The Adventures of Jut Wynne

Field Operations Complete: 2009 Atacama Desert Expedition a Success!

2009-06-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

Image: Our victory dance. Dinner at the Adobe Restaurant in San Pedro. This is becoming a ritual for us. We hope the team will make it down here again next year.

Today was our mop up day, and the whole team went into the field together. We had some additional questions we wanted to address with these a handful of instruments that we had remaining, so we went to two caves to deploy these instruments.

Last night, Tim took our newly drafted maps of Shredder and Luna y Media and the coordinate data from the entrances to create routes for us to walk on the surface. For Shredder Cave, we want to derive elevation data at points along this route. Using the cave map, we will then derive roof thickness data via interpolation along this route. We also deployed instruments at the skylight as well as directly above the dark zone. Additional surface instrumentation will help us better interpret surface and entrance temperature data.

Image: Like a proud Mom, our safety chief Christina sits next to her creation. She did an excellent job rigging the area above the nuisance climb.

First we returned to Shredder Cave. Our approach to this cave takes a bit of time due to a 20 foot nuisance climb which requires rigging.

Once we arrived at the cave, we needed to confirm the location of the skylight by sending Lynn, Dan and Denise into the cave to stand beneath the skylight. Tim and I stood over what we believed to be the location of the skylight where we waited for them to arrive. Within 30 minutes, they arrived and we realized we were at the correct spot. This was our first success of the day. We then went to the approximate location of where the dark zone sensor was located and deployed another surface sensor. Thereafter, we then followed the GPS route along the length of the cave collecting altimetry data along the way. Both Tim and I collected this data with our GPS units; we used two units so that we could compare our results.

Image: On belay at the nuisance climb above the Shredder Cave canyon entrance. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

Once we wrapped up Shredder, we deadheaded for Cañon Carí – the location of Caverna Luna y Media. Our objectives were to climb up on the rim of the canyon, locate the two skylights from the surface to deploy microclimate instruments, and then deploy another microclimate sensor above the approximate dark zone sensor within the cave. But first, Lynn, Tim and I had to find a route to the canyon rim. Once done, our plan was essentially the same as for Shredder – half the team would reach the skylights from within the cave, while the surface team would find the skylights from the surface. The cave team (Christina, Denise and Dan) went to the first skylight, and then we met them at what we believe to be the skylight. We were in radio contact with the cave team, and once they reached the skylight, they contacted us via the radio. We then yelled back and forth until we could figure out exactly where they were. Once done, they continued on to the second skylight and we repeated the process. This went quite smoothly, and we confirmed the locations of both skylights. Another success!

Image: Tim looking on from Cañon Carí. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Both of these skylights were situated within steeply sloping terrain leading to the skylights; there was about a 100 foot drop from the lip of the skylight to the bottom of the cave. The route leading to the area containing the skylights was rather precarious and potentially hazardous, so I opted to go down to the area containing the skylights to deploy the sensor while Lynn and Tim remained upslope.

From there, we walked to the surface location estimated to be the surface location above where the dark zone cave sensor was located. After some disagreement regarding whether we were at the correct location, we decided to deploy the sensor where Tim’s estimates suggested.

Image: Dan and Denise in Cañon Carí. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

By this time, the cave team was en route to the surface and we planned to meet them within the canyon at the entrance of the cave. Once we deployed the last surface sensor, Lynn, Tim and I hiked down off the canyon rim, met up with the team, and hiked back to the trucks.

All Atacama Desert field operations are now complete! We have another successful expedition under our belts in the driest desert on the planet. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with this team again this year. I have been blessed to have such an incredibly group of dedicated individuals to work with. They have truly made my job easy. We have accomplished a lot in the past three weeks, and I have learned a lot from this experience.

Image: View looking south from atop Cañon Carí.

We will spend the next few days tying up a few loose administrative ends and packing up the house. On 23 June, we will depart for Calama. On 24 June, Dan, Tim and Denise head back to the states, while Christina, Lynn and I continue on to Rapa Nui for another three week expedition. As always, I will make every attempt to keep my blog current during this expedition as well.

Image: I have no idea what is going on here. End of the day and the mission is complete. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

End of primary field operations and Inti Illimani

2009-06-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Drafted: 18 June 2009

Image: Inti Illimani performing at the San Pedro de Atacama Indigenous Cultural Center.

The entire team at Los Gatos; today, was slated to be a rather short day. The mapping team will map and collect volume data on this cave, while the sensor team will manage the instruments. We also returned to Salon to exchange the malfunctioning sensors with operable ones.

Image: Upon our return to Salon we went to the sinkhole entrance where we found this. A recently deposited owl pellet. Owls cannot digest the hair and bones of their prey, and they regurgitate this in the form of a pellet. Notice the wet stain on the cave floor. This pellet was fresh. We know telocotes (or barn owls) are known to frequent these caves.

There’s not a lot to report on this day. It was rather uneventful in terms of mishaps. Our work continues to progress smoothly.

Image: Lynn and Tim in Salon Cave. We're just about to start mop-up operations in this cave.

We did have quite an eventful evening last night. We learned from the lady who owns the almacen (Chilean for “grocery store”) that a traditional altiplano band, Inti Illimani, was playing at the cultural center near our house. This was an incredible treat for the entire team. While San Pedro is indeed a tourist town, this was no tourist event. We’ve been in this town for the past three weeks and we’ve come to recognize the locals from the tourists. We also saw our CONAF friends, Jose Luis and Roberto at the show. The best we could tell we were likely the only non-South Americans attending the show.

Image: Self-portrait in Salon Cave. We have dust masks for this work, but bandanas are just much easier.

It turns out, Inti Llimani is an internationally acclaimed band. They travel the world playing the music of the high Altiplano. It was an eight person band and all of them were multi-instrumentalists. I was quite impressed with them.

As for our instrument woes, we have been unable to change the settings of the sensor collecting data every minute, yet the other sensor now appears to be working properly.

Image: Skylights at Los Gatos.

However, this is quite small in comparison to our overall accomplishments today. Today, we officially completed our primary mission objectives. All of our field objectives have now been met. Tomorrow, we will take an office day to finish up our data entry and complete some administrative tasks related to the expedition.

On Saturday, we will visit two caves to deploy surface sensors next to a few skylights. Once done, our fieldwork is done.

Image: Even the dogs had a good time at the Inti Illimani show. These two played nonstop for almost two hours.

Winding down in the Atacama

2009-06-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

17 June 2009

Image: The upper skylight entrance of Salon Cave.

Today, the entire team went to Salon Cave once again. The mapping team was wrapping up their work, and the sensor team was there to pull data off sensors and maintain the instruments.

Image: Preparing to enter oneof the lower canyon entrances to Salon Cave. One of the reasons this is such a leaky sieve is because it has three entrances at the lower canyon entrance, and contains a passage that opens up into a series of skylights and open canyon. Credit: Tim Titus.

In discussing the results of the thermal analysis with Tim, I’m getting pretty good at predicting the thermal behavior of each of our study sites. In July 2008, I actually equivocated on Salon Cave. The mapping team had mapped about one-third of this cave as I was deploying sensors, and then I realized it was essentially a big leaky sieve cave, and that it wouldn’t make a good study site. As we later learned, we had around only six true caves, so we had to use some additional sites (i.e., leaky sieve caves) as another study feature -- presumably, a non-cave anomaly or perhaps a new end member entirely. Long story short, prior to Tim running the analysis, I indicated it would be a leaky sieve cave, and it was.

Image: Upper canyon entrance for Salon.

The mapping team finished Salon today. They now have one very small cave segment to map tomorrow and then they are done.

Once we got back to the house, we learned we had two sensor failures from this cave. The sensor team will return to this cave tomorrow and exchange the malfunctioning sensors for working ones. We will then see if we can correct the issues with these instruments so we can use them at some of our other study sites.

When we were looking, we learned one of the sensors was programmed to collect data every minute; as a result, it collected data for only 100 days. The other collected barometric pressure data correctly, but was logging temperature data as -888º F. While this is somewhat of a disappointment, we have been incredibly fortunate, out of 90 Hobo loggers, we have had issues with only two instruments.

Image: One of the skylights within the swiss cheese passage of Salon.

Sussing out a New Cave with CONAF

2009-06-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

16 June 2009

Image: From left to right, Magda, me, Fernando and Jose Luis posing for a Explorers Club flag photo near the location of a newly discovered cave.

Today, the sensor team had a conops day. In particular, Tim was using the day to run additional analysis on the data collected. The mapping team returned to Salon Cave to begin the mapping efforts, and I headed to CONAF to meet up with Madga, Fernando and Jose Luis.

Image: Madga negociating a 20 foot upclimb. Fernando looking on as she makes the ascent.

Fernando and Jose Luis had found a new cave. So, exploring this cave with Madga, Fernando and Jose Luis was the only fieldwork on my agenda today. We were in the field for only a few hours. This cave was about 30m in length and was a classic piping cave. It was characterized with a sinkhole upslope from a lower elevation lateral entrance. This was a neat little cave. For such a little cave, it was highly decorated with salt formations.

Image: Some dunal formations (o dunas) of the Atacama Desert.

I took coordinates of this cave and it is quite likely that we will also collect thermal imagery of this feature as well when we conduct the overflights next year.

Image: The west end of the park with an excellent view of Licancabur in the background. At over 19,000 ft, Licancabur is the highest volcano in the Andean front range.

Since we arrived in San Pedro, the team has expressed an interest in having llama for dinner. So, the mapping team went by the butcher (el carnicero) today to pick up some llama. We had llama steaks marinated in wine, olive oil, garlic and onions. However, llama is a tough meat and is usually eaten fried or in stews. Despite this, dinner was excellent.

Image: The llama meal...

A Bump in the Road

2009-06-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

14-15 June 2009

Image: Lynn and I working in one of the entrances of Traga Luz Grande. I'm the monkey on the right. Credit: Tim Titus.

Yesterday, the mapping team finished up Shreader Cave. The mapping team is doing incredibly well, and tomorrow they will be a day ahead of schedule.

The past two days the sensor team has been working at Traga Luz Grande. This cave is the largest in the Cordillera, and it took us quite a while to retrieve all the data. With the small exception of having difficulties in relocating one of our surface sensors, all work has been proceeding without incident -- without incident until today. One of our shuttles, which is used for uploading sensor data in the field crashed today. These shuttles essentially "shuttle" the data from the field instruments to the computer. We upload the data from the data loggers in the field and then we transfer the data from the shuttles to our computers thereafter. The shuttle that crashed contained all the data from Traga Luz Grande; it had a corrupt header file. As a result, we were unable to transfer the data to our computers.

Image: Pulling data from one of our surface sensors. Credit: Tim Titus.

This is compounded by the fact that we really need Tim to analyze these data while in the field so we can determine if our sensor placement and coverage is adequate. Without this essential step, we are at a slight disadvantage. However, we will simply have to adjust fire and move forward with our study of this cave. Rather than having the data from this cave, we will use the map and all the other field data to provide us with the ability to make some "educated guesses" regarding where our sensors are placed and how study of this cave should continue. Because this cave is so vast and also critically important to this study, we plan to err on the side of caution and deploy additional instruments in this cave.

Image: Tim and I encountered this hammer stone in one of the smaller caves within the Traga Luz Grande cave complex. This smaller cave was a salt mine and the hammer stone were used for removing the raw material from the walls and ceilings of this cave. We are uncertain as to whether it was the Quechuan or perhaps even the Inca working this mine or whether this activity was the result of more contemporary use. This area was also contained a copper mine --so the history can be rather challenging to interpret.

We remain hopeful the good folks at Onset Computers (who make our data loggers) will be able to retrieve the data for us. I reckon the silver lining here is that it was the header file, which suggests the data is still on the shuttle. Tim's current theory is that it was a cosmic ray hit, which can result in a flipped bit. This can cause a header file to become corrupted. Given our elevation, the intensity of a cosmic ray hit can be more severe. He'll be taking the shuttle back to the states, and will send it directly to Onset.

Image: While I can't promise this will be my only "brave explorer" shot, Tim did take a good photo and I decided to post it. Image: The man some call "Tim."

This sort of thing happens in the field. So, we just have to roll with the punches. I tend to view this as it was only a shuttle and the data. We continue to remain quite fortunate in the Atacama. Today, we completed our 15th day in Chile and the entire team has high morale and we have not had any safety issues yet. With six days of field operations remaining, I am hopeful this little hiccup will be the extent of our problems on this expedition.

Image: The second in command at Rancho Tonka. Obviously, Tonka the patron of our expedition, runs this ranch, but this ram thinks "he's the man." Whenever you walk by the sheep you get the "eyeball" from this guy. Credit: Tim Titus.

Return to Shreader Cave and mi amigos con CONAF

2009-06-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

13 June 2009

Image: The Cordillera in the foreground and the Altiplano in the background. The mountain peaks of the Altiplano range from 15000 to 19000 feet in elevation.

Today, we worked at Shreader Cave and Cascada Pequeña. Shreader is a two entrance cave with a skylight at center; Cascada Pequeña is a small piping feature which is one of our non-cave anomalies.

Both teams worked in the same area today. This has many benefits, but perhaps most importantly, we have all medical personnel at the same site in case there is an accident. We have structured our schedule so both teams working at the same cave as much as possible.

Image: Jose Luis and my leg. This image provides an idea of the tight passage of Shreader Cave. Most of this cave is characterized as a belly crawl.

We also had the fortune of working with CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal). CONAF is the Chilean national park service equivalent. Also, I got to work with a good friend of mine, Jose Luis Jara. He and I worked together in 2006, as part of NASA Spaceward Bound!, Atacama Expedition. It has been three years since we saw each other, so it was great to hang out with him again. We worked with two other CONAF officials -- Fernando and Magda.

Today, we have a really large team, and there is one one section of our approach that requires a nuisance belay. I free-climbed up a 25 foot rock face and then belayed the rest of the team up this traverse. Christina stayed below and made sure the diaper sling that we were using for each team member was properly secured. This did take us a while. It took us around 1.5 hrs to get everyone past this one tricky spot on our approach.

Image: Jose Luis, Magda and Lynn after we completed our work at Shreader Cave. Lynn was braiding the webbing so I could pack it out.

Once we finally arrived at our two study sites, Fernando and Magda went with the mapping team, and Jose Luis went with the sensor team. The mapping team first mapped Cascada Pequeña; we planned it this way because Shreader cave is "muy angusto" or very tight, so it was quite difficult to move nine people through the cave. Actually, it is quite difficult and rather slow with just two people. The cave is characterized by tiht low passage, and snakes back and forth considerably. Once going through this cave, one knows what it must be like to move like a snake.

Image: Dan and Denise hiking back to the truck after a long day in the field. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

While the mapping team tackled Cascada Pequeña, the sensor team went and pulled data and relaunched instruments from Shreader. Once finished, we returned to the surface, pulled data from the instruments in Cascada Pequeña, and the mapping team moved into Shreader.

We're really operating like clockwork on this expedition. To date, at least, the work proceeds smoothly. However, expedition work, and fieldwork in general is riddled with hurdles and curve balls, so we have to be ready to adjust fire as need be.

Image: Jose Luis, Madga and I. Credit: Lynn Hicks.

Cueva Tecolote Una Vez!

2009-06-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

11 June 2009

Image: Tim and I pulling data off one of our instruments located on the surface. Credit: Lynn Hicks.

We will have to do a bit more hiking during this expedition, which is great; however, the longer hikes cut into our time in the field. The park recently closed most of the roads leading to the foothills containing our study caves. So, we have to park in one of two locations and then hike to the caves.

Image: Gearing up at the trailhead. We're just about to hike into the caves.

The sensor team moved to another cave today. We pulled data off the sensors in Barn Owl cave. We finished this by midday, which gave us a little time to explore this cave.

The mapping team required two days to collect volume data and map of Luna y Media. One of our team members became mildly ill while mapping this cave. We suspect it could be related to the dust. We are taking every effort to wear dust masks while working underground; however, there are times when the masks become cumbersome and folks simply go without them. We will continue to remain vigilant on this issue, and take steps to insure the team is reducing their daily dust intake.

Image: Tim and Lynn working to pull data off the instruments.

Image: Evidence of salt mining. Notice the angularity on the exposed salt. This is evidence of the salt being flaked off this exposure. The cave floor was also littered with salt flakes. There were also fire hearths, wood and charcoal littering the ground. It seems they were using the fire to provide light to extract salt from this cave.

This cave was extensively used by prehistoric peoples, presumably the Atacameños or perhaps the Incas. We found numerous locations where fires were built, and we were also able to tentatively correlate this to a salt mining operation. The Incas were masters at exploiting commodities and developing trade routes throughout this area. With the major Incan administrative center of Cartarpe just a few miles away, I suspect the Incas were coordinating the removal of salt in pristine extraction locations. We also found ceramics in the back of this cave, and stomach remains of a ruminant, presumably one of the four llama species. It is quite likely there were multiple uses of this cave over the past several thousand years. The exact uses of this cave will probably continue to elude us, and the timeline for this usage will likely remain a mystery.

Image: A mandible, presumably from a Llama species, found in a rocky mud conglomerate mid-cave.

These shots were taken as we were driving through San Pedro en route to the field. Unfortunately, I think the woman who was herding these animals was not pleased with me taking photos.

Tomorrow we will have the day off. Everyone but Tim and I are going to Bolivia for the day. They will be visiting two lagunas on the Chile-Bolivia border that I visited back in November.

Tim will continue with the analysis on our day off. I will go to CONAF to give a presentation on our work in the Atacama.

Image: A small heard of llamas and cows being herded through town by a Quechuan woman and her dogs. She wasn't overly keen on me taking photos of her animals. I didn't realize this until I said "buenas dias." After saying it twice, she looked tersely at me and said "buenas." The use of "buenas" instead of "buenas dias" or "buenas noches" is common here in Chile.

Image: Another image of the herd of livestock and the Quechuan woman.

More water in Atacama Desert Caves!

2009-06-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

09-10 June 2009

Image: Canyon Cari.

Today, we worked in the second most picturesque canyon in this region – Cañon Carí. As with the rest of this region, Cañon Carí is completely otherworldly. I as well as others on this expedition have said numerous times, this are would be the perfect set for a SciFi movie.

Image: Explorers Club Flag photo. We'll probably take a few during this expeidtion; however, the backdrop was excellent. We were beneath an arch in Canyon Cari. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Our cave for the next two days is perhaps the most mazy and long of all our study sites. It’s rather tight in places and requires skills becoming of a Yogi.

Image: "Dan the lollipop man" and the rest of the mapping temam. The lollipop is a protractor wheel used for collecting volumetric data of our study caves.

The sensor team spent considerably more time in this cave than we probably needed to. We could not relocate one of the instruments that was deployed in one of the last days of our expedition last year. We scoured the cave and could not relocate this instrument. It was quite unfortunate to lose another instrument; however, we are doing quite well thus far in relocating our sensors. We’ve been unable to relocate only two thus far.

Losing instruments during a project is not foreign to me. Despite thorough documentation of the location and multiple pictures taken at each site, these things still happen. Kyle Voyles and I have lost more than one sensor working up on Grand Canyon north rim. It’s always frustrating when it happens, but it happens.

Image: Christina inspecting some small salt pillars in Luna y Media cave. Credit: Dan Ruby.

We did make another cool discovery. We found water in another Atacama cave. Luna y Media contains pockets of mud in a passage which is at a much higher elevation than the lower entrance, and the floor is solid halite. We are still curious as to the mechanism(s) resulting in the deposition of water in this cave.

Image: "Barro" or mud in yet another Atacama Desert cave. It is getting interesting in northern Chile!

We were able to pull data off of all our instruments on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the sensor team had a contingency operations day, where we caught up on our data analysis.

All is continuing to proceed smoothly on this project. We are still on schedule and we are making good progress.

Image: A rare view of the property with water. There's an ancient irrigation system in San Pedro that brings water for crops and plants to the interior of the village. I've noted the irrigation system across our property, but this is the first time I've seen the land irrigated. All we have to do is move a few stones and you have water in the desert!

Them bones, them bones!

2009-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

08 June 2009

Image: Bones from Cuevita de Huesos. Credit: Gerhard Huedepohl 2008.

We are revisiting all the caves we worked last year. As mentioned in the first blog of this expedition, the purpose is to complete the mapping effort, service the sensors, and conduct near real-time analysis of the temperature and barometric pressure data collected over the past year. So, we return to Cuevita de Huesos once again. This incredibly small, yet incredibly cool cuevita contains one of the discoveries that attracted so much attention by the media last year.

Image: Mapping team posing for a photo.

It contains thousands of bones and bone fragments within and along the cave walls. These bones likely belong to one of the four new world camelids that call the altiplano home – vacuñas, guanacos, llamas, and alpacas. However, the jury is still out as to how these bones were deposited. Did these animals die in a flood, and their remains washed into a hole that ultimately filled by soil and then eroded out when the cave formed exposing the bones? Were these bones deposited much earlier, perhaps tens to hundreds of thousands of years, and then the cave formed resulting in their exposure? Or, perhaps a more interesting possibility, is does this area represent a midden where ancient people (e.g., the Atacameños) and these bones were then exposed by alluvial activities? To read about this, go to LiveScience.com, Incredible Discoveries Made in Remote Caves (31 July 2008).

Image: Dan and I entering data. Certainly, the most glamorous part of expedition! Image: Tim Titus.

Once again, our expedition team garnered much success today. The sensor team pulled data from the sensors and redeployed the instruments, while the mapping team mapped the entire feature.

Image: Group dinner after a day in the field. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Mapping and Maintaining Sensors at Cuevita de Cartarpe

2009-06-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

07 June 2009

Image: A southerly view of Cañon Cartarpe.

