SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Under the Jungle attracts a certain type of divers – those who are curious about the world and the unknown. There is so much about the flooded caves that we do not understand, and we are endlessly fascinated by the Yucatan’s flooded subterranean world. What better way to indulge that curiosity than through science? UTJ has a long-standing relationship with Dr. Patricia Beddows, a renowned hydrogeologist from Northwestern University. Together, our team works to provide opportunities for our divers to learn about cave geology and participate in real, important science, including our yearly Science Week, the online participation in our hydrogeology game, and citizen science with the Cave Pearl Project.

FACEBOOK CAVE SCIENCE GAME

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Each Sunday morning, Natalie Gibb posts a cave geology question for Dr. Patrica Beddows on her Facebook page. Members of the Mexican cave diving community, cave divers around the world, and even other scientists work together to try to figure out the answer. The aim is to spark conversation, a sense of community, and most importantly, to learn more about these amazing caves we dive every day. What usually starts as simple question, almost inevitably reveals itself to be much deeper than anyone expected. In the evening, Dr. Beddows posts a PDF reply to the question, included specific answers to questions that have come up during the day, as well as sources for further reading. You can follow Nat on Facebook, and even ask to be tagged in the weekly posts if you want to participate. The weekly questions and PDFs are available for download.

FOLLOW NAT FOR NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION

PAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

HOW OLD ARE THE CAVES? HOW FAST DO THEY FORM?

WHAT CAUSES DIFFERENT COLORS IN THE CAVE WALLS AND FORMATIONS?

WHY DOES THE PRESENCE AND DENSITY OF CEILING FORMATIONS VARY IN A SINGLE CHAMBER?

DOES THE SALT WATER IN THE CAVES FLOW?

DOES THE DEEP SALT WATER IN THE CAVES MOVE?

DETERMINING THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF MINOTAURO WITH A PHOTO

HOW DO DIFFERENT LAYERS OF ROCK INFLUENCE CAVE DEVELOPEMENT?

HOW DOES THE HALOCLINE INFLUENCE CAVE DEVELOPMENT?

MORE PAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ROOTS IN CAVES

WHAT ARE BATHTUB RINGS AND WHAT DO THEY TELL US ABOUT A CAVE'S HISTORY?

BUBBLES ON THE CELILING - WHAT DO THEY TELL US?

WHAT INFLUENCES THE DEPTH OF THE HALOCLINE?

HOW MUCH FRESH WATER IS THERE IN YUCATAN'S CAVES?

HOW FAST DOES CENOTE WATER FLOW? HOW OLD IS IT?

HOW DEEP IS THE SEDIMENT IN THE CENOTES?

HOW OLD ARE THE CORAL FOSSILES IN THe CAVES? WHAT DO THEY TELL US?

WHAT IS A CAVE PEARL?

Scientific instrumentation for flooded caves has historically been bulky and prohibitively expensive, making gathering data from underwater caves an exclusive pursuit of universities and others with large budgets. Until now. Over the last decade, Dr. Patricia Beddows and Edward Mallon have worked to produce open source, inexpensive instruments for mass deployment in flooded caves. They named these data loggers Cave Pearls. The build information is open source, using inexpensive Arduino technology, and anyone with a little knowledge can create their own from the build information online.

Divers in Mexico have almost certainly seen some of Dr. Beddow’s deployments, she has been deploying the instruments in sites such as Jailhouse, Chac Mool, and Dos Palmas for years. The data gathered by these devices creates a wealth of information regarding flow rate and direction, pressure, and temperature. Under the Jungle is thrilled to offer our divers the opportunity to assist with deployment and retrieval of data, increasing the scale of the project and providing opportunities for citizen science for our divers.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CAVE PEARL PROJECT

INSTALLING A CAVE PEARL