climate change, known as the Last Glacial Maximum, when a marked cooling in temperature resulted in the reduction or loss of vegetation forming the main component of the cave bears' diet. Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125203143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081205171005.htm The decline of the Roman and Byzantine Empires in the Eastern Mediterranean more than 1,400 years ago may have been driven by unfavorable climate changes. Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081205171005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081106165233.htm Chinese history is replete with the rise and fall of dynasties, but researchers now have identified a natural phenomenon that may have been the last straw for some of them: a weakening of the summer Asian Monsoons. A lack of rainfall could have contributed to social upheaval and the fall of dynasties. Such weakening accompanied the fall of three dynasties and now could be lessening precipitation in northern China. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081106165233.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030144613.htm White-nose syndrome in bats is a disease that is decimating bat populations in the northeast U.S. A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over 100,000 hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030144613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020191534.htm Due to their underground habitats, moles' eyes have been modified by natural selection in ways very different from those of surface-dwelling animals. New research offers a detailed anatomical and genetic examination of the changes that result from living life in the dark. Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020191534.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924185742.htm Small white stalagmites lining caves in the Midwest may help scientists chronicle the history of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) -- and even predict when the next big earthquake may strike, say researchers. Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924185742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819092017.htm A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819092017.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613164445.htm Belize is an unforgettable mix of tropical waterfalls, ancient Mayan ruins and deep limestone caves, making it one of the world's most popular destinations for ecotourists. Researchers are working with the government of Belize to limit the environmental impact of ecotourism on these sensitive natural wonders. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613164445.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070926131210.htm Growing inside the caves of the tropical Pacific island of Borneo are some of the keys to understanding how the Earth's climate suddenly changed - several times - over the last 25,000 years. Using evidence from stalagmites, researchers found that the tropical Pacific may play a much more active role in historic climate change events than was previously thought. Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070926131210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070716134111.htm Scientists in China are reporting an advance in clean-coal technology that could substantially reduce the cost of producing clean-burning fuels from underground deposits of coal. In a study scheduled for the July 18 issue of ACS's Energy & Fuels, a bi-monthly publication, Lanhe Yang and colleagues focus on coal gasification, a process for making gaseous fuels, similar to natural gas, from coal. Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070716134111.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312091508.htm Caves are in trouble, says Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. In a current paper, Criss and colleagues describe some of St. Louis County's (Mo.) 127 known caves and warn that development over the past two centuries has eliminated or destroyed many caves in a state that could quite rightly call itself the "Cave State." Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312091508.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308084520.htm Scientists return this week to the world's deepest known sinkhole for tests of a NASA-funded robot called DEPTHX, designed to survey and explore for life in one of Earth's most extreme regions and potentially in outer space. DEPTHX's technology could aid future space probes of Europa, where scientists believe deep holes in the ice could hold extraterrestrial life. Sat, 10 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308084520.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302171352.htm A new genus of millipede was recently discovered by a Northern Arizona University doctoral student and a Bureau of Land Management researcher. J. Judson Wynne, with the Department of Biological Sciences at NAU and cave research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Southwest Biological Center, and Kyle Voyles, Arizona State Cave Coordinator for the Bureau of Land Management, collected specimens leading to the discovery of two new millipede species in caves on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon. Mon, 05 Mar 2007 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302171352.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212091813.htm Biofilms, which are complex layered communities of sulfur-consuming microbes, increase the rate of cave formation, but may also shed light on other biofilms, including those that grow on teeth and those that corrode steel ships hulls, according to a team of geologists. Wed, 13 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212091813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920183504.htm Contemplating some of nature's cool creations is always fun. Now a team of scientists from The University of Arizona in Tucson has figured out the physics of how drips of icy water can swell into the skinny spikes known as icicles. Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920183504.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060823191600.htm Cave-dating research published by Australian geologists has found that the Jenolan Caves, in central NSW, are the world's oldest discovered open caves. The scientists have shown that the limestone caves, which attract thousands of tourists each year, date back more than 340 million years. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060823191600.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050508212133.htm A new method for dating destructive past earthquakes, based on evidence remaining in caves has been developed by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Geological Survey of Israel. Mon, 09 May 2005 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050508212133.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041206193416.htm No matter whether they're big, little, long, short, skinny or fat -- classic stalactites have the same singular shape. Almost everyone knows that stalactites, formations that hang from the roof of caves, are generally long, slender and pointy. But the uniqueness of their form had gone unrecognized. Thu, 16 Dec 2004 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041206193416.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020307074711.htm Disease-causing microbes can effectively be eliminated from recycled water by storing it underground, new research by CSIRO scientists has found. Promising research findings into natural ways to cleanse polluted water have brought Australia a step closer to a revolution in water reclamation – the “underground dam”. Thu, 07 Mar 2002 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020307074711.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001215111905.htm U-M geologists describes how the use of virtual reality in the geological sciences can foster collaboration, enhance education and advance research into such complex processes as mixing behavior in Earth's mantle. Thu, 21 Dec 2000 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001215111905.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991020081357.htm Southern Methodist University geophysicists, using the latest in seismic technology, have discovered a large blob of concentrated matter deep within the earth that may provide clues to better understanding of geological activities on our planet's surface. Wed, 20 Oct 1999 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991020081357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/12/981214074703.htm Stalagmites from a Missouri cave have yielded a clear picture of climate and vegetation change in the mid-continental region during the millennia leading up to the last ice age (75,000 to 25,000 years ago), a time period for which such data have been sketchy. Mon, 14 Dec 1998 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/12/981214074703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/12/971228232315.htm Between January 2 and 9, 1998, Louise Hose, the country's leading female cave explorer and a geology professor from Westminster College in Missouri, will lead a team of scientists into an almost unknown world--where they will study living creatures so bizarre that for centuries no one realized they were alive. Sun, 28 Dec 1997 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/12/971228232315.htm