We had another productive day in the Atacama. This non-cave feature is likely the only one that will require rope during this expedition. As a safety precaution, both trucks contain rescue gear which includes rope. So, while this is the only time rope will be required as part of this work, I am also hopeful that it will be the last time we need to use rope. We had to rig a 25 ft upclimb to reach the upper level of this cave. Accessing this upper level requires nuisance climb; we had to use our ascenders to get to the upper level.

Image: Christina, our safety chief and rope master, rigging the cave for our ascent. While I am look like I'm contributing, I'm really just in the way.

I got to try out my new Petzl Verso on the rap down. I totally dig it! Thanks again to Charly and Petzl for their support!

Image: The doc observing the operations undertaken in the pit. Fortunately, his expertise were not required again today. Image: Dan Ruby.

We had three instruments in this cave, and we’ve learned uploading data and re-launching our instruments takes very little time. Our mapping team will be spending far more time in the field than the sensor maintenance team. However, the sensor team will still have a lot of work to do by way of analysis and determining whether we need to return to some of our caves to deploy additional instruments.

Image: Entrance of Cuevita de Cartarpe. Credit: Tim Titus.

Cañon Cartarpe is perhaps one of the more picturesque areas where we will be working during this expedition. The Rio San Pedro cuts this canyon, and thus it is the only area in this part of the Atacama that contains vegetation. The town of San Pedro exists because of this river and has been an important oasis to both humans and animals for thousands of years.

Image: Likely the only time I will be on rope during this expedition. It was a short upclimb and as short of a rappel. However, any day on rope is a good day, indeed! Credit: Dan Ruby.

Return to Salt Landscape Cave

2009-06-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of Field Operations (06 June 2009)

Image: Some of the salt speleothemic formations within Salt Landscape Cave.

The mapping team remained in town today. They had two days slotted for mapping Quitor, and were able to map this cave in one day. They had some issues with the instrumentation, and wanted to resolve these issues. There were some magnetic anomalies in Quitor that were causing some of the instruments to produce erroneous results; so, Dan and the others wanted to determine why this was happening. They ultimately found a work around to this.

Image: Cool salt stalactite within lower entrance, Salt Landscape Cave.

Lynn, Tim and I went to Salt Landscape Cave to pull sensors. It was great to return to the field Cordillera de los Andes. The vistas were just as are otherworldly as ever. Lazcar (the only active volcano in the region) was slowly piping smoke into the sky, and the clouds hugged the mountains and volcanoes of the Altiplano throughout the day.

Salt Landscape Cave was rather difficult to manage last year. We spent three days at this cave searching for the other two of the entrances. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. As a result, we were able to deploy sensors in two of four entrances. Also, we were unable to get through the entire cave given that it was incredibly tight in several areas. So, we decided to pull sensors and use these additional sensors to supplement coverage at our study caves.

Image: Tim collecting coordinate data for one of our surface sensors outside Salt Landscape Cave.

We returned to San Pedro early today, and began entering data. This project will involve both field work and a major data entry component. We’ll be spending most nights entering and analyzing data. Although this is only day to of field operations, we are proving to be far more productive than we were last year, and we are right on schedule.

Image: Lynn with the Salt Landscape in the background. It was another beautiful day in the driest desert in the world!

Field Operations, Day 1: Return to Quitor

2009-06-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today, we had our first day in the field. Despite a steep learning curb on low tech anti-theft devices on one of our trucks, we had an incredibly productive day.

Image: Tim and I preparing to depart for the day. Standing within the sinkhole entrance of Quitor. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The sensor and data management team successfully pulled data off all remaining sensors in Caverna de Quitor. Unfortunately, one of our sensors was stolen. The sensor location was a concern to me last year, but we felt it was the best location at the time.

On the side, we also learned our data loggers are incredibly power efficient. We’ve been collecting data for the past 11 months and still had 95% battery power remaining on several of our data loggers.

Image: Christina and Denise taking a break from mapping Quitor. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The cartography team was also successful today. For the most part, they completely mapped Quitor; however, they do have some concerns regarding magnetic anomalies within the cave that may be affecting their measurements. Tomorrow, they will be conducting some tests at the house to see if they can resolve these problems. They may ultimately learn they have to return to Quitor for a half day to mop up some of these problems. However, this shouldn’t be a problem. Although this is our first day of field operations, we are maintaining our schedule.

Image: Dan, Lynn, Christina and a stray dog at the entrance of Quitor. Dogs are pervasive in San Pedro. At any given time, there are likely more dogs than tourists in this town!

2009 Atacama Desert Expedition, Earth-Mars Cave Detection Project

2009-06-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

We arrived in country on 01 June. The advance party consisted of Tim, Dan, Christina and myself. Our objective was to arrive Calama, go to the hardware and grocery story, and set up the house prior to the arrival of the rest of the team. We effortlessly picked up the vehicles from the Calama Airport and we went directly to Hotel Agua Desierto. We were all completely spent after well over two days on planes and in airports.

We arrived to San Pedro de Atacama on 02 June, and began to set up the house. Last year it took us well over a week to set up the house. This year, we did it in less than a day. Dialing in the house goes much quicker when you know where all the stores are and exactly what you need.

Our objectives for this year’s expedition are to: (a) complete the mapping effort for all our study caves; (b) upload data from our instruments, replace batteries and relaunch all instruments currently deployed within our study caves; and, (c) conduct near real-time analysis of cave and non-cave feature data. This third objective is imperative to ensure proper deployment of sensors for the second year of data collection. Because the temperature and barometric pressure data are only extracted once per year, the analysis of these data while still in the field allows for modifications of the placement of sensors and the number of sensors used prior to departing the Atacama Desert. Without the capability of near real time analysis, modifications emplacement strategy on a per cave basis would not occur until year 3, thus potentially diminishing the value of data collected.

This expedition is part of a three-year project to develop techniques to systematically predict and detect caves on the Earth and Mars. For this project, we will be working at two premiere Mars-analogue sites, the Atacama Desert, northern Chile and Mojave Desert, southern California. This project is funded through the NASA-Exobiology Program.

If life ever evolved on Mars, evidence will be located in subsurface cavities protected from the hostile surface environment. Overall project objectives are to (1) better characterize thermal behavior of both terrestrial and Martian caves; (2) identify optimal detection times (i.e., appropriate day and season) for detection via a thermal infrared remote sensing platform; (3) ultimately differentiate caves from non-cave features (e.g., alcoves, sheltered dry falls or small tunnel features that may be confused with cave entrances); and, (4) potentially infer cave volume from the thermal signal strength of cave entrances. For the Atacama Desert Expedition, our mission objectives are to (a) deploy temperature and barometric pressure sensors at caves and non-cave features, (b) estimate cave volume using newly developed techniques, and (c) map caves and non-cave features using high resolution and high detail maps.

The project has once again been honored with the distinction as an Explorer's Club Flag Expedition.

So, now to meet the 2009 Atacama Desert expedition team…

Team 1: Sensor and Data Management

Jut Wynne, Expedition Lead -- I am currently working on his PhD in biology from Northern Arizona University. For my dissertation research, I am developing models to characterize cave communities in Arizona and New Mexico. I serve the 2009 Atacama Desert Expedition as the project’s expedition leader and overall project manager.

Tim Titus, No. 2, Deputy Expedition Lead -- Tim is a astrophysicist with the USGS-Astrogeology Team, Flagstaff, Arizona. He is a co-investigator on this project and was a co-investigator during Phase 1. This will be Tim's second tour in the Atacama on this project. He has also served as number 2 during the Mojave Desert Expedition.

Lynn Hicks, Senior Medical Officer -- Lynn is a medical doctor and received his M.D. at Auburn University. He is also a member of the Explorers Club. He will be serving the expedition's field medical doctor. Lynn is also a veteran of this project. He served as our medical doctor last year. Fortunately, he only had to "doctor" a smashed finger last year. We are hopeful his expertise will not be required again this year.

Team 2: Cartography Team

Dan Ruby, Number 3, Cartography Lead -- Dan Ruby is the associate director of Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center in Reno, Nevada, a member of the Explorers Club and a member of the Northern Nevada Grotto of the National Speleological Society. Dan has served as a cartographer on the 2008 Atacama Expedition, a field technician n the 2008 Rapa Nui Cave Biodiversity Expedition and the lead cartographer on the 2008 Mojave Desert Expedition. He obtained his B.F.A. (Bachelors in Fine Arts, emphasis in Digital Media) from the University of Nevada-Reno. Dan has an interest in space exploration stretching back to his first space LEGO set, a lunar lander, in 1980 at the age of three. He still continues to launch model rockets (albeit instrumented sound-barrier-breaking ones) and plays with LEGO sets (to build robot rovers), alongside his role presenting astronomy talks to the public and 15,000 K-12 students per year. Dan’s current pursuits include sustainable energy projects and spending many hours underground in high altitude regions with extremely dry climates. Dan has been pivotal in developing techniques for estimating cave volume and has been developing a paper on these techniques. We anticipate this paper to be published within the next six months.

Christina Colpitts, Number 4, Safety Chief, Cartographic Technician -- Christina is a commercial pilot and wilderness guide. She obtained her B.S. in Aeronautical Science with a minor in Environmental Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Christina is currently based in San Diego and flies tour groups to central Baja and guides eco tourism/ adventure trips. She is involved in adventure and scientific caving for over 10 years in addition to conducting field-based environmental research projects located in the western United States. Some of her interests include long distance hiking, ice hockey, archaeology, machining, alternative fuels, and plant biology. She has worked on two cave expeditions south of the equator. She served as safety chief/ medical specialist during both the 2008 Atacama Expedition and the 2008 Rapa Nui Cave Biodiversity Expedition. She will be serving this expedition as the safety chief/ medical specialist. She will be responsible for evaluating project risks and adapting appropriate strategies to mitigate risks in the field.

Denise Hill, EMT, Cartographic Technician -- Denise is a veteran to cave mapping; in 2008, she served as Safety Chief and cartographic technician for the 2008 Mojave Desert Expedition. She is an EMT and will round out our three person medical team.

Circus in a Tux, Big Apple, NY -- Explorers Club Annual Dinner Weekend

2009-03-24T14:05:00.001-07:00

Image: These are two of Brian Staples' rescued animals. These guys had been working the crowds all evening at ECAD and all day at the Explorers Club HQ. These two are tuckered out. Peter, the spider monkey (Brachyteles sp.), his quite attached to Chewy, the kinkajou (Potos flavus), and will not let him out of his sight. Both animals are common to the tropical dry and tropical forests from southern Mexico south into South America. In the wild, these two would not be friends; but in captivity they appear to be best of friends. Personally, I believe Chewy just tolerates him.

Image: It is customary at ECAD to have exotic appetizers. Here is a smattering of what was offered. Among the appetizers that I ate include marinated duck tongue, scorpions, crickets, and beetle larvae.

Granted I admit this tenuously fits under the typical content appearing in my blog. However, the Explorers Club Annual Dinner (aka ECAD) is always an adventure. You never know who you are going to meet, what you're going to see or what contacts you're going to make at this very festive event.

Image: Roasted American alligator at the Waldorf. I've had this twice now. I got there a bit late this year, and there was virtually nothing left. Does it taste like chicken? Well...almost.

Image: Hanging out with Peter and Chewy on Sunday at Explorers Club HQ. Credit: Brian Staples.

For example, when I attended ECAD in 2007 I met both Dan Aykroyd and Buzz Aldrin. It was a rather surreal night. I was speaking with Dan regarding how to attract bats to his farm. Later that night, Dr. Aldrin and I were discussing the potential for caves on Mars. Although this last trip was not quite as star-studded, I did make some new friends, and I had the honor of sharing the stage at the Waldorf=Astoria ballroom with preeminent ecologist Dr. E.O. Wilson, and Apollo VII commander Bill Anders. I was given the very distinct honor of returning an Explorers Club flag at the ECAD. In so doing, I was given the opportunity to speak to over 1000 people regarding the fragility and importance of cave biodiversity and ecosystems.

Image: Dr. Lynn Hicks and I at ECAD, Waldorf=Astoria, NYC. Lynn has been a part of my family for over 30 years, and has recently joined my family of expedition scientists. He served as our expedition doctor in the Atacama Desert last year, and will be joining us again this June for another expedition in the Atacama.

I also met and became good friends with Brian and David Staples. Brian and his son run Staples Safari. Brian is an accomplished wildlife ecologist, and he operates two exotic animal rescue facilities. His work is vitally important to conveying the importance of wildlife and wildlife conservation to the world. He is rather gifted in his ability to do this. Brian (and perhaps David) will likely be joining me on the Rapa Nui cave biodiversity expedition in June and July 2009.

Image: Wildlife conservationist and TV personality, Jim Fowler, discussing the importance of biodiveristy at ECAD. As an example, he is discussing the diversity of owls. Globally, there are 134 known species of this night hunter.

Jim has been coordinating the wildlife component of ECAD for decades. He is most effective at communicating the importance of our natural world to the general public. We are most fortunate to have him in the Club; but more importantly, the world is most fortunate for having him as an ambassador for the wild kingdom of animals.

I also have the privilege of giving a talk at Headquarters on Sunday. I spoke about the cave biodiversity of North Rim Grand Canyon and Rapa Nui. The talk was well-received. It was quite an honor to speak in that room. The room where I spoke holds over 100 years of history and tales of some of the most famous explorers who have ever lived. It was quite humbling to speak in that room.

Image: Bill Runyon and I posing with Explorers Club Flag #139. I returned this flag at ECAD. This flag was on expedition with Kyle Voyles and I last week. We were inventorying cave biodiversity on North Rim Grand Canyon. Bill is a good friend. He sponsored my application to be admitted into the Explorers Club.

In addition to a weekend of festivities and meeting a lot of great folks, I still found time to work. Gaelin Rosenwaks of Global Ocean Exploration and I are preparing an expedition to study marine animals in sea caves. We met at Explorers Club HQ to push our preparations forward. We will launch this expedition in June of 2010.

Image: Working in the commons, Explorers Club HQ, NYC. Credit: Gaelin Rosenwaks.

5th Place Overall -- 2nd Annual Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Challenge

2009-03-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Image: Less than 10 feet from the finish line below Agassiz Peak! Credit: Neil Weintraub/ NATRA.

Today was a really good day. For a fella who has spent the last 10 days on travel and nine days being beaten up by a rugged canyon, I had an excellent race.

Image: One of my good buddies, David McKee, and I hanging out before the race. Credit: Neil Weintraub/ NATRA.

Kahtoola had extended their uphill course to a 3.2 mile race course starting at Hart Prairie and terminating at the upper chair lift at Agassiz. It was beautiful day. I finished in 50:50, placed fifth place overall, and forth in Men's. I have been racing since 2005 and this was my best race to date! I reckon I can safely say that we do improve with age!

Image: Warrior One pre-race warm up in Kahtoola Microspikes! Credit: Neil Weintraub/ NATRA.

I was strong and I pushed myself the entire race. This uphill climb really stuck it to me a couple of times. I did stop a few times to catch my breath. However, compression breathing, a trick that I learned while climbing volcanoes in the Altiplano, really helped.

I augmented compression breathing by treating the race as somewhat of a meditation. I was focusing on each foot placement, counting "one and one," and I was even chanting mantras during the race. This provided me with much clarity, and perhaps even gave me some inner strength.

I suspect there were additional variables at play here. I've been taking MAP, an amino acid cocktail avaiable through BodyHealth.com. Now, this isn't a shameless plug for a product. I'm not on their payroll and I'm getting nothing for this endorsement. World-renowned fitness guru and Flagstaff's very own Mountain Yogi, Steve Ilg, has been trying to convince me to take this for years. I finally relented, and I've seen huge changes in my performance. It assists me in quicker recoveries after both workouts and races. Also, Ilg has indicated that my yoga practice has improved considerably. I've been a stout practitioner of HP Yoga for over four years now. So, I suspect it is a combination of these two variables that likely led to my excellent performance in this race.

I also wonder because I climbed a 19,000 ft volcano in Chile back in November, if the San Francisco Peaks seem a little bit smaller to me now. Unlike my ascent of Volcan Aguas Calientes, I was actually able to climb and breath!

For all the race photos from this event, go to NATRA's Picasa site-Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Challenge.

Image: Race start! I'm standing right behind the winner of this event, Eric Bohn (aka Greenbean). Credit: Neil Weintraub/ NATRA.

Congratulations to today's winners of this event -- Eric Bohn (41:38) and Sara Wagner (49:10)! For complete results of this race, go to Kahtoola in the News.

Special thanks to NATRA. Not only did they do a great job with doing time for the race, they are a beautiful group of people. I've always cherished my time running with this group. I look forward to more runs and more trails with the group!

The 2009 Cactus Canyon Expedition was a Success!

2009-03-12T21:48:00.001-07:00

11 March 2009 -- Drafted in the Holiday Inn, St. George and in FLG

Image: Core team flag photo. From left to right, Doc, me, Voyles and Spatta. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Today, we had four objectives, (1) pull traps from Cliff Cave, (2) retrieve AnaBat from Cliff Cave, (3) pull traps in River Styx Cave, and (4) make it back to civilization in safely.

Before we wrapped up the biodiversity work, we packed up most of our gear, and policed base camp to be sure we had everything. So, once we returned, we'd be ready to place the packs on our backs and get the heck out of Dodge.

Image: I'm jugging up to Cliff Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Kyle and I went to Cliff Cave, while Ty went to River Styx by himself. We didn't like sending Ty into a cave by himself. However, we established a plan so we would know exactly where he was and when he would return to base camp. Ty has been in this cave numerous times. We knew exactly where he was going to be within this cave. He planned to be at River Styx for two hours, and would radio base camp once he was out of the cave. So, we knew that if we didn't hear back from him in 2.5hr, we would go find him.

Image: In the entrance of Cliff Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles.

Kyle and I decided it would be best of Doc remained on stand-by at base camp -- just in case something went wrong at Cliff Cave. While Doc was on stand-by, he filtered enough water to get us through the day and out of the canyon.

Kyle and I headed up to Cliff Cave to pull traps and finish up the work up there. I still needed to inventory the ecology of the cave. This is a really neat cave. It has two main rooms, and two crawls that are too tight for normal humans to navigate. The first room is just beyond the entrance. There were quite a few critters in this first room. We encountered numerous springtails and beetle larvae in our traps. In the second room (which is connected to the first room via a tight crawl), we found crickets, tenebrionid beetles and a few beetle larvae. Interestingly, we didn't capture one springtail in this room. Also of interest, is that we did not encounter one predator during our site visit.

Image: Doc filtering water. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Also, the second room contained a considerable paleontological deposition. We encountered numerous large bones. At first, I thought a few of them may be human. However, we did not have a smoking gun, so to speak. We did not encounter human teeth or a jawbone with clearly distinguishable human tooth sockets. However, we did find some lithic material related to stone-tool making, as well as two small broken quartz rocks. While we cannot definitively state the bones were human, we can at least confidently state that Native Americans used this cave -- perhaps as a kill processing site. Oddly however, it must have been used tens of thousands of years ago, when the canyon was not as incised, or perhaps there was an entrance that no longer exists from above. In any event, it would be difficult, if not downright impossible, for folks to carry their kill up a 60 foot rock face and into a cave.

Image: Entering data from our traps. Credit: Kyle Voyles.

We state here that we did not disturb the subsurface. We searched and evaluated the bones and materials on the surface only. So, I'd suggest this cave still holds many secrets.

Ty was successful with his objectives as well. He pulled all 16 of our Madonna Cone traps. Interestingly, out of all the traps deployed, we captured only one Rhadine beetle. This perhaps further shores up my hypothesis that the entrance of River Styx cave is likely the only place to support arthropods.

Image: Ty collecting arthropods in River Styx Cave. He was by himself...so, is this a staged shot?! Credit: Ty Spatta.

This cave is massive and characterized by crystal clear pools and little observable nutrients on the cave floors and along the cave's numerous speleothems. The clarity of the water suggests there are no nutrients in the water, and thus it is unlikely there will be critters in these pools.

Image: An example of the low opacity of the pools in River Styx Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

I've sampled cave pools in Belize, the water was dark brown to black. It was loaded with nutrients and contained numerous aquatic organisms including several stygobites. Secondly, the lack of any observable detritus in other regions of the cave further supported my hypothesis.

Image: High cotton! We trapped 14 tenebrionid beetles in one trap within Cliff Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles.

Kyle and I were the first to arrive back at base camp. Upon our arrival, I continued to pack my gear, and then Ty arrived. Kyle and Ty fixed lunch, while Doc and I were getting antsy to get the heck out of the canyon.

Image: Packing it up! Credit: Ty Spatta.

We then hiked out! However, we weren't "out of the cave" just yet.

This is the saying that I have on expedition. "We're not out of the cave, until we're out of the cave." I learned this back in 2007 while Kyle and I were working in a cave on the Arizona Strip. This cave is one of the loci for our new millipede genus. Kyle and I were there to collect copepods from sulfur pools at the back of this cave. This was the last task we had to do on our trip. Once done, I was headed back to Flagstaff. So, as I was walking and belly-crawling through this cave I started thinking..."I'm going to see my girlfriend, have a hot shower, sleep in my bed, and have a real meal." I was already out of the cave and in Flagstaff. I came to the end of the crawl, stood up full force and hit my head on the ceiling so hard that I almost knocked myself out. The brim of my helmet actually cut the bridge of my nose. Kyle quickly approached and I could hear him speaking but it was all mumbling...about a minute passed, and then I heard, "Dude! Are you okay?!" Looking back on it, it was rather funny, but it wasn't funny when it happened.

So, hence forth, I never consider an expedition to be over until we return to civilization. At which time, we are "out of the cave." For us, this meant once we see the city skyline of Mesquite, Nevada, we are "out of the cave."

We still had to hike out, which may take up to two hours, and then we have to drive back to Mesquite. Reaching civilization will take us another three hours. So, we were at least five hours from getting out of the cave.

Image: Sorting all arthropod specimens and entering data. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Fortunately, we hiked out of the canyon safely and we arrived back to civilization in one piece. We made it home safe and sound. The mission was a success! All mission critical objectives were met. We sampled cave-dwelling arthropods at five caves, collected AnaBat data at five caves, and mapped two caves.

Image: Kyle and I processing the specimens collected from this expedition. Credit: Ty Spatta.

There is another aspect of this project that Kyle and I really liked. Once we arrived back in St. George, I spent two days there with Kyle wrapping up all the loose ends. Ty helped us sort all the arthropods and prepare them for shipment. We also entered all the arthropod data into a spreadsheet. Kyle uploaded and organized all the microclimate data. So, everything was done. On 16 March, the bugs will be sent to our taxonomic specialists for species-level identifications.

This was a great project. Kyle and I both learned a lot, and we feel our team did as well. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the trip, and we've heard back from several team members indicating they had a lot of fun. So, we are very pleased with these results.

Image: Out of the cave, and feasting on prime rib and NY strip at the Casa Blanca Casino steak house. We were all desperately needing a shower, but none of us cared. The food was awesome. However, we've been "just adding water" to our food for the past nine days -- so a properly cooked shoe may have been a gormet meal to us. Credit: our waiter.

Bat Cave and our Descent to Base Camp

2009-03-12T21:47:00.002-07:00

10 March 2009

Image: Pseudoscorpion collected in Bat Cave. You could fit four to five of these tiny arachnids on top of your thumb nail. This tiny predators have venom sacks in their pinchers, and they hunt psocopterans, collembolans and other tiny soil-dwelling arthropods.

Today, we have four objectives, (1) pull traps from the cave where we slept, (2) retrieve the Anabat from Babylon Cave, (3) canyoneer our way out of the side canyon safely, and (4) jug up a 60 ft rope to a cave to deploy the Anabat.

Image: Kyle and I discussing the plan of attack for the day. Credit: Ty Spatta.

I didn’t sleep too well last night. This cave also has a long history of bat use, and thus has a rather acrid smell of guano once you get about 30 feet into the cave – this was the only place that contained an unoccupied sleeping platform. While I actually like the smell of bat guano, I didn’t think it would be good for me to breath it all night, so I opted to sleep near the entrance. Consequently, the only place to sleep was on an incline – so, throughout the night, I slept and slipped towards the entrance. I’d wake up, move my bag and bed roll back up slope, fall asleep, wake up and then do it all over again…

Image: Some "trick" photography in Bat Cave. Using a slave flash with a timed delay, Kyle was able to trigger the flash held in front of him. As a result, you see more of the passage. This helps to best depict the scale of this large cave. Credit: Ty Spatta and Kyle Voyles.

Everything went well today. We woke up around 0730hr, made breakfast, chatted about what needed to be done, and then we started the day.

Image: Voyles on his sampling station, and removing arthropods from the trap. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Kyle and I went out onto the bench to discuss where and how to establish a traverse line across a rather exposed section of our route. As I've probably mentioned enumerable times in blog entries about this expedition, this bench has some precarious sections to it. A seemingly rather benign fall in the wrong place could spell a 1130ft free-fall to the canyon floor. Without a parashute, I think I'll pass.

Image: Trying to sleep on an incline. Credit: Ty Spatta.

First, we had to knock out Bat Cave. It took us about 2.5 hrs to conduct our searches, and check and pull arthropod traps. We continued our "divide and conquer" approach. Ty and Kyle conducted the work in the side passages, and Doc and I did the work in the main trunk passage.

Image: Our descent out of the side canyon. This was a 15 foot drop that required a rappel and portage of backpacks down below. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Once done, we returned to the entrance. Ty still needed to pack, and we were all ready for lunch. On the way off the bench, we stopped by Babylon Cave to retrieve the AnaBat detector.

We headed down the side canyon in record time. Given all of the equipment we were hauling down, we still managed to get back to base camp in under two hours.

Image: Clipped into webbing and leading the lowering of backpacks. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Ty and I quickly geared up for the jug up to Cliff Cave. I needed to deploy the AnaBat, and Ty wanted to see the cave. It was work for me, but a sight-seeing trip for Ty.

Image: Deploying the AnaBat detector at the entrance of Cliff Cave. I'm clipped in because there is a 60 ft drop less than four feet behind me. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Back up on the Bench

2009-03-12T21:47:00.001-07:00

09 March 2009

Image: Settling in for the night in Bat Cave. Yes, I know. This is quite a romantic setting for Ty and Kyle. Credit: Jon Kalman.

This morning we hiked back into the canyon, and then up to the bench caves. Our plan was to (1) find the bolts that were set to assist in our ascent through the side canyon, (2) pull traps from two caves, and (3) deploy the Anabat at one cave.

Image: This is a rather common scenario on this trip. We move gear up canyon, then down canyon, and then we do it again. Credit: Ty Spatta.

All of our objectives for the day were met, and we were able to get done relatively early. Kyle and Ty banged out Babylon Cave and Doc and I completed Packrat Cave. Thus far, we have found these caves to be rather depauperate of cave-dwelling arthropods. This is not surprising given the low nutrient input these caves receive, as well as the aridity of these features.

Image: Collecting arthropods. Credit: Ty Spatta.

We were able to make it to our camping cave for the evening. While two days ago, we slept in a cave that Kyle and others slept in prior, tonight we will sleep in Bat Cave. This cave has not been occupied since the Native Americans used it. This cave had cleared sleeping platforms that were supported with dry-laid stone walls, and contained several pieces of yucca cordage and contained remnants of a yucca-fiber sandal. It was rather humbling and even somewhat eerie to sleep in this cave.

Image: Critter-proofing our bag of food before we make the climb up the side canyon. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Image: Setting a safety anchor in front of Bat Cave. We were on this safety while using the bathroom at night. From this entrance, there is a steeply sloping bench approximately 25 feet wide -- below this is the canyon floor approximately 1100 feet down. Credit: Ty Spatta.

We say Farewell to Three of our Team Members

2009-03-12T21:46:00.001-07:00

08 March 2009 -- Composed from the back of my F250 truck

Image: The jug up to Cliff Cave. Michael is leading and Kyle is the belay. Credit: John Cassidy.

Tama, Ty and I went to River Styx Cave for the morning. Ty's objective was to pull microclimate data, opportunistic collecting and deploying traps. Tama and I split up in the cave and searched for arthropods. This is a massive cave (with over 3000 foot of passage). Based upon our baseline work in this cave, I am tentatively suggesting that life in this cave will be restricted to around the entrance. I also deployed 16 volcano traps. We are testing a new sampling technique for this cave. Because this cave is prestine and lacks a friable strata, we had to come up with an alternative for deploying traps. The volcano traps seem to be the best way to do this. We'll see how this goes.

Image: The volcano traps (aka Madonna Cone traps) deployed in River Styx Cave. Image: Kyle Voyles.

Once we were done with this cave, I deployed the Anabat in the entrance and we hiked back to base camp.

Image: Deploying the Madonna Cone traps in River Styx Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

We learned another valuable lesson about fieldwork. Alcohol (as well as water) and electronics don’t mix. Tama accidentally broke a specimen vial filled with alcohol in a bag that contained a hand-held radio. From now on, standard operating procedures will dictate that we will not mix water/ alcohol vials with electronics. If these are contained within the same bag, all electronics will have to be in waterproof bags and/ or pelican cases.

Image: Just one of the thousands of "pretties" from River Styx Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Kyle led Michael and John Cassidy up to Cliff Cave. This involves jugging 60 ft up a rope to get to the entrance. They met their objectives for the day. They mapped the cave, and deployed pitfall traps and searched for arthropods.

Image: Tama posing for a photo between hunting for cave bugs. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Once the team was done, Michael and the Cassidy’s departed and returned to civilization. They were very helpful and greatly assisted in the success of this project thus far. They have been a lot of fun in the field.

Kyle, Ty and I were out of food. So, the core team hiked back to the truck. We went through all of the gear and identified everything that was no longer needed in the field. We packed up all our non-essential gear and hiked it out. We made good time getting out of the canyon.

Image: Kyle and I discussing the day. Credit: Ty Spatta.

I was really looking forward to the climb up the big spine to get back to the trucks. I asked the team if they minded if I plowed forward, and I hiked the spine fast. I treated it as a meditation and with 50 lbs on my back I made really good time. It felt great to breath hard, feel the heart beating fast and the blood coursing through my veins. However, if felt even better to wash my hair and sponge down. Four days without a shower and living in very dusty conditions can often leave a lot to be desired.

Image: Rather old bat skeleton from River Styx Cave.

Sleeping in a Cave

2009-03-12T21:45:00.002-07:00

07 March 2009 -- comprised from my field notes

Image: Hiking out of the side canyon at night. Credit: Jon Kalman.

Last night we slept in a cave. It was quite a surreal experience. I realized with the exception of two other people, there haven’t been folks sleeping in this cave since the Native Americans. There was a yucca cord protruding from the ground less than 20 feet from where we were sleeping. This yucca chord was placed here hundreds if not thousands of years ago.

Image: Starting the day with a majestic view. Michael, Jon and I eating breakfast. Credit: John Cassidy.

Sleeping in the cave was peaceful to say the least. We had planned to sleep under the stars again last night, but the clouds moved in and we thought it may rain. The winds also picked up. So, we opted to sleep in the cave.

Today, we have one cave left to trap. Today, we worked this cave using two smaller teams, Doc and Cassidy and Michael and I worked together. This was the largest of the three caves on the bench. It was over 1800 ft. in length.

Image: Loxosceles sp. from Packrat's Cave.

Last year, Kyle, Luke Hanna (an NAU undergraduate that I am working with) and I went to these caves. We encountered a maternity roost of Myotis bats in this cave. As a result, we prompted left the cave. Upon our return to this cave, it was amazing to see the extent of bat use in this cave. Bats have been using this cave extensively for quite a while – perhaps hundreds of years. Guano was found in thick deposition throughout the main truck passage of this cave and the acrid smell of guano was overpowering. However, oddly enough, I really like this smell. For the cave scientist, the smell is that of life. Bat guano can serve the life blood of a cave ecosystem. So, this smell tells me there could be a lot of critters using this cave.

Image: Ringtail cat. This image was poached from the following website: http://www.abilenetx.com/Zoo/Ringtail.htm

I also observed scat, which I believe to be ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) scat. Ringtails often enter caves to hunt bats. Given this cave is extensively used by bats, periodic visits from a hungry ringtail is not unlikely.

We had also collected AnaBat data at this cave last night. Because it is still rather early in the season, we suspect there may not be much bat activity in these caves yet. However, we did observe bats while eating dinner last night, so we shall see.

Image: I'm just about to negotiate Mammillary Drop. This is a 20 ft deep pit with additional passage below. One has to chimney down to get to the lower passage. Credit: Jon Kalman.

We didn’t collect many arthropods in this cave. Michael and I collected several spiders and a cricket, but that was about it. Doc and Cassidy didn’t collect anything at this cave.

This cave was also extensively used by Native Americans. We found dry laid stone walls and cleared sleeping platforms in the entrance, and there were numerous torches, reeds and yucca cord throughout this cave. There are also the remnants of a yucca sandal within this cave. Additionally, Michael found a bone that looks really old. I think it may be part of a human scapula.

Image: Old bone fragment. This fragment may be part of a scapula or pelvis. We're not certain if it is human or not.

Once we finished this cave, we went back to our camping cave to grab the rest of our gear. It was time to hike off the bench and back down base camp. With several routes now bolted, it should be much easier, safer (and quicker) for us to get down. We started our descent at 1700hr.

Image: This old pine cone was found near the back of Bat Cave. Due to the extensive human activity in this cave, it is likely humans brought this into the cave. However, there is also evidence of a rather long occupation by packrats. So, either vector for deposition is possible. There are no longer pine trees within a ~50 mile radius of this cave. So, this pine cone is rather old.

However, we had difficulties in locating several of the bolts along this route. So, Michael and I had to improvise to get the team down safely.

Image: Cartographer Bob Richards mapping River Styx Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

We had to traverse the edge of a dry fall with an exposed area that dropped approximately 50 feet. If anyone fell there, they wouldn’t make it home at the end of the day. So, it took us a while to rig this route. Michael traversed the route, and I belayed him with Cassidy as a back-up anchor. We got him across safely, and then Michael found a rock to anchor off of and then he belayed us across. I went across twice because I ported Doc’s backpack across this route. We then had to rig and belay the team down another steep incline before we could start hiking down canyon.

Image: Kyle staring contemplatively into the abyss of River Styx Cave. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Once we lowered packs and got the team down safely we could start hiking down canyon. Then we got to a really cool section, which involved a rappel. We were a able to find the anchor for this route. It was a 15 foot gently sloping wall. Michael went down first. I remained up top to get the other two guys down. I lowered packs down, and then Michael brought Doc and Cassidy down via a fireman’s belay. Once down, I rapped down the wall. Michael then pointed out that I left a sling and carabineer on our anchor, so I had to go back up to get it. Because it was a gently sloping wall, I did a “batman climb” up the wall. It was a lot of fun and took me less than 10 seconds to get back to the anchor. I then pulled the gear, treaded the rope through the anchor and double-rope rappelled back down.

Image: Michael and Doc having dinner after the descent out of the side canyon. Credit: Ty Spatta.

By this time it was getting dark, we still had two technical sections to traverse before we were out of the canyon. We did these in the dark. Canyoneering at night and caving are the same. You're traversing rock exposures via the illumination of your headlamp. It was a lot of fun canyoneering at night. I realized my team was getting tired, so I had to be extra vigilant for everyone. Ultimately, it took us quite a while to get down. We didn’t get out of the side canyon until 2030hr. We took 3.5hr to hike out of this side canyon.

Kyle’s team did really well today. They finished mapping the big cave. This cave is over 3000 feet in length. We plan to trap it tomorrow.

Sleeping in the main canyon would be cold tonight, but it was nice to finally get down off the bench. However, we return in two days to start pulling the traps.

Image: Doc and I preparing dinner and filtering water after our safe return from the bench caves. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Now...the Science Begins...

2009-03-12T21:45:00.001-07:00

06 March 2009 -- combined account of field notes and recall

Image: There were two plants that festooned either side of the entrance of Babylon Cave. The leaves of this plant will stick to every article of clothing, and the hairs on the leaves make you itch. Needless to say, you move through this entrance carefully. Credit: Jon Kalman.

Last night, I slept like a baby. My little sleeping pad tucked amid rocks, creosote and barrel cacti buffered me from the wind. The moon is getting full; I woke up many times during the night to look up at the moon, as well as watch the clouds roll in. It was looking like we might get some rain. Fortunately, we did not, and we were able to sleep outside.

Image: Yucca fiber cord found at the back of Babylon Cave. This cord was left here by Native Americans. Most of the caves in Cactus Canyon have evidence of Native American use. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Despite the fact that I slept well, I had a wierd dream. I dreamed I had placed my bed roll over a den of twin-spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei). These are actually rather small snakes; they often don't get larger than a foot in length; what is more odd, however, is that these snakes occur in southern Arizona. I don't know why I was dreaming about these guys raher than Mojave green rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus). Anyhow, these snakes were mad and were striking me, and one had slithered into my sleeping bag. I remember thinking, "Darn, now I have to go wake up Doc." Fortunately, there were no rattlesnake incidents last night.

Image: A torch remnant. There were numerous prehistoric torches in this cave. Notice the carbonized end of the stick near the carabineer.

I slept so well last night, that I overslept. I woke up at 0730hr. We were supposed to be preparing breakfast at 0700hr. So, once I got up, I rousted the other sleepy heads from their sleeping bags and we started to make breakfast.

While making breakfast, we realized we were going to run out of water. So, we radio-ed Team 1 to let them know of our dilemma. They indicated they would send up Team 3 (Ballensky and Richards), who were arriving today, to bring us water. Team 3 was already scheduled to make the ascent. Ballensky was bringing in the Hilti drill, and we needed them to place a few bolts in some of the more exposed areas of the side canyon. By around 1430hr, Team 3 arrived with water.

Image: Mapping the locations of our arthropod trapping stations within Babylon Cave. Image: Michael Gowen.

By the time Team 3 arrived, my team was well underway, and we were finishing up our work in Babylon Cave. We were conducting searches and deploying traps in this cave. Once done, we went to Two Windows Cave to conduct arthropod searches and deploy arthropod traps.

Image: This packrat (Neotoma sp.) was trying to get out of the cave to go out to forage.

Two Windows was a lot of fun. There was a pack rat in this cave, and he was ready to leave for the evening to forage for food. While we were working in the cave, he went back and forth between the entrance and his midden. He appeared confused. I wondered if "he" was actually a "she" and was returning to the midden because she had baby mice. However, I thought it was rather early in the season to be rearing babies.

Image: Cassidy preparing to deploy pitfall traps to capture arthropods. Image: Jon Kalman.

We completed our second cave by 1900hr. It was a productive day. We went back to Babylon Cave and made dinner. It was almost dark. Clouds were building overhead, and we questioned whether it would rain. We all decided to sleep within the cave tonight.

Kyle's team (Team 1) was working on the map of River Styx Cave. Voyles has anticipated it would take them two days to finish this map. Once done, we would be able to deploy bug traps in this cave as well.

Image: Deploying the AnaBat ultrasonic detector in front of Babylon Cave. We collected data from this cave last night. I am uncertain as to whether we're going to have much bat call data from the AnaBat effort. While we did observe bats flying in the canyon and near our camp, it's still pretty early in the season. We shall see... Credit: Jon Kalman.

Our First Ascent into the Side Canyon

2009-03-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

05 March 2009 -- copied from my field notes.

Image: Kyle setting up the traverse on the last technical area before we reach the canyon rim. I'm on the other side of the exposure. I was safety checking on everyone's harnesses, placing folks on rope, and then directing them across. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Image: Tama and Doc preparing to negotiate the traverse below the canyon rim. Credit: Jon Kalman.

Last night, I slept in the truck. Ty unfurled his beaten-up sheet of plastic, laid out his sleeping bag and slept under the stars. The wind howled all night long. Ty didn't sleep well last night. I had a pretty good night's sleep. It's amazing what ear plugs can do.

Voyles arrived around 2230hr last night. I was already asleep by the time he arrived.

Image: Another day at the office. Canyoneering to get to our study sites.

It took us a while to get our gear together this morning -- although everything was mostly packed, it was just one of those mornings. We arrived back at base camp around 1130hr. The rest of the team was awaiting our arrival. Water had been filtered and we were ready to make our climb up to the bench caves.

We quickly sorted through our gear once again at base camp and then prepared for our ascent to the canyon rim. Our plan is to ascend a steep side canyon to access the upper bench, which is located just below the canyon rim.

Fortunately, the winds had died down and the day was perfect. Temperatures were in the middle 60s. Our ascent was most pleasant despite our heavy bags. We were carrying all of our sampling gear, food, vertical gear, and camping gear. Doc, Michael, John Cassidy and I will be spending two nights up here on the bench.

Image: Mr. Adventure. Credit: Jon Kalman.

The ascent was rather easy for the most part. We had a few sections that involved bouldering and scrambling up dry falls. We also had a few rather exposed areas that required a safety belay across these sections. It took us a while to negotiate these sections; not only did we have to rig these sections with rope and/ or webbing, but we also had shuttle packs.

Image: Shuttling backpacks through the canyon. We probably did this about a dozen times in this side canyon. Credit: Jon Kalman.

There was one section near the canyon rim that involved an exposed section above a 50 foot dry fall. This section took us a while. We had to find appropriate anchors and rig the area. Then, we had to get everyone across. Once we made it across safely, the remaining approach to the caves was a piece of cake.

Image: We made it! Our first ascent to the bench caves during this expedition. We'll only need to do this a couple more times. Credit: Kyle Voyles.

Once the team arrived at the first cave, it was 1700hr. Kyle, Tama and Ty had about 1.5hrs to return to base camp before it got dark. For safety reasons, we don't want personnel hiking through this side canyon at night. So, Kyle, Michael and I quickly sussed out the three caves we would be studying. Kyle wanted to show me the routes to these caves once again. There are a couple of exposed areas leading to an 1100ft drop, and we wanted to be sure we knew the correct route to these caves. A little mistake compounded by an 1100ft fall might be a problem for us.

Image: The team arrives at the first bench cave. We are in front of the entrance of Hungry Plant Cave. Credit: Jon Kalman.

Once he showed us the locations and routes, Kyle returned to the team and lead his team back to base camp. Michael and I set up the Anabat ultrasonic bat detection at Holiday Inn Cave and then rejoined Doc and Cassidy.

Tonight, three of us slept beneath the stars. We cleared small quasi-sleeping pads on the bench. Michael slept in one of the caves. Tomorrow we will deploy traps in two of our study caves up here.

Image: Vista of base camp from Hungry Plant Cave. On the far right, mid-image and to the left of the wash is a blue spot. That spot is Doc's tent. Credit: Jon Kalman.

Return to Cactus Canyon

2009-03-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

04 March 2009

Image: Making last minute preparations for our hike into the canyon. We had to fill specimen vials with alcohol, bait traps and sort through all science gear. Once done, we then divided all this gear among team members so that we could hike the equipment into the canyon. We gave Ty a lot of it. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Image: Taken during the three hour drive to reach the trailhead. Our first night on the north rim involved a lot of driving. Credit: Ty Spatta.

This is one of the most difficult expeditions Kyle and I have conducted on north rim Grand Canyon. Located approximately 15 miles north of the Colorado River, and 70 miles from the nearest town, Cactus Canyon is both impressive and unforgiving. This work has required an impressive amount of pre-planning and strategizing. Kyle and I worked for three weeks to develop our operations plan for this project. So, we are entering the field with a "plan to deviate from..."

We did this same trip last May. We attempted to study four caves during this trip, but we had one of those trips where everything imaginable went wrong. Consequently, our trip last May served to enlighten us as to how we can efficiently and effectively study caves in this incredibly difficult area.

;Image: Our campsite at the Cactus Canyon trail head. Image: Ty Spatta.

We arrived at the Cactus Canyon trailhead around 2330hr. It was late when we arrived and the entire team was spent. Most of us had been on travel since that morning. Some folks flew in from other parts of the country the night before. As for me, I departed Flagstaff around 1230hr, arrived St. George at 1730 and then I met up with the rest of the team and we caravanned to the trailhead.

Today, we spent the majority of the day preparing to enter the field. This took a while. We had to organize all of our gear, I had to go through all the sampling gear, and then we had to determine who was going to carry what. Last year, our team hauled 100 pound packs on their backs into this canyon. It’s a three mile hike with some scrambling over dry falls. It was rather precarious at times, and I vowed that I would not be carrying that much weight on this trip. Perhaps I’m a year older and a little smarter.

Image: In addition to preparing our gear, we also held two hours of briefings related to the expedition. Voyles is explaining how to use the BLM radios for this work. Credit: Ty Spatta.

Once gear was sorted, we held the expedition briefing, as well as cave search and rescue and safety briefings. As you may expect, this also took a while. However, these things are critically important to the safe execution of the project – so, it is vitally important all of these elements were addressed.

Image: The team is loaded up and ready to hike to base camp.

Given our late start, our plan was to simply hike to base camp, and we would begin the work in earnest on tomorrow. However, we later learned we left some rather important gear in St. George, and Kyle had to return for it. So, we had to change our plans for today.

Image: Trekking into Cactus Canyon. Image: Ty Spatta.

We did not want Kyle hiking into the canyon by himself. So, Ty and I hiked gear into the canyon and then hiked out to the trailhead to meet Kyle. He’s going to arrive later tonight, and then we’ll hike in together tomorrow AM.

The canyon was as beautiful as I remembered it. Majestic views, canyon wrens calling throughout the canyon, and the desert wildflowers are beginning to bloom. The winds are some of the strongest I’ve seen in this area in quite sometime. It reminds me of the Altiplanic winds in Chile. They are nowhere near as cold, but the wind is howling.

We also have really good news from Cactus Canyon. It’s full of standing pools of water! When the canyon has water, we have water.

Last year when we did this in May, we found two florescent green acrid pools. Sure we could have filtered and then boiled the water, but it would have made anything we ate or drank from it taste horrible. So, we decided to make one water run back to the truck. We won’t have to do that this year.

Image: Base Camp. 70 miles of relentless dirt and rocky roads and a three mile hike into a canyon. We're a fir piece from civilization. Image: Ty Spatta.

So, Ty and I are currently at the trailhead. Kyle had left some equipment back in St. George and had to return. So, we currently have four people at base camp and Kyle is en route back to meet us at the trail head. Ty, Kyle and I will leave tomorrow morning early to join the group and begin the work in earnest.

Tonight, I’m sleeping in the back of a F250 truck. I'm actually preparing this blog from the back of the truck. The winds are still howling, but the truck affords a bit of insulation from the relentless wind. After sharing rooms, tents and camp space with folks while down in Chile, I've learned to travel with ear plugs. This works quite well for blocking out both snoaring and howling winds. I’m signing off. The work begins tomorrow...

Image: Cactus Canyon vista from the trailhead. Credit: Michael Gowen.

2009 Cactus Canyon Cave Biodiversity Inventory Team

2009-03-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Image: Explorers Club Flag photo. Front (left to right) John and Tama Cassidy, me, and Kyle Voyles; in back (left to right) Michael Gowen, Jon Kalman, and Ty Spatta. Jason Ballensky and Bob Richards not in photo. Credit: Ty Spatta.

This is the 2009 Cactus Canyon Cave Biodiversity Inventory Project. We are in the forth year of our work in northern Arizona. This work is also part of my dissertation research. Also, we have had the distinct honor of having this expedition recognized as a Flag Expedition by the Explorers Club.

We will be working in one of the most remote canyons on Grand Canyon's North Rim. This project will involve a combination of canyoneering, rock climbing, and backcountry camping. We will be working five caves in this canyon for nine days. Our study will involve inventorying biodiversity by sampling cave-dwelling arthropods using an array of sampling techniques, characterizing bat use using an AnaBat ultrasonic detector, as well as completing the maps of two caves. In addition to our biodiversity inventory objectives, we will also be completing a full inventory of each cave. We will assess geology, hydrology, paleontology, and archaeology.

Kyle "Jefe" Voyles – Co-Principal Investigator/ Expedition Lead (No. 1). Kyle has been working in this part of the country for the past 10 years. He is Level 3 Cave Search and Rescue and is also an aid climber. He is responsible for project logistics, and all technical aspects related to rope work and canyoneering.

Jut Wynne – Co-Principal Investigator/ Science Lead (No. 2). I will be coordinating all aspects related to data collection.

Jon "Doc" Kalman – Safety Chief/ EMT/ Natropathic Doctor (No. 3). Jon is from San Diego and thanks to the recommendation by Christina Colpitts, our Medical Specialist from the 2008 Atacama and Rapa Nui work, we were fortunate enough to have Jon on our team.

Jason Ballensky – Cartographer. No photo available.

Tama Cassidy – Field Technician.

John Cassidy – Field Technician.

Michael Gowan – Field Technician. St. Simons Island boy and co-owner of Southeast Adventure Outfitters, Michael is an experienced rock climber and has spent many years working in the southwestern U.S. It has been 15 years since he was last in this area.

Bob Richards - Cartographer. No photo available.

Ty Spatta –Field Technician/ Work horse. This Indiana native can carry more gear than most mules. While trying to aid in shuttling bags through the rugged canyons we worked in, I learned first hand how much gear this man was carrying.

Special thanks to Dr. Neil Cobb, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, NAU and Dr. Brett Dickson, Center for Environmental Science and Education, NAU for advisement and guidance in data collection and processing, and Mr. Charles Drost, USGS-Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff for providing equipment, and logistical support.

2009 QWIP-Mojave Mission a Success!

2009-02-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

Image: 2009 QWIP-Mojave Expedition Team. From Left to Right, Tim Titus, Dan Lowen, Peter Shu, Murzy Jhabvala and Jut Wynne. Not featured in photo, Doug Billings and Glen Cushing.

This mission was a success! While we did not meet all of our mission critical objectives, no one was injured and everyone went back to their respective homes unscathed. The work that we do can be hazardous, and in some cases, rather dangerous. I am always a stickler for safety, and I have always pushed for my team’s to place safety above everything else. My motto has been for many, many years, “Live to play another day.” So, we did just that.

Image: Murzy hard at work...on cross-word puzzles. When everything is going well, we do have a little bit of down time. So, Murzy is taking advantage of the opportunity to use his brain in a different way.

We arrived on site around 1000hr this morning. The decision was made last night that it would not be necessary to arrive earlier. The external reservoir for the generator was working without issue when we left on Saturday. So, we took the first part of the morning packing up and checking out of the hotel.

We had planned to be in the Mojave through 24 February. Unfortunately, Murzy had some problems back at the lab and caught a redeye back to Goddard. So, we shut down shop at noon today.

Image: Our second collect site for Drop Cave. This view point represents a view of the skylight entrance and adjacent tunnel looking towards the East. Credit: Tim Titus.

Ideally, we had wanted to let the camera operate until 1300hr. This would have given us the entire diurnal cycle. However, it started to rain, and the decision was made to shut down. The QWIP camera we were using represents millions of dollars in R&D. Currently, it is a workhorse, and the most sensitive instrument in Goddard’s fleet of QWIP cameras. Needless to say, Murzy didn’t want his camera getting wet.

Image: Dan and I posing for a photo. We're loaded down with gear as we make the trek across the Aa Aa flow back to the vehicles. Credit: Tim Titus.

Fortunately, Dan was able to work with us again today. Glen had left on Saturday and we really needed another strong back to help us move all the equipment off the flow. Dan jumped right in and was eager to help us.

Unfortunately, not all of our mission critical objectives were met. We still need to acquire imagery from Bumble Bee Cave, A non-cave anomaly, and from atop a large cinder cone. This latter set of imagery will enable us to make comparisons to the imagery collected in April 2008. We have published these results in an abstract for the 40th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston. The abstract is entitled “Distinguishing Caves from Non-cave Anomalies: Lessons for the Moon and Mars”. Essentially, we will be parroting this collect. We have decided we will wrap up the ground-based thermography work next year when we return to upload data and service the instruments next year.

Image: Murzy and Peter trekking across the lava flow. Our second collect was largely a success. Credit: Tim Titus.

Our accomplishments are as follows: (1) We now imagery captured over two diurnal cycles (imagery captured every 10 minutes) from two different aspects of one cave (Drop Cave); (2) All caves and non-cave features are now mapped and volumetric data has been collected (we finished the last cave on Saturday!); and, (3) while in the field, Tim developed a software program to convert the images to video (144 images over 24hr period), run PCA (which enables us to view Eigenvectors and Eigen “images”), and the ability to graphical compare (DN-value vs. time) of a pixel within a cave entrance to a pixel on the surface.

Additional lessons learned include the following. We believe our generator has to work harder when it is cold. We discovered this when we were looking at our late evening imagery. There was a considerable amount of noise along the peripheries of these images. We believe the power surging at night may have introduced this noise into the images. We also learned that it is entirely possible that the pressure caused by the reservoir tank placed on top of the generator may have alleviated this. However, it is also possible that because it was overcast last night, it was warmer. As a result, the generator did not have to work as hard. We still don’t know what caused the noise in the images. Perhaps we’ll figure this out next year…

Thermal Image Panel: Captured yesterday ~1600hr. From left to right, this is an image of me, Dan and Doug right after we had ascended the skylight. Doug is facing the skylight, the large feature at bottom right is a shallow tunnel that connects with the skylight. The main image is colorizaed from the QWIP thermal image. The left inset is the thermal IR image, and the right inset is with the background subtracted out. Credit: NASA-Goddard and Tim Titus.

Kangeroo Rats Dine on Spam for the First Time

2009-02-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

Image: Dropping the skylight of Drop Cave. Credit: Dan Lowen.

My good friend, Dan Lowen, arrived early this AM. He and I worked together during Spaceward Bound!, 2007 Mojave Expedition. So, we haven’t seen each other in a while. Today was going to be a really good day. Now only do I get to see a good friend, but we’re also were going to put him to work! Our plan was to finish the first 24 hr collect of Drop Cave, move the camera to another vantage point and collect another 24hr of data from this cave, and then finish the mapping of Drop Cave. Doug Billings was the lead sketcher on this cave a couple of weeks ago, and he arrived later this morning to finish up the cave. I knew Dan wasn’t too concerned about having to work with us because initially he had planned to come out just to observe our operations. When I emailed him two nights ago to tell him that he would need to bring his vertical gear so we could drop a 40 ft pit, he was totally stoked.

Image: Doug and I rigging the skylight entrance of Drop Cave. Credit: Dan Lowen.

Tim surveyed a relentless attack by kangaroo rats and the cold Mojave night. He spent a very chilly night on the Aa Aa lava for the sole purpose of refueling the generator. This morning we learned, he was had good company throughout a good portion of the night. Several kangaroo rats stopped by to visit. Well…actually, they were likely drawn to his camp site because there were food wrappers left outside. He indicated that he saw pieces of some of his food wrappers this morning. Tim’s favorite field food seemed to have proved quite popular among the locals -- spam and bagels.

Dan and I are chatting with Doug, who is about 20 feet below us. He rappelled partially into this skylight to determine whether there was another entry point into Drop Cave. Unfortunately, this route proved too hazardous. So, we decided to rig the main entrance. Credit: Glen Cushing.

Doug, Dan and I (the Drop Cave mapping team) met up with the group later in the morning. Upon our arrival to site, I learned our equipment was holding up quite well. But most importantly, the first piece of REALLY good news is we now have 24 hrs of thermal imagery from one of our study sites! The generator held up through the night, the computer didn’t crash, and the camera didn’t fail. So, this was a huge success! Last year in the Mojave (refer to Mojave 2008- Will the Computer Work), we had several computer glitches that took a few days to rectify. We learned many lessons that were applied this year.

Image: International cave explorer, Doug Billings, in action mapping Drop Cave.

Due to high visitation on the lava flow and some other confounding factors, we decided it would probably be best to select another view point of Drop Cave, and collect another 24 hr dataset of this same feature. While Murzy, Pete, Tim and Glen began to relocate our equipment to the next vantage point for the imagery collect, Dan, Doug and I began to rig the rope for rappelling into the skylight of Drop Cave.

Our mapping of Drop Cave went quite well and was, fortunately, rather uneventful. Doug completed the sketch of the cave, and we plotted all the sensor locations on the map. It took us 2.5hr to finish up the work – 30 minutes more than we had scheduled. As we were preparing our ascent out of the cave, Tim called down to us. He was waiting to be sure we got out of the cave safely. The Goddard boys had returned to Barstow, and Glen was now en route back to FLG.

Image: Multi-sport athlete, math/ science teacher and good buddy, Dan Lowen, ascending out of the 40 foot drop of Drop Cave. Credit: Doug Billings.

Murzy and Pete successfully jury rigged an auxiliary fuel tank atop our Honda generator. We now have the capabilities to run the generator for over 18 hrs without refueling. This meant we didn’t have to baby sit the generator again. In other words, I wouldn’t be able to camp on the lava flow with the equipment. While I appreciate a nice hot shower and a warm bed at the end of the day as much as the next fella, I was rather bummed about this. I would have loved to have seen the k-rats, and I know camping out there would have been awesome!

Image: Cooler than velcro? More reliable than duct tape? This advanced concept by NASA was another victory garnered by our NASA-Goddard engineers.

Instead, Doug, Dan, Tim, and I began our hike back to the vehicles. Not only did we have another safe day, but we had a successful day in the field! We have now mapped all caves and non-cave features in the Mojave, all cave volume data has been collected and we now have thermal imagery over a diurnal cycle from one of our study sites. Today was a very good day!

Image: Left to right, Doug, Tim and Dan conducting a final walk through of the sampling station before we return to Barstow for the night.

2009 QWIP-Mojave Mission

2009-02-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

Image: The Quantum Well Infared Photo Detector (QWIP) in action. For more information on this camera, Go to the NASA GSFC story "Inexpensive Detector Sees the Invisible, In Color".

Today was our first day of the 2009 QWIP-Mojave Mission, southern California. This will be a short mission. We plan to conduct two 24 hour thermal imagery collects at one cave using two different observation points. We will be here through Sunday, 22 February.

Image: The core science team for the 2009 QWIP/Mojave Mission. From left to right, Drs. Murzy Jhabvala and Peter Shu NASA-GSFC; Dr. Tim Titus and Mr. Glen Cushing, USGS-Astrogeology Branch.

Our objective for the day was to collect thermal imagery of Drop Cave. This is the cave that involves a 40ft rappel to access. The approach to this cave is quite difficult and even more difficult when carrying a large bulky box with a multi-million dollar camera, generator, gas can, and all the accessories for running this system. I inadvertently weaseled out of having to carry gear.

I had to meet some of the area land managers to show them what we’ve been doing in the Mojave. There was also one cave with a large guano pile and a considerable number of spiders, so I wanted to show them this cave as well. So, there were two biologists and one archaeologist who came out today. I took them to three caves and then we finished our tour at Drop Cave.

Image: Murzy and I acting like we're discussing something important. Credit: Glen Cushing.

Upon our arrival, Tim, Murzy, Glen and Pete had the camera set up and had been collecting data for one and a half hours. Murzy, Glen and I had learned quite a bit about field operations with this camera from our work out here in 2008. So, we felt we had our bases fairly well covered. We were right. So far, so good.

Image: Tim and Murzy discussing the operating procedures for the QWIP. Tim is getting the low-down before the rest of the team departs for Barstow.

We remained on the flow until early evening. Tim volunteered to stay the night to refill the reservoir on the generator. The tank needs to be filled around midnight.

I would have preferred to have stayed with the camera. However, I will be rappelling into Drop Cave tomorrow to finish up the map. I will be meeting up with a couple of my buddies, Dan Lowen and Doug Billings, and we will be finishing up the map for this cave. So, I felt it would be a good idea if I got a good night’s sleep before doing this. The alternative would have been to try to sleep next to noisy generator.

We’re hoping to retrofit the generator tomorrow so that we can run it 24 hrs using an external gas tank. If it works, we will all sleep in the hotel tomorrow night. If not, I’ll be spending the night on the lava flow.

Image: A fly over by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. I reckon they were wondering what we were doing out there. They have a nice bird. I wonder if they would want to help us with the overflights?

Looking at Planes at NASA-Dryden and Hanging Out with the Incredibly Beautiful SOPHIA

2009-02-19T23:18:00.001-08:00

Image: Sitting the the belly of a DC-8. The belly of this plane has been modified to have several ports for instrumentation. Our purpose was to look at this plane and see whether it would be suitable for the Mojave overflight mission. Bob Curry is behind me. Credit: Tim Titus.

Today, Tim Titus, Murzy Jhabvala and Peter Shu and I went to meet Bob Curry at NASA Dryden’s Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, California. We went to chat with them regarding possible aircraft for the Mojave overflights. From the work we did two weeks ago, we have temperature and barometric pressure sensors deployed in five caves and five non-cave features on a lava flow in the Mojave Desert. The data from these instruments will help instruct us as to when we should conduct the overflights with the QWIP thermal imaging camera. This is where meeting with the Dryden folks comes in. They have a couple of aircraft that may be suitable for our needs. Today, our team and Bob met to discuss some options. There seems to be a few good possibilities. However, we have to wait and see how this turns out.

Image: SOPHIA in the background.

We did get a chance to see one of their aircraft for collecting imagery. It’s a DC-8, and obviously a huge plane. It was incredibly cool to see how this plane has been converted from a passenger plane to a science lab. We were shown numerous ports in the belly of the plane where viewing instruments could be installed.

Image: One of Dryden's workhorses. This is the DC-8. She has been modified to serve as a remote sensing lab.

We also had the opportunity to play tourists. Bob was kind enough to set up a quick mini-tour of SOPHIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy lab). Costing in the 100s of millions to develop, this airborne observatory is a 747 jumbo jet carrying a massive telescope for viewing the heavens. The telescope is located at the aft of the plane. The side of the plane has been modified and has an open cavity for the telescope to collect data. After Bob had told me how much this bird costs, I actually tip-toed mindfully through the plane. Calling this bird impressive is an understatement.

Image: Murzy and me being tourists and posing for a photo. This is just before we got a tour of SOPHIA. Murzy's wife, Christine actually developed one of the instruments on-board this jumbo-laboratory.

2009 NASA/ SETI Mojave Expedition a Success!

2009-02-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

02 February 2007

Image: 2009 Mojave Desert Expedition Team (sans Doug Billings). Kneeling (left to right): James Rice, Sabine Airieau, and Jut Wynne. Standing (left to right): Denise Hill, Greg Flores, Tim Titus, Dave Decker, Dan Ruby, Amanda Stockton, and Queeg. Credit: Polly Kinsinger.

After holding a team meeting after work yesterday, we identified our remaining tasks for this expedition. This morning, we got up in good spirits and completed all our scheduled work with the exception of one cave – Drop Cave. Doug was going to finish up the map this morning; he was going to return from LA. However, his car was broken into the night before, and was unable to return promptly. So, we had to table completion of Drop Cave.

All other mission critical objectives were met. This has been an outstanding team. It has been both an honor and a pleasure to work with such a dedicated and hard-working group.

We are now studying five caves and five non-cave features in the Mojave! Instruments are now in the ground and logging data as I type. Christina Colpitts (2008 Atacama Desert Expedition medical specialist/ safety chief) and I will return in mid-March. We will meet Doug in the Mojave, and we will finish up Drop Cave. It should take us one day to finish up.

Image: Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus ) disturbed while roosting. Oddly, these bats have a distinct smell. They actually smell like tortillas. Credit: James Rice.

I am know working on entering in all the information collected when we deployed sensors. This information will assist us in relocating them to upload the data. We will upload data from these sensors in one year. Dan Ruby will begin the process of developing our volumetric maps of each Mojave cave, while Dave Decker and Doug Billings will draft our cave and non-cave feature maps.

This project is on track and all team members are happy with this progress. Thanks again to the 2009 Mojave Desert Expedition Team for making this expedition a success!

Image: Our study area. Credit: Dave Decker.

Bees in Bumble Bee Cave?

2009-02-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

01 February 2009

Image: Well, we didn't find bees, but someone left their chair here. From the looks of it, it was left here back in the 1970s. Did the Brady Bunch ever make a trip to the Mojave? Credit: Dan Ruby.

We are making really good progress in the Mojave. It appears we will be able to end the project early. The next two days will be spent tying up all the loose ends.

Dan’s team continued to map Bumble Bee Cave, while James’ team went to Binny Cave and the Trench Non-cave Complex. Nothing overly exciting to report here. Progress is being made, and I remain quite pleased with my team.

We also had one final cave to deploy sensors within. We were able to complete this task in a couple of hours.

Thereafter, we spend the remainder of the day walking across the flow collecting GPS data. Last night, Tim and I went through all the GPS data collected. We determined to best tie each mapped cave into geographical space, we should have at least three points per cave.

Image: Additional note taking at the big trench. Credit: Tim Titus.

This evening, Tim, Dan and I met to discuss our progress. It appears we will likely finish one to two days early. We plotted out where we are, and what we have to complete. We will implement our plan tomorrow AM.

Dan and Denise collected volumetric data from Carbon Cave and mapped the locations of our sensors. Russ provided us with a great map of this cave. So, we won’t have to sketch it.

Image: Sabine and Greg learning how to sketch caves! Credit: Dave Decker.

Dave gave a cave mapping lesson to Greg and Sabine. They spent the day mapping The Trench.

Image: Self-portrait with Tim.

Jagged lava and shoes don't mix

2009-02-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

31 January 2009

Image: In addition to serving as our "Papa Bear," Queeg was responsible for setting up, as well as making modifications to our instruments.

Today, Russ and Liz Harter came to check on our progress. Russ has been investigating the caves in this part of the Mojave since the early 1960s. He has been quite an asset to our project. He and I have been collaborating since the 2006 Mojave Expedition with NASA Spaceward Bound!.

Tim and Jut have a major breakthrough! We found a trench that contains four non-cave features! The beauty of selecting this site is that all these shallow alcoves have different aspects.

Image: Russ Harter. Russ is a collaborator on this project. He is a geologist with over 30 years experience working on this flow. We are very fortunate to have him on our team.

Dan’s team began mapping Bumble Bee Cave. He anticipates it will take a couple of days to complete this cave.

Tim and I returned to Bumble Bee Cave to deploy sensors in the cave’s interior. Once finished, we trekked across the Aa Aa flow to Binny Cave.

Image: The gear of a cave cartographer. Note the toes of the boots are wearing thin. The Aa Aa lava is no friend to boot or shoe. Credit: Dave Decker.

This type of lava is jagged and sharp. Aa Aa forms when the lava is flowing slowly. It cools forming very rough terrain. One can only traverse Aa Aa lava in a mindful state. This type of lava is generally loose, and falling on Aa Aa would be most unpleasant.

Image: Tim collecting GPS data for the entrance of Binny Cave.

Possible Earthquake in the Mojave?

2009-02-08T13:46:00.001-08:00

30 January 2009

Image: Lounging around in Sprig Cave. From left, back and to right - Tim, Dave, Greg, Dan and me. Credit: Amanda Stockton.

We continue to make great progress here in the Mojave. We have an impressively dedicated team. I am proud to lead such a group of professional and hard-working cavers.

Today, Dan’s team completed the sketch map and volumetric mapping of Sprig Cave. Dan in quite pleased with the equipment he has designed to collect volumetric data; it appears both mapping teams are becoming proficient at mapping cave volume.

Image: Another scary dark hole that we will have to go into. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Tim and I went to Bumble Bee Cave, we deployed sensors in this feature as well. We are moving right along and well ahead of schedule.

Dan, Tim and I went into to Barstow to eat tonight. We went to the infamous Bun Boy. If you’ve never eaten at the Bun Boy, then you ain’t living. It doesn’t look like much from outside, but culinary delights await you once you pass through those doors framed in the 1960s. The past few times I’ve eaten there, I go with the Gyro Platter – plenty of food…man, it is good!

While chatting at dinner, Dan mentioned that he thinks he felt a small earthquake during the night last night…I didn’t feel anything b/c I was sleeping in vehicle. We’ll need to check to see if there was an earthquake reported in the area for last night…

Upon our arrival back to camp, I decided to pull out the guitar. After an almost two year hiatus from playing, the calluses on my fingers have returned. I’m remembering many songs that I used to play and I’m learning new songs once again. So, although quite rusty, I played by the camp fire for about an hour before calling it a night.

Another excellent day in the beautiful Mojave Desert!

Image: Dan's mapping team mapping the collapse pit associated with the southern entrance of Sprig Cave. Sabine featured here. Credit: Dan Ruby.

A Chuckwalla on the Flow...

2009-02-08T13:42:00.001-08:00

29 January 2009

Image: Moving through tight passage in Drop Cave. Credit: Tim Titus.

Doug’s team continued to map Drop Cave. This will likely take them a couple more days to complete this cave. All is going well, and Doug’s team is proving to be incredibly proficient at the mapping techniques and negotiating the rappel.

Tim and I joined Dan’s mapping team at Sprig Cave. His team continued mapping and we successfully deployed sensors within this cave.

Image: This chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) was observed moving across the flow. I didn't see one chuckwalla this trip. However, when I was on this flow in April 2008, I saw these critters daily. Credit: Dave Decker.

Unfortunately, Doug had to return home. James stepped in and continued the mapping effort. He, Greg and Sabine spent one more day at Drop Cave.

Image: Greg navigating tight passage in Sprig Cave. Credit: Dave Decker.

The weather is excellent here in the Mojave. At night the temperatures are dropping into the mid-30s and it’s in the high 60s to low 70s during the day. This has made our time out here quite comfortable.

Image: Relaxing by the fire after a long day in the field. Credit: Tim Titus

On Rope on Day Two!

2009-02-08T13:31:00.001-08:00

28 January 2009

Image: Scouting out a location to place the temperature sensor. Credit: Tim Titus.

We started off the first official day of working on rope. The cave where we were working required a 40 ft rappel into a skylight. I’m calling this cave Drop Cave. This entrance was excavated by cavers many years ago. They observed blowing air through a small crack and opened it wide enough to rig ropes to rappel into it.

This feature has not received much traffic, which made it an excellent candidate for our study. Tim and I went through the cave and deployed sensors within.

This morning, Doug, Denise and James began mapping this cave. It consisted of three skylight entrances, and has large booming passage. This may be the largest known cave on the lava flow.

Image: Sabine using a frog device to climb up rope and out of the cave. Credit: James Rice.

In one room, this cave contained what appeared to be the skeleton of a bobcat. Apparently, this cat fell into the cave and survived at least long enough to move a considerable distance from the closest entrance. I find it rather impressive that a bobcat could survive a 40ft fall. However, there is a possibility this cat found a way to climb into the cave unbeknownst to us. Unfortunately, someone walked away with the skull. Only the mandible and other bones remain.

Tim and I were finished before the mapping team. So, we climbed out and went to one of our non-cave features, where we then deployed sensors within this feature.

Dan’s team mapped Sprig Cave. This cave is rather mazy with considerable passage. We anticipate it will take a couple of days to both sketch and collect volumetric data of this cave.

Day 1: Orientation and Training Day

2009-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

27 January 2009

Image: Sitting around the fire pit during the expedition and safety briefings. Left to right: Dan, me and Sabine. Credit: Dave Decker.

When one thinks of the Mojave, the hottest desert in the American Southwest, it doesn’t register that it can also be incredibly cold. During the winter, low temperatures can range well below freezing. Our team was welcomed to the Mojave those nighttime temperatures. Last night, it was darn cold! I had a 15 degree bag and wool blanket and my feet were frozen most of the night. Thankfully, the weather forecast is that it will become increasingly warmer throughout the next 10 days.

The team trickled in last night, and I was among one of the last members to arrive. I got hung up in Flagstaff, and had to drive through bad weather until I dropped down off the Mogollon Rim. Snow was falling sporadically yet heavily in places until I reached Kingman. So, it was slow goings until I reached the desert lowlands.

Image: Denise Hill (Safety Chief) demonstrating how to tie a diaper sling. Credit: Dave Decker.

Today was the orientation and training day. I went over expedition goals, identified the expedition chain of command, and addressed overall project objectives. Denise, our safety chief and medical specialist went over basic first aid, typical rescue situations and then we did a knot review. Thereafter, Dan led the cartography training; he walked us through the mapping techniques to be applied during this expedition. All of this took up most of the morning.

Once we went addressed everything related to project orientation, we spent the latter half of the day in the field. Tim and I began investigating potential study sites, while Dan took everyone else to a large non-cave feature to continue the cartography training.

We determined we will have three teams on this trip – the sensor deployment team (Tim and I), and two mapping teams (everyone else).

Image: Dan is leading a training exercise. The cartorgraphy teams are being taught how to use the new volumetric mapping techniques that we developed. Credit: Dave Decker.

2009 Mojave Desert Expedition, NASA/SETI Earth-Mars Cave Detection Project

2009-02-08T12:35:00.001-08:00

26 January - 02 February 2009

Image: The Sunshine Mountains constrain the southern extent of the lava flow where we will be working in the Mojave Desert. Credit: Queeg.

Phase II of the Earth-Mars Cave Detection Project has two study sites -- the Atacama and Mojave Deserts. The 2008 Atacama Expedition Team garnered much success in northern Chile. I am confident we will be equally successful in the Mojave.

No photo. Jut Wynne (No. I; Expedition Lead). In addition to leading all field campaigns for this project, I am also the project manager.

Tim Titus (No. II in Command; Sensor Deployment). Tim is a co-investigator on this project, and is assisting in sensor deployment. He is also the lead modeler; using the data collected in the field, he will be developing cave thermal behavior models for both terrestrial caves, as well as models to simulate how a Martian cave will behave thermally. These models will ultimately be used to identify cave detection times, and will enable us to schedule aerial overflights with the thermal imaging camera accordingly.

Dan Ruby (No. III in Command; Cartography Chief). Dan is a veteran of the Atacama Desert Expedition. With other Atacama team members, he has been refined our volumetric mapping techniques. He will be leading this component of the expedition. Dan is also a newly elected member into The Explorers Club.

Denise Hill (Medical Specialist/ Safety Chief). Denise is responsible for making sure we all get home safe. She is an EMT and is our safety chief. What she says goes. If she feels a cave or given situation is unsafe, she makes the “no-go” call. The entire team will follow her lead.

Queeg (Base Camp; aka Poppa Bear). This man was an unforeseen blessing. He is a member of the Desert Dog Troglodytes out of California, and has coordinated many of their outings. He is our “Poppa Bear” -- our central command. He will have coordinates to all of our study sites, and each team will radio to him their exact location and when they will move the next location. He will keep a log of our movements on the lava flow, and has all the numbers to contact first responders in the event of an emergency.

Sabine Airieau (Mapping Assistant/ Instruments). Sabine is an accomplished rock climber and astrobiologist.

No photo. Doug Billings (Cartographer/ Sketcher). Doug is a long-time friend of mine, and one of the owners of Cathedral Cave Preserve. He has been a lead cartographer and sketcher for many international expeditions, and it is an honor to have him developing maps for this project.

Dave Decker (Cartographer/ Sketcher). Dave will be serving as a lead cartographer and sketcher.

Greg Flores (Mapping Assistant/ Instruments). Greg is an accomplished caver and has worked extensively on the North Rim with my friend and colleague Kyle Voyles.

James Rice (Mapping Assistant/ Instruments). James is an experienced caver and has completed numerous international expeditions. He will be operating instruments as part of the mapping effort.

Amanda Stockton (Microbiologist/ Mapping Assistant) Amanda is a rock climber and is a graduate student at UC-Berkeley. She will be assisting us in the mapping effort, and evaluating caves as part of an upcoming proposal we plan to submit to investigate microbial life in caves.

The MTB Crash -- 06 December 2008

2009-02-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Image: This shot was taken about 20 minutes after the crash. My "war paint" had already dried on my face. Credit: Brian Cannon.

Well, upon being back in country less than 24 hours, I decided to go mountain biking down in Sedona. It was the last chance I was going to have to go for a spin with one of my good buddies, Brian Cannon. He and his fiance, Ellie, were moving to Oregon the next week.

Oddly enough, I'm sitting in my kitchen right before Brian was to arrive to pick me up, and I thought to myself, "I'm really beat, I should probably bag on mountain biking in Sedona."

Well, I didn't and less than 15 minutes into the ride, I had my biggest crash on a mountain bike. I went down a hill that I had successfully cleaned at least three times in the past. This time, I hit rock, my front tire seized and I went over the bars. My face broke my fall. I must admit, it didn't feel too good.

My buddy Dustin was also with us. He is an EMT and he rushed to me, picked me up, and leaned me up against a rock. And he began to look me over. My face was covered in blood, I had rather large diggers on both knees and I had a rather large gash on my right collar bone.

After the impact, I was in pretty good pain for about one to two minutes, then I stood up and proclaimed, "I'm okay." I then closed my mouth to exhale out of my nose. When I did that, I blew blood bubbles through the gash underneath my nose. Both Dusty and Brian looked and me and said, "NO! You're not alright."

Well, this meant I was going to the hospital for stitches. It took 13 under the nose to sew me up.

I felt really bad that I blew the MTB trip for my buddies. But we all realize that when we do these sorts of activities, we're at risk of getting hurt. In so doing, we all recognize that we are there for each other, and that if one of us gets hurt we do everything we can to get that person back to safety. My buddies really took care me on this day. I really appreciate everything they did for me.

Summary of events from 01-04 December 2008

2009-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Image: The view looking out of one of the windows at Dos Ventanas Cave.

This trip went well really. Alicia and I were able to visit and evaluate four additional caves, I was able to meet with CONAF officials and the Governor of the island. I also had the opportunity to meet a Polish Cave Expedition team. So, this trip was highly successful.

Of the study sites for next summer, many of them contained well-developed moss gardens. These moss gardens are of particular interest to me. I wonder whether these have been intact since historic times and if so, do they support relict populations.

Most notably, I was able to establish a collaboration with the Polish expedition team. This team was searching for and mapping caves throughout the island. They have agreed to provide me with their maps once they have been drafted. This will be vitally important to our work this summer. We will be able to focus on studying the biodiversity and identifying caves suitable for archaeological excavation, and will not need to be mapping caves as well. This will save us a lot of time.

Image: While with the Nat Geo team, Alicia brought her guitar and played us a few songs in the cave. This was a great treat for all of us.

Also, the Polish team was partially supported by the National Geographic Expeditions Council, and a Nat Geo film crew was on the island covering their expedition. During this time, I was able to spend one day with the film crew and the Polish team. This was very interesting to me because I was able to see how they were setting up their story board for the documentary. This was really cool.

I'm really looking forward to my return to the island in June/July. Rapa Nui is an amazing place. It has quite a grip on me.

Image: Alicia inspecting two skulls found by the Polish Expedition Team. These skulls were likely placed within this side passage for tourists. Note the mandibles on both skulls. Bone had infilled several of the tooth sockets. These skulls likely belonged to older people.

Running up a Volcano and Maunga Hiva Hiva

2009-01-26T08:55:00.001-08:00

30 November 2008

Image: Orongo Volcano. This shot was taken by Pete Polsgrove in August 2008. I did not have my camera on this run, so I had to dig into my Rapa Nui photo archives.

Today was a really great day. Initially, we had planned to go surfing this morning. However, when we arrived at the beach, there were no waves. So, we decided to go for a run. After stopping by Alicia’s house and my hotel room to grab our gear, we ventured to the base of Orongo. Orongo (or Rano Kau) is the second largest volcano one the island. Our plan to run up and then down the volcano. It was high noon and near 100% humidity at this point. It was rather funny. As I am running up this volcano, I’m thinking this is not the right time of day for this, and about that time, Alicia’s said, “we should be doing this at six or eight in the morning." We both laughed and proceeded up hill.

This caldera of Rano Kau is absolutely breathtaking. There are literally a hundred freshwater lakes within this caldera. You can also peer through the lowest point of the caldera and into the Pacific Ocean.

Image: Another view of Orongo. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

After gazing into the volcano for sometime, we decided to tackle the down hill portion of our run. This was a blast for me. I haven’t ran down hill in a while, and I was really looking forward to opening up the legs and running hard. Once we were back to the jeep, Alicia said I usually jump into the ocean after this run. Looking around and noticing there were only cliff faces to be found, I agreed that a dip in the ocean would be great!

So, we walked down to the water and we jumped off a 30 foot cliff into the ocean. It was an amazing adrenalin rush.

Thereafter, we grabbed some lunch and then off to the caves. We had another day in the Maunga Hiva Hiva region.

There were a few leads that we discovered yesterday, that we wanted to pursue. However, we wanted to check out the tourist cave first. There is a large tourist cave in this region that I wanted to inspect. I determined this would be a good cave for biodiversity inventories because it has received so much human visitation. This cave has two major sections, one is northward toward the coast, the other southward. We went through the northern section first. There were some other leads near the coast that we wanted to inspect. The northern section is highly disturbed and the soil of the cave floor is highly compacted. I would be surprised if much life exists in this cave.

Image: Alicia Ika.

Once we arrived at the northern most entrance, we walked further northward to some large guava trees. This was good for two reasons – one fresh guavas, two it was a collapse pit with a cave within. After completely gorging ourselves on ripe guavas, and debating about exactly how many guavas does one need to eat to get really sick, we decided to go into the cave. This cave has been highly modified and extensively used by ranchers. The locals had pumped water out of this cave and filled two troughs for horses – one was within the collapse pit, the other was on the rim of the pit.

Interestingly, this cave contained millipedes, spring tails and nematodes. We will be coming back to collect at this cave in a few days.

Once done, we returned to the tourist cave. We wanted to explore the southern extent of the cave. This section contains an avocado tree that had grown up out of a sky light. It had fought for every ray of sunlight for many, many years before growing about 20 feet high and breaching the surface through the cave. Once we arrived at the tree, Alicia and I decided to climb it to get out. This was a lot of fun and a little challenging as well.

Image: A majestic veiw from one of the many cliff caves we investigated during this expedition.

My Return to Rapa Nui

2009-01-26T08:53:00.001-08:00

28 November 2008

Image: The horses of Rapa Nui.

My plans for this week long trip will be to meet with my friend Sergio Rapa to discuss developing a proposal to continue the work here. I also hope to me with the Governor of the Island, as well as representatives from CONAF and the Museum. I want to start the process of applying for research permits, as well as get all the other details dialed in for this work.

Sergio, my good friend, as well as my colleague in a proposal to study the cave archaeology and biodiversity of the island, was unable to pick me up at the airport. He had meetings that had delayed him from picking me up.

Fortunately, I was met by another good friend of mine, Alicia Ika. She and a friend of hers, Jenny, came to the airport to welcome me back to Rapa Nui. And in the Polynesian tradition, Alicia gave me a flower lei, as well as a ride to Sergio’s hotel. Alicia and I will be working together in the island the entire week.

Once at the hotel, I awaited Sergio’s arrival. Sergio leaves for Santiago tomorrow; he and I need to discuss our proposal before he departs. We decided to meet tonight to discuss the proposal.

I then gave Alicia a call to set up our plans for the week. Interestingly, the hotel phone does not permit you to call to a cell phone. So, I had to go to a tattoo parlor, that also happened to serve as a central telephone facility – here I can make calls to a cell phone. After trying to speak with her for about 20 minutes and dealing with a horrible connection, she invited me over to her house to chat in person.

Alicia, her Mom, and Jenny had just completed a large fish lunch and a nap. Upon my arrival, Jenny told me they had left-overs, and she asked if I was hungry. Knowing that I was going to eat fresh fish, my answer was a resounding “yes!”

I then proceeded to stuff myself on a large plate of fresh fish and potatoes. While eating, Jenny was playing Elvis, and she was telling me how much she liked his music. By this time, another one of Alicia’s friends arrived at her house. We then decided to go down to shore. We went to Ahu Vinapu -- a Moai site characterized by the most impressive stone Ahu on the island. This Ahu is comprised of large basalt monoliths puzzled together in sheer perfection. Some of the contact points where stone is pieced together is so tight, one cannot slip a piece of paper between the two stones.

I marveled at this structure and the toppled Ahu for some time. Then, Alicia and I down-climbed the cliff face to the water. We went down to the shore to collect water-worn rocks for Alicia’s garden. We spent some time walking along the shore.

She observed an outcrop of yellow soil, which she indicated is of the correct consistency for making body paint for ceremonies. However, we were unsuccessful at finding a safe route to this outcrop. We determined the best way to do this would be to rappel down from the edge of the cliff. We want to do this on this trip, but it may have to wait until I return in June.

After our little outing, we dropped off my new friends, I went back to Alicia’s house, grabbed her motorcycle and then she gave me a ride back to the hotel.

Jut and the Volcano

2009-01-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Originally drafted 20 November 2008

Image: Sun rise at mid-camp. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

This was an incredible challenge for me. I loved it! It's a lot like when I'm doing a long race. The ego takes over and you start to think, "what the heck am I doing here?" But then you realize exactly what you are doing. You reel in the ego, concentrate and realize that you are pushing yourself in ways that strengthen no only the mind but the body as well. I was completely alive and intimately familiar with every step that I took.

Image: Mid-camp (16,500ft) on the slopes of Volcan Simbad.

The cough was kicking me in the rear end, but I knew that I had a job to do once I reached the summit. And, I knew that I would reach the summit. Claudia, our expedition doctor, told me that altitude diminishes ones immune system, and that high elevations also tend to spur a cough in most. Because I had been sick most of the expedition, and I was at high altitude, this cough really had a hold on me. However, I did not realize how troubling it was until the second half of the climb.

The first half of the climb was quite easy. I've done once already and I knew what to expect. However, when we ascended we were carrying more weight than we did on our training day, but we were all still strong and climbing well.

Image: Having breakfast before our summit attempt on Simbad. Left to right -- me, Ingrid and Kevin. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

We spent the night at mid-camp, which is around 16,500ft elevation. I was feeling the effects of altitude here. After being at mid-camp for a few hours, I realized how winded I was if I simply walked from one end of camp to the other. The entire team ate early, and we called it an early night.

Image: Our ascent to the summit. Ingrid is at right. Yes, I'm the only one on the team with a light on his helmet. In my defense (though it may not be much of one), I leave for Rapa Nui to continue my cave work -- so, I brought my caving helmet.

I went to bed around 2000hr, but I only slept about three hours that night. For the first few hours, I found it very difficult to breath. I placed one of my backpacks underneath my head in an attempt to elevate my chest. This helped a little. Then, my tent mate, Nathalie, suggested opening one of the tent’s vents. I believe a combination between the two enabled me to breath much better. I was then able to drift in and out of sleep for the next several hours.

Between really weird high-altitude dreams and my inability to breath, I woke up the next morning ready to tackle the volcano. However, my cough had not abated. So, I had to make the ascent with a cough.

The second pitch – The climb for me was slow and steady for the most part.
Each time I stopped, I was coughing up a lung. I placed a bandanna over my face so that the air I was inhaling was slightly warmed. It seemed to help a little.

It’s funny; when you are standing at the base of Aguas Calientes, it does not appear that big. When you’re climbing though, you know she is a behemoth.

It was quite a sense of accomplishment once we reached the summit. I’ve never been to 19000ft, and the views were absolutely spectacular. Oddly enough, I didn’t notice the lack of oxygen as much while climbing and while on the summit. The lake was absolutely beautiful. It was pinkish red. We still don’t know why the lake is that color, but several on the team are investigating this question.

Image: The view of Simbad's caldera. Kevin, Jeremy and others are studying this lake to determine why the water is red. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

Once on the summit, I actually jogged around a bit, and got in trouble by the expedition doc. I’ve ran at 14K, but never 19K. However, I felt fine after my little job and was barely winded.

Unfortunately, I did not get to map the lake using the bathometry unit. The lake was frozen. However, we did set up the dosimeter (UV meter). It is currently collecting data at 19,000ft.

All and all, this was an incredible experience and expedition. With each expedition I complete, I walk away a better and more knowledgeable person. Expeditions truly can help one grow.

Image: Cristian and I sitting proudly before the dosimeter. This UV instrument is currently logging data at 19,000ft!

Training day – The Climb to Mid-camp Volcan Aguas Calientes

2009-01-26T08:52:00.001-08:00

Originally Drafted 16 November 2008

Image: The team on the ascent up the volcano.

Today, we train. We will be making our ascent to 16,500ft. This will be the highest I've been to date!

Image: Our ascent leader, Macario. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

The ascent team will be led by Macario, a 62 year old Bolivian, who has worked with Nathalie for almost a decade now. Macario is definately one of my heros. When we made the ascent to 16,500 ft as part of our training, I realized Macario has made the ascent to the top of the volcano four times this week! I hope that if I reach 62, I can still be able to climb 19ers!

Today, I felt strong and I realized that I would be fine making this climb to mid-camp. However, my cough has not gone away. As I was climbing, I had to use a bandana to cover my mouth so I could breath in warmer air. The rational was that the air would be a bit warmer and would not be such a shock to my lungs. Well, I reckon it kind of worked.

All and all, I climbed strong and I felt good. I have done many endurance races in the past, and I realize all I have to do is get myself in race mode and I will be fine. In 2007, I completed the Mount Taylor Quadrathlon when I was near hypothermic during the downhill ski portion of the race.

So, while I realize climbing above 16,500ft will be challenging, I am confident that I will summit in a couple of days.

Image: Standing at 16,500ft on the slope of Volcan Aguas Calientes (also known by the Quechuan people as Simbad).

Laguna Aguas Calientes

2009-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

Originally Drafted 13 November 2008

Image: We arrived on the altiplano right after the nandu breeding season. We observed countless nandus with chicks. This is one of those precious shots. Credit: Ingrid Peate.

Today, we went to Laguna Aguas Calientes. For all the lower elevation work, I'm the multi-parameter water chemistry guy. I walk around with this incredibly slick and expensive instrument. I see how dirty i can get it and I continue to push it's functional capabilities to the limits. The second day in the field the pH meter on this unit failed. So, I'm now calling into question the accuracy of the other sensors. Fortunately, we are collected water samples and water chemistry analysis will be repeated in the lab. So, if there are problems with the data collected, we have a back up.

I don't have a lot to report here, but I do have some great images of the area.

Image: Eric Fleming background and Eric Pinto foreground. We're setting up to start data collection at numerous spring-fed pools along the outer edge of Laguna Aguas Calientes.

Image: While it may look like I'm getting ready to take a nap. I'm actually collecting data on this pools water chemistry.

Image: A view of the freshwater ponds adjacent Laguna Aguas Calientes. In the not too distant geological past, these small ponds were likely part of the Laguna; as the Laguna receded, these spring-fed pools have become isolated.

It makes me wonder what interesting arthropod communities are waiting to be studied right here where we sit? How may new species are beneath my feet?

The Howling High Winds

2009-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Originally Drafted 12 November 2008

Image: Team members on Laguna Lejia. Credit: Eric Fleming.

It was another cold night at Chillyfornia. Fortunately, my -15° sleeping bag kept me nice and cozy. I actually broke a sweat this morning, and I had to shed a layer to continue my slumber.

We returned to Laguna Lejia again today. I had quite a treat as we were making our approach into the Laguna basin, we spooked a herd of vacunas, and they took off across the plain. They kicked up quite a bit of dust in the process, and I just sat and watched in awe. This is a desolate, yet truly amazing place.

As is per usual up here, the winds were howling on the Altiplano. So, it's going to make for another fun day up here.

My objectives were to collect water habitat information (using our multi-parameter instrument) related to the Laguna proper and assist Nathalie and Eric Pinto in collecting water samples. Eric Pinto is a graduate student at UCN-Antofagasta. He is collecting water samples of all the small ponds, as well as the lake. These samples will be studied in the lab.

I arrived early with the first group of researchers. So, before I started my work, I volunteered to assist Kevin Rose and Jeremy Mack in collecting a UV profile of the lake. These researchers are studying the copepods that occur in the lake and the smaller ponds. They are investigating the relationships between UV and their life cycle. So, we trudged about 30 meters into the laguna and through the sinking mud to operate this instrument.

Image: Jeremy and Kevin heading into Laguna Lejia with the UV meter. Image: Eric Fleming.

As we were wrapping up this data collect, Nathalie, Eric Pinto and the others arrived. So, I went off to work with Nathalie and Eric. Nathalie has been ill the past couple of days, and she decided to return to camp to rest.

So, Eric Pinto and I collected water samples and I continued to collect water chemistry data. Nothing overly exciting and in the eyes of the common observer, it was rather mundane data collection. However, we were doing it at 14,000ft on the Chilean Altiplano!

Once the data was collected, we were done for the day. Everyone remaining on the Laguna was now ready to head back to base camp.

Our resident geologist was still working along the southern shore of the lake. I decided to remain with her so she could complete her work there. Once done, we were done for the day. We packed it up and headed back to Chillyfornia!

Image: Back at Base Camp. Featured in the office/ medical tent from left to right Eric Pinto, Claudia and me. Image: Cristian Tambley.

Rejoining the High Lakes Expedition Team

2009-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Originally drafted on 11 November 2008

Image: Chillyfornia base camp. Located at 14,000ft in the Chilean Altiplano.

Unfortunately, due to research permit problems in Bolivia, and Nathalie made the call to pull the plug. The entire time returned to Chile on 09 November. I arrived at “Chillyfornia” on the night of 10 November. Chillyfornia is an abandoned military barracks that provides us with four walls to partially shield us from the high Altiplanic winds.

Apparently, I brought the cold air with me. I was told tonight was the coldest night to date. It was around 20 below zero last night! Good thing I had my brand new Mountain Hardware -15 bag. This isn’t a shameless plug here; the -15 degree Lyell is bomber! I was snug as a bug in a rug!

Image: This is Lazcar. This active volcano actually erupted while the 2007 High Lakes Team was reaching the summit of Simbad. Lazcar is just a few miles away.

Today was my first day of fieldwork on the High Lakes Project. I still have a hacking cough, but after lying in the bed for the past several days, and watching more American television than I normally do at home, I was eager to get into the field.

I was working with Nathalie and Eric Fleming. Eric is a postdoc and microbiologist with NASA Ames; he is investigating the diatom communities living in the small pools along Laguna Lejia.

This large lake is situated at 14,000 ft, and laid within a valley. It was absolutely astounding. Lazcar, the only active volcano in the region, blew steam the entire time we were in the field. A dormant sister volcano, Simbad (or Aguas Caliente) rises slightly above Lazcar to the south and west. Flamingos fed on copepods along the shoreline. It is an absolutely amazing place.

Image: This morning as we drove across the Altiplano we encountered nandus (Rhea pennata). These large flightless birds belong to the ostrich family but are much smaller, and have been commonly observed out here.

Our objective for the day is to use the multi-parameter tool, which is essentially a water chemistry lab in a box, to collect data along an inner tidal pool that is partially fed by Laguna Lejia. While Nathalie and I did this, Eric was collect microbial mat samples at each sample location.

It is also possible this tidal pool is spring fed; however, we have yet to confirm this. It may be somewhat of a misnomer to refer to these features as tide pools. They are pools which were likely part of the lake and when it receded, these pools have become isolated from the lake.

Nathalie and I were operating our new multiparameter instrument, which collected several parameters related to the aqueous habitat. These parameters include temperature, pH, conductivity, resistivity, ORP, salinity, and total dissolved solids.

Image: The view looking out the door of our four walls at Chillyfornia. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

The day before Obama Day and I'm sick as a dog

2008-11-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

03- 05 November 2008

Image: This is one of two Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) or culpeos that lived on either side of the Aduanas (immigration) building on the Bolivian side of the Chile-Bolivia border. These animals have been habituated and are always looking for a hand out. This little guy approached me and was about five meters away when I took this shot.

After spending two days acclimatizing in San Pedro (at 8000ft), it was time to go even higher. On 03 November, we left for Laguna Verde National Park in southern Bolivia. This reserve is situated on the Altiplano and is at 14,000ft.

Image: We stopped briefly for a photo opp about 30 miles from the Bolivian border. This is the sacred mountain, Lincanbur, in the background. This is one of the 19,000ft volcanoes we will be climbing during this expedition.

Well, I don’t know exactly what happened to me, but I got really sick. It may have been the poorly washed raw carrots that I ate en route to Laguna Verde National Park, or it may have been something else. Whatever it was it resulted in projectile vomiting and diarrhea at 0200hr in the morning. Admittedly, I have a bad time with food poisoning. It turns me into a winy five year old boy with a tummy ache. I’ve been beaten up by caves, I’ve competed in tortuous endurance races, but food poisoning has always been a weakness for me. This is something that I need to work on, but I’m not looking to get sick just so I can “man up” when it comes to throwing up.

Image: A small mixed flock of Andean (Phoenicopterus andinus) and Chilean (Phoenicopterus chilensis) flamingos feeding on Laguna Blanca, Bolivia. Andean and Chilean flamingos have black and dark pink tail feathers, respectively. Andean flamingos are listed as "Vulnerable" on the The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

On 04 November, we were scheduled to go to Uynie. The closest town in the Altiplano. This involves an eight hour drive across rugged dirt roads. The expedition doc decided that I was to remain at the reserve. I was glad because I felt horrible. However, because the purpose of this little outing was to obtain our tourist visas, so we could remain in country, they took my passport, and this is where it gets interesting…

Well, I slowly recovered from my bout with food poisoning. I’m not a 14,000ft elevation and the body tends to recover much more slowly from an illness when at high elevation and low oxygen. As I was getting over the food poisoning, a gnarly cough set in. Due to the high elevation, my cough was dramatically exacerbated.

Image: Employee bunk house, Laguna Verde National Park.

As it turns out, the team is delayed by a day in Uynie, and I remain at the reserve. My cough gets progressively worse. When I move around too much, I cough so much I can hardly breath. Two of our Bolivian teammates were observing me, and told me that I had altitude illness. I didn’t think that I did. After all, I live at 7000ft elevation, and compete in races at well over 10,000ft. However, I figured the Bolivians were very familiar with altitude issues and if they said I had altitude problems, then maybe they were right.

So, I called Global Rescue, and they wanted to evac me back to San Pedro. They indicated they often err on the side of caution, and given what I told them, I needed to get to a lower elevation. Only one problem…I have to cross the Bolivian border and enter Chile, but I don’t have a passport. So, I was stuck.

Image: Another view with flamingos foraging, Laguna Verde National Park, Bolivia.

Global Rescue suggested that I find someone to sleep in the same room as me to watch over me and make sure I didn’t get worse. There was a touring cyclist from Poland named Peter. He agreed to sleep in the same room as me and make sure I was okay. I slept through the night, and made it to the morning.

The next evening, the team arrived back from Uynie and the expedition doc sent me back to San Pedro – with passport in hand. I spent the next five days in San Pedro, and I stayed in bed mostly because I was trying to heal myself as quickly as possible.

Image: The view looking out the guest house, Laguna Verde National Park.

Gearing up for the 2008 NASA/ SETI High Lakes Expedition

2008-11-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

29 October - 01 November 2008

Blogger's Note: I have been incredibly slack in getting all my blogs posted over the past two months. My apologies to my one fan, my Mom, who keeps up with my blogs. Sorry Mom!

The team loading up the bus and truck. We're getting ready for our departure to San Pedro de Atacama.

Gosh, it seems I never left here. It's been a little over two months since I was here. The first couple of days back in Chile was uneventful. As is tradition with the High Lakes project, we fly into Antofagasta. Our first day is a down day; this is a much needed day. It allows us to recover from the long flight. Day two involves going to the grocery store and purchasing comfort foods – nothing glamorous, but food is an essential part of any expedition. Then, we pack, boxed up all the food and the remaining gear and prepare ourselves for departure to San Pedro.

Image: Waiting to depart for San Pedro. Credit: Cristian Tambley.

San Pedro is our home for the cave detection work. So, I know this town well. It is always nice to return to SP.

The San Pedro stop is rather important for most of the expedition team members. Two days at 8000ft starts the acclimatization process, and prepares us for the higher elevation work that we will ultimately do. Living in Flagstaff, and training at altitude, I should be able to adapt to high elevation working and living. We shall see.

Image: Group photo at the Tropic of Capricorn.

En route to San Pedro, we made a couple of stops that I was unfamiliar with. We stopped at an old mining town along the highway. This mining town was likely a boom town during the turn of the century. They were mining nitrates in the area, and the town suffered the same boon to bust fate that most old towns in the American Southwest have suffered. Today, all that remains are numerous adobe structures and all the artifacts one may expect to find in association with an old mining town.

Image: A crypt that was broken into. Unfortunately, the remains have been heavily disturbed. In many cases, the skulls were stolen.

The cemetery leaves some tell-tail signs of this town’s demise as well. We encountered numerous headstones with the dates 1933-1935. There may have been some sort of epidemic that went through the town. Perhaps this epidemic ushered in the demise of this once bustling mining town. Along the back wall of the cemetery, there were numerous mausoleums that had been disturbed and looted by grave robbers. There were numerous burials completely exposed. Most disheartening was that many of the skulls had been removed. We saw many of the flower arrangements that were interred with these departed souls. We even saw their clothes that they were wearing. In most cases, we could actually see the bodies in various stages of mummification. I took a few pictures of this, but chose to do it tastefully. These are the remains of someone’s loved ones and should be respected; however, now mother nature is continuing her work to return these individuals to dust and dirt.

Image: We also saw this lone and rather desert-worn vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) was observed about 30 miles from San Pedro.

For more information about this expedition, you may go to the NASA/SETI High Lakes 2008 website.

A New Yorker and Cave Bugs

2008-10-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 12 October 2008

Today, we pulled traps at Zuni and Abyss Cave. Yesterday, we had planned to pull traps at Zuni Cave, but given the weather conditions, we were unable to do this. So, we had to pull traps at two caves today.

Inspecting an inverted Chrysler New Yorker.

En route to these caves, we came across an old 1970s New Yorker. It was upside down and appeared to have been largely stripped. We walked around it a bit and took some photos. It was rather interesting to encounter this abandoned vehicle in the middle of the monument.

One of many Rhadine beetles found in Zuni Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/ NPS.

This work went incredibly well today. We found numerous crickets and Rhadine beetles in Zuni Cave. We also found several spiders and Psocopterans.

Once done, at Zuni we hiked across the Malpais and arrived at Abyss Cave. This cave is a much colder cave than Zuni. When we were there deploying traps a few days prior, I didn’t think we were going to encounter many arthropods here.

A mummified bat, possibly a Townsend's big-eared bat, found in Zuni Cave.

We did see extensive bat activity throughout this cave. There was a light deposition of guano almost throughout the cave. Also, numerous moth wings and beetle parts littered the cave floor. We also encountered one Townshend’s Big Eared Bat that was apparently in a torpor.

As I expected, we didn’t find many invertebrates within this cave. We encountered mostly crickets and Rhadine beetles.

We then packed up all of our gear, and gravid with an additional 20 temperature/humidity sensors and ~60 traps, we headed back across the Malpais and back to the truck.

Mummified bat pups in Abyss Cave.

We had the luxury of arriving back to camp at a reasonable hour, where we uploaded the data from our data loggers and digital cameras, organized the collected specimens and data sheets, and made preparations for tomorrow.

Popcorn speleothems in Abyss Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Staying Dry on the Malpais

2008-10-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 11 October 2008

A to-be-identified spider in Roots Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Today was an incredibly rainy day on the Monument. This created a little bit of chaos for the team. One valuable lesson that all field scientists must learn is that things do not always go as planned. Thus, one of the most important rules when working in the field is to be prepared for things to go wrong. Secondly, one must have the flexibility to work through and around the problem.

Hiking across the Malpais. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Everything started out smoothly. We broke camp and left the Bandera property by 0830hr. Our plan was to work two caves near the Big Tubes area. These were fairly remote and involved over a one mile hike across numerous lava flows to reach the caves.

First off, the weather was not cooperating with us today. It was a 40% chance of rain on the Malpais. We were discussing when is the last time you heard a forecast involving a 40% chance of rain and then it rained? Well, it rained all day. All team members had Gore-Tex and were prepared for the elements.

However, once we were about half way to the caves, one of our team members (and I won’t mention who) set down a valuable piece of equipment in the forest when we had stopped for a few minutes to remove our Gore-Tex shells – it wasn’t raining at the time, and we were all getting really hot hiking in our jackets.

When this happened, I gave this person my GPS with all the coordinates programmed into the machine, and we programmed the coordinates to the first cave into his GPS. Before we temporarily split company, we doubled-checked the coordinates to make sure they were entered correctly. Upon making this determination, we proceeded to the cave, and at out person tried to follow the GPS track back to where the gear was left.

A rainy self-portrait. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Given thunderstorms, pouring rain, uncomfortably cold temperatures and some navigational issues with the GPS, all of this took us a lot longer than we had anticipated. My around noon, our rendezvous point was about 200 feet from the cave. We went to the cave and started the work.

We were working at Roots Cave today. We visited this cave last year, where we opportunistically collected invertebrates. This time, we were systematically trapping and conducting time constrained searches within this cave in hopes of improving our understanding of this caves biodiversity. Oddly, we found numerous spiders, but not many other organisms, within this cave. We will have to wait to see what our traps yield in four days.

Moving through the back of Roots Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/ NPS.

Our drive out of this area was very interesting to say the least. The roads in this part of the monument are notoriously known for being impassible during inclement weather events. Well, we had a bad weather event today, and the roads were a mess.

I radioed into the ELMA Information Center, and MaryAnna told me the roads were going to be bad. She had been out there earlier in the day, and was very concerned as to whether we would be returning to camp that night, or if we’d be camping where our truck got stuck.

I drove out slowly and cautiously in 4X4 high. We slipped and slide for about five miles. At one point, we almost went off the road. Fortunately, I recovered and we proceeded on.

We made it back to camp in one piece.

The storm that made for a cold and wet day. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Incredibly Grand Moss Gardens

2008-10-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 10 October 2008

A glimpse of moss from Grand Moss Gardens Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Today, we went to one of the main tourist caves on the monument – Grand Moss Gardens Cave. Our plan was to deploy traps in this cave and recon Train Tunnel Cave.

We deployed traps and opportunistically collected invertebrates within an extensive moss garden. While we were in part of this cave that often contains ice stalactites and stalagmites, we found crickets! While we don’t have the temperature data for this part of the cave yet, I would suspect it was in the mid to low 40s. So, I was rather surprised to find crickets in this area.

Collecting arthropods from Grand Moss Gardens Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Once we successfully deployed our traps at this cave, we spent about 30 minutes searching for invertebrates in the moss gardens. These moss gardens are perhaps the most extensive moss gardens on the Monument. We collected numerous spiders, Psocoptera, mites, Collembola and beetles.

Because this cave is so heavily used by tourists, We are hopeful that our traps will not be disturbed. In three days, we will know how they faired.

One of the numerous tunnels we walk over en route to Grand Moss Gardens Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Into the Abyss

2008-10-13T20:15:00.001-07:00

Originally Drafted 09 October 2008

Preparing to enter Abyss Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Today, we surveyed Abyss Cave. This cave is located about two miles from Zuni Cave. This cave is characterized by extensive breakdown on the floor. It involved a lot of scampering over the rocks and large monolithic boulders to navigate through this rather large lava tube.

This rim fragment was found near the entrance of Abyss Cave. Note the hole near the rim. This is likely a hole for placing a leather or yucca fiber handle. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

While there was some evidence of use, this cave was not as extensively used by ancient Americans. In the front part of the cave near the main entrance, we found two areas where the floor had been cleared, and dry-laid stone walls were constructed. We also observed dry-laid stone walls on the surface near the cave.

One of the two cleared areas on the floor of Abyss Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

The team ahead of me received a great treat while deploying traps ahead of me. They entered a side passage directly below a large skylight. When they did, they disturbed a pair of great-horned owls. They were actually able to watch the owls fly over head as they moved to a less disturbed part of the cave.

Once we were done here, we went into town for a few provisions. We decided to eat dinner in town.

While we were getting water, a guy approached Kyle and I and asked if he could help us with our water. He indicated he was a “professional,” and that he did this at the jail. I told him that I appreciated his offer, but we thought we would be able to handle getting our water. He was a very interesting fella.

I saw this juvenile gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) sunning in the road on our return back to camp.

Ancient Use of Zuni Cave

2008-10-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 08 October 2008

Preparing to set traps for invertebrates in Zuni Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/ NPS.

Possible Anasazi marker stone. It was located at the second entrance of Zuni Cave. We found one of these at the entrance of Roots Cave last year.

Today, we set traps at Zuni Cave. This cave was most impressive. While the extent of biodiversity within this cave remains to be seen, it determined this cave was used extensively by ancient Americans. This cave contained several dry-laid stone walls near each entrance/ skylight. There was a sandstone marker stone at one of the skylight entrances, and there was significant deposition of pottery, stone material (from tool making), a couple of hammer stones, and a metate. All of this suggests this cave was used extensively.

Kyle using a slave flash technique to illuminate a larger extent of the cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

The hike into this area is most impressive. You traverse vast expanses of lava flow; the basalt is loose, rocky and undulating. It is quite easy to lose your footing on this type of material.

In a packrat midden, we found pottery sherds and a corn cobb.

On our return to the truck, our traverse across the Malpais offers spectacular views of Mount Taylor. This is one of my favorite mountains in the southwest. With the exception of last year, I have competed in the Mount Taylor Quadathlon. Viewing this majestic mountain from a far stirs my desires to tackle the mountain in February. I definitely plan on doing it again!

View of Mount Taylor from trail to Zuni Cave.

Return to El Malpais National Monument

2008-10-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 07 October 2008

The Malpais.

The purpose of my return trip to El Malpais, western New Mexico is to continue my dissertation work. This objective of this work is to inventory cave biodiversity at lava tubes in this Monument. Ultimately, I will be comparing cave biodiversity at this Monument and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, northwestern Arizona. Kyle Voyles, my esteemed colleague and dear friend of the past several years, was able to obtain a 10 day detail to assist with this work. We have worked together and made many discoveries on Grand Canyon-Parashant National Mounument. For details about this work, go to my popular press page on my website.

We met with park officials, obtained data and maps. It was really great to see Kayci and Jim. It had been a year since we last chatted. Among other things, we discussed the project’s objectives, and finished at Park Headquarters around mid-morning. Thereafter, we fueled up the vehicles, and then determine our plan of attack for the day.

Because we started a bit later than I had anticipated, we decided to start at two caves near the Zuni-Acoma Trailhead. This afforded us a much easier and closer access than some of the other caves on the monument.

View of surface from within Zuni Cave. Credit: Kyle Voyles/NPS.

Today, we learned a valuable lesson in geographic projection systems and GPS. We reviewed the cave reports before going into the field. However, there was no mention of projection system. If one does not know the projection system that is used (e.g., NAD 27, NAD 83), it can be incredibly difficult to locate a feature as small as a cave on the landscape. We were using NAD 27 (the standard projection for the National Park Service), and the coordinate data for the cave was collected in NAD 83.

Unfortunately, there was no mention of this on the cave reports. When this occurs, there is as much as a 600 foot error. So, we had to spend some time looking for the cave. Despite this spatial error, we were ultimately successful in locating our study site.

A small dark hole, one of many on the Malpais.

This resulted in us arriving at the cave late in the afternoon. Consequently, all we were able to do was lay out our sampling stations within this cave. This took us about two hours to complete. Thereafter, we went to Bandera Ice Caves to camp for the night.

The Bandera folks have been very nice to me over the years. They have permitted my team and I to camp on their property. This is quite a luxury for us because we have a secure camp where we can leave gear, and conduct our work without the worry of activities conducted by those with less than honest intentions.

Once we had set up camp, I drove back to the Ice Caves parking lot to use the wifi connection. This is the only wifi hotspot within 20 miles of here. En route, I saw four beautiful mule deer foraging on a hillside. When I stopped the car, they all froze and looked at me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. I got out of the truck, and walked to the back to get my camera. I thought to myself, I bet they are going to think I’m going for a gun. When I walked back to the front of the truck with my camera, they were long gone. I reckon I was right.

Rapa Nui Cave Biodiversity Expedition Successful!

2008-08-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 21 August 2008

This expedition was also approved as an Explorers Club Flag Expedition. From left to right, Knutt Peterson, me, Sergio Rapu (Chief Archaeologist of Rapa Nui), Pete Polsgrove, Christina Colpitts and Dan Ruby.

Last night, we went to a Te Ra’ai, a restaurant that hosts a traditional Rapa Nui celebration. We were entertained with dancing and music from both Rapa Nui, as well as elsewhere in Polynesia, and we had a traditional Rapa Nui feast. We had three types of fish, chicken and steak cooked in the ground using heated basalt stones and overlaid with banana leaves. I'm having my face painted using traditional paints -- a custom on the island. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Today was our last field day on Rapa Nui. This project resulted in several important milestones. First, we conducted the first cave biodiversity inventory on the island. We sampled one large cave, which was separated by a series of collapse pits for both invertebrates, vertebrate sign, and microbes.

Our "last" approach to one of our study sites. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Secondly, we sampled two fern/moss gardens in the vicinity of our study cave. In addition to cave deep zones, this may prove to be another important aspect of this research. While completing and ultimately expanding upon the cave biodiversity inventories will be vitally important to developing a better understanding of Rapa Nui natural history, both caves and fern/moss gardens may serve as relict ecotones. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the island was dramatically changed by an extended period of severe deforestation and habitat alteration. This resulted in most of the native and endemic plants and animals being driven to extinction. Caves are probably buffered environments here.

The team doing various things related to the invertebrate survey. The "yellow ghost" is Christina. She found this method most effective at keeping the paperwork dry. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Dan conducting a time-constrained search for invertebrates while on his sampling station. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Third, we collected numerous microbe samples from both the cave entrances and deep zone. Currently, the only microbe known from this island is Rapamicne. This is a microbe essentially pilfered from the island by a team of Canadian researchers back in the mid-1960s. Rapamicne is used today to help kidney transplant patients to better acceptance the transplanted organ. We do not know whether this work will render similar finds significant to medicine; however, this is an area that we will be investigating when the cultures from these microbes are grown and they are studied. If something significant is discovered, the findings will become the sole property of the Rapa Nui people.

Christina and I collecting invertebrates. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Forth, Knutt essentially mapped his first cave solo. He had about 20 minutes of help towards the end just to speed up the process. This map will contain all archaeological finds encountered, as well as plots of our invertebrate/ microbe sample locations.

Biofilms on the cave wall. These as well as numerous other bacteria samples were collected during this work. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Finally, we likely discovered the first cave-adapted/ limited species on the island. The millipede discovered on decomposing wood in a cave deep zone will likely be very important for this project, as well as future research here. This lends further weight to the high probability that caves were indeed buffered environments and may represent one of the only relict ecosystems on Rapa Nui.

Pete collecting pH readings near one of the microbe sample sites. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Roaches in one of our traps. Roaches are quite common in Rapa Nui caves. As one might expect, they are also quite common on the surface. Credit: Dan Ruby.

So, we are all very pleased with our discoveries and the work we have completed. We leave for the Continent tomorrow, and then everyone but Christina will arrive in the states on 23 August. Christina will remain for another week. She will be visiting friends in Santiago.

Pushing through a tight passage modified by the ancient Rapa Nui. These tight passages were "checkpoints" within the cave. A foe would have to move slowly through this area. If they were detected, someone may be waiting for them on the other end to bludgeon them to death. Fortunately, it was just Dan. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Chile and Rapa Nui have provided me with many learning and growing experiences. I will leave Rapa Nui as a seasoned expedition leader with two major expeditions under belt. My team has also taught me much. In particular, I have learned to let go of many aspects of this project and permit this group of incredibly bright individuals to help me execute a significant portion of the tasks associated with daily operations. This has always been hard for me.

While in many ways I am looking forward to returning to my Flagstaff home, I will miss Rapa Nui immensely. I am already looking forward to my return here in November.

Searching for invertebrates in a moss/ fern garden. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Purple Centipedes of the Moss Garden

2008-08-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Our purple centipede from the moss garden. This, too, is likely a new species.

Not surprisingly, it rained again today. August is known for being one of the rainiest months for Rapa Nui. Fortunately, the morning started off fairly clear, and it was only partly cloudy. It was warm and humid. However, by midday, it clouded up, and the bottom fell out of the sky. It has now been raining since around 1230hr here – so, it’s been raining almost none stop for the past five hours. Once again, this is quite an incredible contrast from the Atacama Desert. The Rapa Nui team feels that we are almost re hydrated after being drained of moisture for four weeks straight.

Pete and Christina above the cave entrance. The storm is rolling in. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The cave work went forward, and we were quite successful today. Knutt mapped one of our caves solo. It was his first time mapping a cave by himself and he was quite pleased with the outcome.

Christina and I approaching the cave. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Christina, Dan, Pete and I conducted time constrained searches and pulled traps from this cave. During this work, we found one millipede (perhaps the same species as the ones we discovered the other day), several roaches, and several fungus gnats. This was the extent of the faunal assemblage discovered during this portion of the work. Once this was done, Dan and I had two more opportunistic collecting tasks to complete for the day – sampling the entrance of the cave for spiders, and searching and sampling a moss and fern garden within a tunnel segment of this cave. Christina and Pete had microbe duty. They essentially scoured the cave from the dark zone to the entrance and collected samples of all microbes they encountered.

Collecting invertebrates from a surface trap. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Dan and I collected a few specimens of this spider species from the entrance of Moon cave. This is a female guarding her eggs. We were cautious not to collect these individuals. Firstly, for identification, male specimens are preferred. Secondly, if we were to collect a female we would not only take her, but all of the spiderlings that would ultimately hatch would also be lost. So, the ethical and responsible thing to do is to strategically sample for males, and leave egg-bearing females alone.

Female spider guarding eggs. Credit; Dan Ruby.

Knutt cave mapping solo! Credit: Dan Ruby.

Once Dan and I were done sampling the entrance, we moved on to the moss and fern garden. It was here that we found an animal that proved to be my highlight of the day. This lavender centipede was located underneath a rock within the moss and fern garden. It is about 3cm in length.

Taking notes on critters found during our survey. Credit: Dan Ruby.

As with all the animals that I have to collect for this research, I felt really bad about having to collect it. However, my overarching hope is that through the biodiversity research is that our findings will ultimately result in a higher level of protection for the caves of Rapa Nui.

Knutt on station. Credit: Dan Ruby.

As we were leaving this cave tunnel, I saw a small side passage. I recalled Sergio had mentioned a Belgian team had ignorantly removed a rock wall and pilfered a tomb that contained significant archaeological materials. I wondered whether this side passage was the same one the Belgians had pilfered or if it was another one. So, I entered this side passage.

In addition to the biodiversity work, our team is charged with reporting any and all archaeological materials to Sergio. All of the materials we have encountered thus rare are unfortunately highly disturbed and on the surface within the caves. So, all of these materials lack archaeological context. We do not touch these materials, but we photo-document everything we encounter and then report back to Sergio.

As I have a tendency to go, I've gotten myself in a tight place. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Tomorrow will be our last day in the field. This expedition is quickly coming to a close. However, my time here on Rapa Nui is not. There are many caves here, and Sergio and I will be continuing this work in upcoming years.

Moss gardens in a Rapa Nui cave. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Estamos Touristas en Rapa Nui Hoy

2008-08-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 19 August 2008

The Moai of Tongarika.

The team has been working incredibly hard the past four and a half weeks. With all of our traps deployed yesterday, and our incredibly find of millipedes, we had a down day today. So, a day off was both well earned and well deserved.

A cave near Akahanga.

We decided we would be tourists and see some of the sites. We had yet to venture to the northern coast of the island, and it was nothing short of spectacular. The only issue we had to contend with was the rain. However, after spending a month in the driest desert in the world, another South Pacific storm was welcomed. Most everyone, save for Dan, had Gore-tex shells. In addition, it was around 65° F today, so despite the rain, it was still rather comfortable. Back to the rain, the rain on the island continues to come down in buckets. The last time I saw rain of this magnitude was when I worked in Belize.

The ruins of Akahanga.

For more information about that expedition, you may read a paper we had published back in 2005. Wynne, J.J. and W. Pleytez (2005), Sensitive Ecological Areas and Species Inventory of Actun Chapat, Vaca Plateau, Belize. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 67: 148-157. While this paper doesn’t describe the weather conditions per se, it was a great expedition nonetheless. My apologies for the digression…back to Rapa Nui.

One of the toppled Moai of Akahanga.

Our first stop was Akahanga. During the years of political unrest and warfare on the island, all of the Moai were toppled. The site of Akahanga has been left just as the people of Rapa Nui left it. While we have encountered all of the impressive Moai atop the Ahu, this is a reminder of what their villages looked like when the Moai were brought down.

Me standing before one of the many unfinished Moai at the quarry of Rano Raraku. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Our first major stop was a basalt quarry named Rano Raraku. We spent a couple of hours at this location. This site is located on what appears to be a large basalt dome – perhaps even the basalt plug of an old volcano. While I have observed many Moai perched impressively upon the Ahu (ceremonial platforms), when I saw the quarry Rano Raraku, I was astounded. This quarry is quite humbling. This represents a work undone. There were plans for most of these Moai to take prominent seats atop the sacred Ahu, yet these Moai never made it. The society of the Rapa Nui Moai carvers largely collapsed, and these sacred stones now festoon a verdant green hill side. While I’m providing many pictures of this site, its vastness and impressiveness cannot be captured with photos. One must go there to truly appreciate it.

Christina at Rano Raraku.

Our next stop was Tongarika. This was a Ahu Moai site characterized by 15 Moai looking silently over the ruins of a village below them. This is the largest assemblage of Moai on Easter Island. This site is most impressive.

A breath-taking shot near Anakena on the island's north coast.

Our final stop was Anakena. This was also the location of a village, but it has an added attraction; it is the only place on Rapa Nui with a white sand beach. This beach is about 150 meters wide and is situated within a small cove. At the edge of the beach are seven Moai facing a thicket of palm trees with the ruins of the village slightly beyond.

It continues to rain here on Rapa Nui, and it will likely continue through our stay here. I will continue to sleep with my ocean side door open (as I have since my arrival), and allow the roar of the ocean and the falling rain to put me to sleep. Life is incredibly rich on Rapa Nui.

Me and unfinished Moai at Rano Raraku.

Cave-Limited Millipedes Discovered on Rapa Nui!

2008-08-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 18 August 2008

This cave-limited millipede was collected and discovered from a cave near the Rapa Nui coast. While this specimen has not been identified yet, because it is a cave-limited/ troglobitic animal, it most likely represents a new species or perhaps a new genus.

Last night was incredible. As we all prepared for bed, a storm moved in and a torrential downpour ensued. It was an amazing amount of rain. As the rain was coming down, I wondered what would happen to our access road containing the caves, and whether our caves would be sumped out (i.e., water-filled), and we would not be able to enter them tomorrow. With this type of work, essentially you have to accept the hand you are dealt by Mother Nature, so although this concerned me, I wasn’t overly worried about it. What would be tomorrow, would simply be.

Another incredibly sunrise on Rapa Nui. This is the view from my hotel window.

I woke up early and watched the sun rise. I’ve done this every morning since my arrival, and I plan to do this until I leave. The sun rises are gorgeous, and are incomparable to any other sunrises I’ve witnessed.

Today, we remained soaking wet for the most of the day. As we were driving to our study area, we watched a big storm roll in. Once we assembled our gear and began to hike to the caves, it came down in sideways sheets of rain.

Collecting arthropods from the entrance of one of our study caves. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The plan for the day was to have Christina, Knutt and Pete continue to deploy traps and conduct time-constrained searched at each station, while Dan and I would go to the cave containing a large pool near Ahu Te Pahu. According to Sergio, this cave contained a year round fresh water source, and was thus very important to the prehistoric peoples of Rapa Nui. When I learned there was a year round subterranean water source, I realized this would be an excellent place to look for stygobites (aquatic cave-adapted organisms).

Watching the storm roll in, before we hike across the hills to our next cave. Yes, we were soaked by the rain. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Before Dan and I could go to this cave, we needed to check some of the pitfall traps placed on the surface near the cave we sampled yesterday. I didn’t have the actual trap type that I would have preferred for surface sampling, but I decided to deploy traps here anyway. As I expected, one of our pitfall traps was loaded with ants (and contained one cockroach) – the other two traps, near the cave’s dripline, were empty. I collected several ants, and I attempted to capture the cockroach, but it escaped.

Fabric found out of context sitting on a rock near a cave entrance. Fabric made from bull-rush is often used to wrap burials that are placed in Rapa Nui caves. We do not know if this fabric was used for this or not, but is seems appropriate to suggest that it may have been used for this purpose.

Once we were done here, we moved on to the Ana Kai Ua (Cave of Turning Water). As we were hiking from Moon cave to Ana Kai Ua, it started raining again, and by the time we reached the cave and went it, the bottom fell out of the sky. Although we were in a cave, and one may think there would be less water underground, this was not the case. Cave of Turning Water contained formations with dripping water throughout. This cave contained drip pools, dripping water, a large stream and pool and water vapor throughout.

This is a very fuzzy image of me searching for aquatic organisms in a large pool that consumes the vast majority of one of our study sites. The 100% humidity can cleary seen here. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Because we didn’t know exactly where the “turning water” was actually located, Dan and I began exploring this cave. I had brought my scoop net with me, and I was really hoping I’d get the opportunity to use it.

Broken obsidian projectile point found deep within a Rapa Nui Cave. Credit: Dan Ruby.

As we were exploring the upper passage of this cave, we received a big surprise. I approached what appeared to be a jumbled mass of wood on one of the upper ledges of this cave. Upon closer inspection, I found millipedes! These do not look exactly like

the new genus of millipedes that we found in Grand Canyon,

but they did appear to be cave-limited millipedes. This discovery was a huge boost for the project!

As I have learned the history of the island, the fact the island flora was reduced and dramatically changed by human use, human famine, and the introduction of the rat (Rattus rattus), I began to wonder…what if there were no invertebrates in these caves? What would this mean? Would this feed into the ecosystem collapse paradigm that so many ecology textbooks (as well as Jared Diamond) refer to on Rapa Nui. I am also wondered if perhaps a depauperate cave-fauna could be linked to the degree of anthropogenic environmental change this island experienced. These were many of the questions racing through my head.

While I cannot rule out these latter questions, I am feeling more and more confident that this millipede is a cave-adapted specimen. I will fully investigate these specimens tomorrow, and determine if they have eyes. I will get these specimens to my friend and colleague Bill Shear (a leading cave millipede expert) as soon as possible.

Obsidian tool found within the dark zone of our of our study sites. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Once we were finally able to quell our excitement regarding this new find, we began to search for the passage with the “turning water.” We found another side passage, which we believed was the right passage. So, Dan and I began to mosey down this passage. The deeper we went into the passage, the wetter it became. We continued further down passage and then found the water. We continued on for about 50 meters further; by this time, both Dan and I were soaking wet.

We both began searching for aquatic organisms or evidence of aquatic organisms. After searching for about 30 minutes and finding nothing, we decided to return to the surface. Upon reaching the surface, we found there to be a slight break in the weather, so we made a break to another cave that contained the rest of the team.

Upon our arrival, we learned they had deployed all the traps and microclimate sensors. This meant our day was nearing completion. We decided to have lunch in the entrance of the cave, and then we’d head back to the hotel.

Knutt mentioned that us eating in the entrance of the cave was quite similar to what the ancient Rapa Nui must have done. We continued to eat our chicken, rice and sautéed vegetables, as we contemplated what he had said. However, they had to hide behind fortified protective walls to eat their meals, while we had the luxury of eating in the openness of the cave entrance.

Picture is taken from the road leading to the internet cafe.

Cave Ecology and Conducting a Television Interview in Spanish

2008-08-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 17 August 2008

Dan, Pete and I at the entrance of one of our study sites. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

Life and the work continues to go well here on Rapa Nui. Today, we worked only half day. The team had several logistics issues to iron out (launching temperature sensors, prepping traps for deployment, organizing sampling gear, etc.). Also, I gave a couple of my canned presentations on cave ecology to the team, as well as to Sergio and Terry.

A fern and moss garden in the entrance of our of our study caves. I have observed, but yet to study these ecosystems in El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico. These ecotones are quite common in the caves of Rapa Nui. It is quite possible that this is one of the only native plant communities remaining on the island.

Through giving these presentations, we formulated many great ideas regarding how to combine archaeology and ecology into a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding cave ecosystems. Sergio and I are now in the process of developing a proposal so my team and I may return to continue working on the island. If funded, we will work for Sergio and the Rapa Nui community. I would like the opportunity to train several of the locals how to inventory, map and conduct cave research safely.

Knutt, Christina and I gearing up to enter the cave. Credit: Dan Ruby.

If such a project were to get funded, this would be incredible for me. While I’ve lived and traveled to many interesting places thus far, this island is my most favorite place I have visited to date. I’ve lived in Belgium for a year, traveled to northern Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, and throughout western Europe, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Canada. With all of these experiences, I can say little compares to Rapa Nui. I’ve never been on an oceanic island. We are ~ 3,000 miles west of the Continent (i.e., Chile) and ~2,400 miles from Tahiti. We are truly isolated here, and it feels great. Time seems to stand still here.

Note the rectangular stone with holes bored into it. This stone is located near the entrance of a cave. Sergio indicates these are foundation stones to the homes of the ancient Rapa Nui. We have observed them within the entrances of several caves we have evaluated for this work. Warfare ensued during the end of the ancient Rapa Nui's reign. Consequently, the people moved into and fortified the caves for protection. These stones were apparently moved from their home plots and used to fortify caves.

Dirty Dan. As you can see, our study sites are muddy and full of water. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

There is an incredibly impressive history of cave use by the people of Rapa Nui. Between 150 – 200 years ago, after the island had been largely deforested, the island underwent a period of extreme poverty. Warfare ensued and there was even a brief period of cannibalism. The people of Rapa Nui built fortifications within caves, and they actually lived within caves for years. They built the entrances to their cave homes in such a way that one entering would have to clumsily climb through a narrow passage over rocks and boulders. This was a good protective strategy. If someone uninvited tried to enter the cave, the people on the receiving end of this unwanted visitor.

Knutt and I preparing to go into the field, but first we had to check out the Moai. Credit: Dan Ruby.

We were able to depart for the field around 1300hr. Sergio went into the field with us. My plan was to send the rest of the team into the cave to begin the work, while I met with Sergio. I wanted him to see the caves we were sampling and to determine whether these caves were okay to sample. He also took this opportunity to show me where some of the larger caves in the area where we are working. The team began the ecology work, and Sergio, Carolina, and I went to look at both our study sites, as well as other caves.

While we were en route to the field, Sergio mentioned that a Madrid film crew would be arriving at the caves, and asked if I’d be willing to do an interview. He indicated he told them about the cave ecology research, and that they were most interested in discussing it with me. So, I decided I’d do the interview. However, I didn’t realize this until the film crew arrived that I would be giving the entire interview in Spanish! Well, I’ve been living in a Spanish speaking country the past four and a half weeks and using Spanish quite a bit, so I accepted being thrown into the deep end while on camera. They asked me many questions regarding both our work on Rapa Nui, as well as our work in the Atacama Desert. The interview was about 20 minutes, and I was able to answer all but one question without any problems. For the final question, I had to ask the interviewer to rephrase the question. Once he did, I was able to figure out what he was asking and then I could answer the question.

Once the interview was over, I promptly said my goodbyes to the film crew, and left to meet up with the rest of the team. I had grown weary of being interviewed, and being asked to walk up and down the length of one cave numerous times to get enough video of a “real” cave scientist for the piece they were doing.

I was ready to return to the mission – conducting science. So, when I arrived back at the cave, I learned the team had deployed all by one trap array. So, I went through and checked what the team had done, we then deployed three more traps within the cave and three on the surface, and we were done.

I also had the distinct and unique opportunity to pick guava fruit after the work was done. As Dan and I were walking back to the truck, he asked me…”where else on the planet can you conduct cave research, then walk out of the cave and begin picking guava?” I promptly responded, “I don’t know. Who cool is this.” Rapa Nui is truly an incredible place!

Knutt and I working. Credit: Dan Ruby.

USGS-Southwest Biological Science Center/ Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Rapa Nui Cave Biodiversity Inventory Project

2008-08-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 16 August 2008

Moai. The Moai always face towards a village. These Moai are facing towards our study site. There are numerous house foundations, and fences above ground, while there is an abundance of evidence of ancient Rapa Nui use in the caves below.

The past few days were filled with travel. We drove from San Pedro to Antofagasta on 13 August, flew from Antofagasta to Santiago on 14 August, spent the night in Santiago and then flew out to Rapa Nui on 15 August.

For clarification, the place known as “Easter Island” is actually Rapa Nui. This is the name given to this beautiful place by Polynesians who settled this island. So, all of my blogs for the next week will be using the appropriate name for this place – Rapa Nui.

One of the many carvings on the back of the Moai.

So, it was great to get into the field and begin to explore some of the caves of Rapa Nui. This is a truly magical place. Moai are everywhere. These impressive basalt statues are a testament to a highly advanced ancient Polynesian society. This small island 7 by 14 miles wide at its widest points is perhaps one of the most remote places on the planet. Rapa Nui is truly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it really feels like it.

One of the breath-taking views en route to our study area.

If I were ever to choose to “drop out” of society, this is where I would go. The atmosphere is laid back, and, for most, all there is to do is enjoy life and watch the waves break along the coast.

The climate is mild year round, the growing season almost continuous. We saw guava, avocado and bananas growing in the middle of winter. There are flowers in bloom and it’s simply amazing. For the past two days, we’ve had a storm pass over the island – so, we’re receiving quite a bit of rain.

Christina examining roots growing across the floor in one of our study caves.

We have the distinct honor of staying at Hotel Tupa, which is owned and operated by Dr. Sergio Rapu, the island’s chief archaeologist. Sergio is a Fellow of the Explorers Club. Because of my affiliation with the Club, I was fortunate enough to be placed in contact with Dr. John Loret also with the Club. John is the authority on Rapa Nui marine biology.

Sergio has been kind enough to begin to share his vast knowledge of ancient Polynesian culture as it relates to Rapa Nui and the surrounding islands. This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Now for the caves…because Rapa Nui is an oceanic island, it was formed by volcanic activity. So, the caves that exist here are lava tubes. Yesterday, as we were making plans to get the expedition under way, we were given tips by some of the locals regarding how to find caves.

Banana trees growing in the entrance of one of our study caves.

The island is largely covered by grassland due to the near complete deforestation by the people of Rapa Nui nearly 200 years ago. Some seeds of tree species were removed long ago, and attempts have been made to reintroduce some of the native plants. Unfortunately, this reintroduction campaign has been unsuccessful. Today, the flora of the island is largely introduced, and the forests that exist are sparse. So, we were told to look for caves by looking for stands of bamboo and other trees/ shrubs against the rolling green hills. These plants tend to grow within cave entrances, and are often not eaten by grazing cattle and horses.

With this knowledge, we set out to a cave rich area on the northern extent of the island. Our efforts were successful! We explored several caves, and settled upon three (our target for the expedition) to study.

Searching for invertebrates on root masses. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

These caves are in sharp contrast to our study caves in the Atacama Desert. We went from the driest desert on the planet to a semi-tropical paradise. So, we will be studying wet caves! Most of our study sites contain standing pools of water, and water is percolating through the ceiling. Interestingly, while evaluating several caves today, I saw only one arthropod. I was searching for bugs on a piece of wood and found one Collembola. While I have made only one confirmation of arthropods using Rapa Nui caves, this does not mean there is no fauna with these caves. It just means we have observed to find them. I observed evidence of several other arthropods within these caves. I saw numerous spider webs, and I’ve seen numerous spider molts within the entrance of one cave. I also saw a number of isopod (rollie pollies) carcasses within the entrance of one cave. In addition, I found live isopods within a collapse pit of one of the tubes. This was good news for us! This means, arthropods are active year round – so, our efforts here should be fruitful.

Regarding microbes, several of the pools contained what appear to be bacterial biofilms. I’ve also observed Actinomycetes on the floors, walls and ceilings of all these caves, as well as what may be gold and silver colored bacteria on the walls.

Additionally, and of high interest to Armando (Azua), my good friend and our Chilean microbiologist/ investigator on this project, we’ve found what may be the same type of Eukaryotic algae that we’ve identified from a cave along the northern Chilean coast. If this proves to be the case, this could be quite interesting.

Dinner is at 2000hr, and I want to get this blog posted before we eat. Also – the food has been great here. As you might expect, we’re eating a lot of fish

Horses grazing on grass and guava. According to Sergio, guava shrubs are viewed as a nuisance plant. The horses eat a lot of it and disperse it throughout the island.

Earth-Mars Cave Detection Project, 2008 Atacama Desert Expedition a Success!

2008-08-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 11 August 2008

The team unwinding after the expedition and celebrating doc's birthday at Adobe Cafe. Credit: Our Waiter.

Today, we completed our last day of field work in the Atacama. It was a light day for both teams. Lynn, Tim and I went to Cebeza Encogido, where I showed Tim the locations of all sensors. We had two additional sensors left over from the work, so we decided to deploy these sensors within this cave as well. I felt it better to have more coverage within each cave than less. Because we learned once we were on the ground that the piping caves contain multiple entrances (sometimes as many as 10), we had to scale down the number of caves and cave anomalies we are studying here in the Atacama. So, these additional sensors in this Cebeza Encogido improves our coverage of this cave, and thus will ultimately improve the science.

The "big" dry fall within Cebeza Encogido. This is about a 20 foot dry fall.

As for the mapping team, they went to Traga Luz Grande to map one small room, and then they went to deploy sensors at Cuevita Dos Gatos. Once we were done with Cebeza Encogido, we moved to Cuevita Dos Gatos to meet the other group. The sensor placement team met the mapping team at this feature. We then photographed and documented the location of each sensor. Because we do not know if the entire team in its current composition will return next year, I need to know the location of all instruments, so that I can upload data and replenish batteries next June.

The field component of this expedition is now complete. The expedition was a success! We deployed sensors at seven caves and six non-cave anomalies. Data is being collected at all these features as we speak. Data will be collected hourly at all these features for the next 2.5 years. We also developed new techniques for mapping cave volume, and applied these techniques at two caves and two anomalies.

Tim exiting Cuevita Cascada Pequena.

In addition to the successful completion of the expedition, we have much to celebrate. Lynn Hicks, our expedition doctor, and a long time family friend of almost 30 years celebrated his birthday today. I won’t mention how young he is, but I will say that my elder kicked butt on this expedition. I do hope that if I reach his age I will be as active as he is.

Looking up at two skylights in Cuevita Dos Gatos.

So, for his birthday, we went to one of the expedition’s favorite haunts, Adobe Cafe. Since the expedition began, many of our team members frequent this restaurant because it has a WiFi connection. While this restaurant is slightly upscale, the food is excellent.

The expedition doc sorting through his gear and preparing to enter the cave.

We had a great dinner, drank some excellent Chilean wine, listened to live Altiplano music, and celebrated both our doc’s birthday and the successful completion of our mission.

I feel really good about what we have accomplished. This is the first large expedition I have lead. While I made many mistakes along the way, the most important thing is that I learned a lot. With this success under my belt, the next expedition will be conducted and executed a bit easier, and the one after that will be even easier.

Lynn with a diaper sling on with me belaying using an old-school technique -- a body belay. For safety, I chose to use this technique to enable a safe ascent and decent along this unconsolidated 25 foot cliff. Credit: Tim Titus.

Although our expedition in the Atacama is done, we have one more expedition ahead of us. I plan to take the lessons learned from the Atacama with us to Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island). We leave Rancho Tonka (our desert field station) tomorrow morning, and we will loose two team members. Tim will return to the states tomorrow. The rest of the team will leave for Antofagasta, and then fly to Santiago on 14 August. Lynn will then head south for a week of skiing.

On 15 August, Christina, Dan, Pete, Knutt and I fly out to Easter Island. We will be there for one week. Our objectives for this expedition will be to conduct biodiversity inventories at three caves on the island. So, stay tuned for my blogs on this expedition!

The ambiance and altiplano musicians playing at Adobe. Credit: Tim Titus.

Winding down the Atacama Expedition

2008-08-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

A shot of me from above. I just rappeled into a small pit with an incredibly tight side passage. Pete and I rappelled into this feature today. Credit: Tim Titus.

We have just one more day in the field. From here, we pack it up and prepare for our expedition to Rapa Nui!

Today, my team and I went to two caves in the Cordillera de los Andes. Christina, Tim, Pete, Lynn and I (sensor deployment team) went to Cueva Paisaje de Sal, while Dan and Knutt (exploration team) went to Cebeza Encogido.

Preparing to explore the caves. Credit: Tim Titus.

The sensor deployment team’s objective for the day was to push two upper passages, and locate third entrance of Cueva Sal Paisaje. We think that one of these entrances would require rope work, so we brought all of our vertical gear, as well as our safety officer, Christina. Once these passages were pushed and one entrance confirmed as being connected to Cueva Sal Paisaje we would deploy sensors with this portion of the cave. We’ve already deployed sensors in the lower portion, as well as the surface of this feature.

The expedition doc on stand-by while we are preparing to rappel into the cave. As part of the expedition's safety plan, I decided to have both the safety officer and the expedition doc present whenever we were doing vertical work. Credit: Tim Titus.

The exploration team was to push passage within Cebeza Encogido. When Pete, Lynn and I explored and deployed sensors in this cave last week, we encountered a bifurcation point – the southwest passage connected with the lower portion of the cave, as for the southeast trending passage – we have no idea where it went. Once this was determined, Knutt and Dan would also deploy sensors within this cave.

Knutt, one of our brave explorers, preparing to pry the unravel the mysteries of Cebeza Encogido. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The sensor deployment team's day started off wonderfully. As we approached what we are calling the barn owl entrance of Cueva Paisaje de Sal, we disturbed a pair of Peregrine falcons. Apparently, they were roosting within the barn owl entrance. As we approached, they flew out and both screeched loudly. We then watched them fly towards Licancabur.

Dan, our other brave explorer, en route to Cebeza Encogido. Credit: Knutt Peterson.

Since I have been here, I have observed literally tons of owl pellets within cave entrances. I have also seen bat guano within a few caves. We encountered one spider in Cuevita de Huecos. We’ve also been buzzed by the occasional bee and/ or fly. There simply isn’t much life to observe within the area of the Atacama where we are working. We are essentially it. So, when these two Peregrine falcons broke the desolateness of this area, by calling and then flying across the bright blue sky, it was an incredible treat. I felt really blessed for being able to observe this. Unfortunately, no one had their camera ready, so we have no photos.

Christina, our safety officer, toting a ton o' gear. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Our day was punctuated with some accomplishments and some things we wished would have worked out differently. The number one rule to conducting expeditions is to expect problems. The second is to be flexible. So, when things don’t work out, it is important to figure out why they didn’t work out, adapt to the current situation and then move forward.

Rigging the entrance. Christina, our safety officer, took the lead in rigging our rappel. Pete and I are seen here essentially getting in her way. Credit: Tim Titus.

The sensor deployment team deployed sensors within the deep portions of only two of the four passages we hoped to cover today. We were unable to find the other two. We scoured the salt landscape and hiked up and down this terrain searching for these other entrances.

We did go into one entrance we thought was certainly connected to Paisaje de Sal. This entrance required a 4 meter rappel. So, we were able to get on rope today! The down shot is the passage connecting to this entrance was not part of Paisaje de Sal. We did have a map for this cave. The orientation of the passage way did not match the map, and the passageway itself was impassable. It was 20-30 cm wide, was incredibly mazy and was total bone yard passage. Bone yard passage is when there are rocks hanging down into the passage from every direction and this continues down passage. It’s a contortionist’s dream. Unfortunately, I’m not a contortionist.

I'm climbing the rope out of this vertical entrance. Pete can be seen kneeling down below. Credit: Tim Titus.

We did have some good news. Cebeza Encogido is a two entrance cave! Knutt and Dan pushed the southeast passage, and determined that it pinched off and terminated at the main trunk passage. They were able to determine this by having one person on either side of the cave wall, and they were able to see each other’s lights, and speak through the perforated wall. We have yet to find any two entrance caves in the Cordillera de los Andes, so this was great news for the team.

Me'an Tonka. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Ideally, we want caves with one to two entrances. Because we are just beginning to learn how to model cave thermal behavior, it is obviously better to start this process by modeling simple systems and then increasing our complexity as we continue this work. However, the Atacama has been unforgiving in this respect. So, we will be modeling thermal behavior of complex caves.

We all got back to Rancho Tonka early. We made it home before sunset. The team was able to relax and spend some time outside. I made dinner for the team. And, now I’m at Adobe typing this blog.

The hardest part of the expedition will be leaving my new friends. I've been here for a month now, and I've become really attached to these guys (Negra, Heicento and Tonka from left to right). These critters run the roost of Rancho Tonka; however, the big guy is clearly in charge. Credit: Dan Ruby.

A short day of showing Tim the study sites

2008-08-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Lynn, Pete and Tim standing in front of Cueva Lechuza de Campanario.

Today was a short day. John leaves for Peru tonight, and we called it a short day so that we could hold our end of expedition meeting during the late afternoon.

Preparing to hike to the caves with Knutt in the horse stance. Credit: Tim Titus.

The sensor deployment team (Tim, Lynn, Pete and I) went to Cueva Lechuza de Campanario to show Tim the cave, as well as show him where sensors were placed. This took us about an hour to go through the cave. We ultimately decided to move one of the entrance sensors to the surface on the back portion of the cave. There were four entrances/ skylights on the upper portion of the cave – so, we decided we needed a surface sensor here as well.

Stair stepping up a near vertical salt landscape to place a sensor above one of the cave's entrances. Credit: Tim Titus.

Lynn, Pete and I hiking back to the truck. Credit: Tim Titus.

Once this was done, we went to Cuevita de Huecos to show Tim where these sensors were placed. Thereafter, we stopped by the ever alluring pit. This pit, for some reason, keeps drawing us to it. We are hopeful that we will be able to drop this pit on the last day.

Lynn and I amid a cauliflower salt formation. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

The mapping team had the day off from mapping. They were the cave exploration team (Christina, Dan and Knutt) for the day. They went to Cueva Luna Media to find the upper entrance to this feature, and deploy sensors within. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. They did not find the upper entrance. This cave went and went. They spend 2.5 hr looking for the upper entrance. Apparently, this cave will be a beast to map. However, this will have to wait until next year.

Yet another beautiful view of the Atacama, and an excellent example of how the water sculpts the Cordillera de los Andes.

With John leaving today, we are about to hold our last expedition meeting. We are going to discuss what went wrong, what went right, and how to improve future expeditions. I plan to continue to lead expeditions across the globe. With each expedition under my belt, I will become better at leading expeditions. So, this exercise will be very important to me.

Lynn, Pete and I checking out the big pit. This is one we hope to rappel into before the end of the expedition. If not, we will definately be doing this next year! Credit: Tim Titus.

Return to Cueva Palacio de Sal

2008-08-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 08 August 2008

Licancabur recieves a dusting of snow. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Today, we returned to Cueva Palacio de Sal. Initially, I had decided not to sample within this cave. This cave contains five entrances and is connected to a canyon segment. This canyon segment does have some rock over the ceiling, but essentially contains more skylights and open air than cave.

A view skyward from one of the skylights of Cueva Palacio de Sal.

This is the cave Rolando had initially recommended to the mapping team. I think the language barrier was working against us here, and as a result, the mapping team thought this was a two entrance cave. As a result, they began to map this cave, and we began to deploy sensors. When I found the three other entrances and the leaky sieve of a canyon passage, I opted to pull sensors and nix this as a study site. I simply did not think we would have enough sensors, so I was attempting to be judicious in how they were placed and where. Well, we ultimately ran low on the number of caves we wanted to sample, and we found that Traga Luz Grande -- the largest cave in the Cordillera de los Andes -- was a big leaky sieve. So, we decided it would be interesting to study a big leaky sieve cave and a small leaky sieve cave.

Hanging precariously after deploying a sensor. I'm wedged between two large boulders with about 25 feet of open air below me. Credit: Tim Titus.

Our plan was to deploy sensors in this cave. As we were about to hike into this cave, one of the CONAF officials approached us. He indicated that he knew where another cave was located. So, Pete, Lynn and Tim went with him, while I went on to Cueva de Palacio de Sal.

I had to call into the Planetary Society’s Radio show for an interview to discuss our expedition. The interview went really well and is scheduled to air on 18 August.

Once I was done, I began deploying sensors at this cave. I deployed all of my sensors and then realized it was 1430hr. So, I radioed the rest of my group to figure out what was taking them so long. I ultimately got in touch with Tim, and indicated that we needed to get to work on this cave. They ultimately arrived and we spent the rest of the day deploying sensors.

This is a really interesting cave. Much like my observations at Traga Luz Grande, I’ve found that despite the fact that many of these caves contain multiple entrances and skylights there are sheltered environments within. We found a small room near one of the entrances of Cueva de Palacio de Sal was completely sheltered. You had to down climb a segment of a tight passage, then the passage elbowed at ~90 degrees and then you had to negotiate a large boulder to get into to this room.

From a Mars perspective, this reinforces the possibility that even “leaky” caves may contain rooms/ passages within that may be sheltered environments. And if life ever evolved on Mars, these sheltered environments may very well contain evidence of extinct or extant lifeforms.

One of the entrances of Cueva de Palacio de Sal.

Traga Luz Grande – Un dia mas

2008-08-09T18:10:00.001-07:00

Originally Drafted 07 August 2008

Moving through tight passage in Traga Luz Grande. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Today, the entire team was at Cueva Traga Luz Grande. The mapping team continued their work. They are very close to finishing this cave. It appears the mapping team will have mapped two caves and at least three anomalies by the end of this expedition. Our mapping team has done an outstanding job. Not only have we developed new techniques for mapping cave volume, but this team has endured dusty cave after dusty cave – and the maps being developed thus far are great.

John in the process of down-climbing back into one of the many entrances of Traga Luz Grande. Credit: Dan Ruby

The sensor deployment team also spent the day at Cueva Traga Luz Grande. With Tim here, we need to take him through all of the caves and show him where the sensors have been deployed. This is a vitally important exercise because he is able to actually see the caves; he and I also have the opportunity to discuss sensor placement, and determine if we need to add more sensors to these features we are studying.

Taking notes in Traga Luz Grande. Credit: Tim Titus.

Overall, Tim concurred with my placement of sensors in Cueva Traga Luz Grande. He and I did determine that two side passages that were significantly warmer than the rest of the cave were likely buffered when compared to the rest of the cave, and we chose to sample within these two side passages more thoroughly.

Shots of the trucks looking out the main entrance of Traga Luz Grande. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

From a Mars perspective, this could be quite interesting. Could caves with multiple entrances and significant airflow still support sheltered environments within? By sampling these and other sheltered portions of Traga Luz Grande, as well as a few other caves in the Atacama we should have a better handle on the answer to this question.

Also, within the same side passage that contained water, we also found a rather large scapula wedged between two rocks. In addition to the scapula, we also observed old scat encrusted within the cave floors. It is likely both the scapula and the scat belong to a Lama species.

We also found what appeared to be pack rat-like midden activity in one of the cave anomalies near Traga Luz Grande. This is the first cave where I have observed this type of activity. In the southwestern United States, pack rack activity is quite common at the entrance through twilight zone of caves. In Africa, the hyrax tends to fill this niche. I am not certain what animal forms middens in South America, but it was definitely like a pack rat. What I observed was not extensive activity, but I observed scat that was Netoma-esque (i.e., packrat), and there was vegetation in association with the scat. What I found to be most interesting is there is very little vegetation in the surrounding area near the cave. Thus, it is quite possible this material is old. How old? I have no idea.

Yes! Another beautiful salt landscape. This image was captured as a front was moving through the region. We have been quite fortunate in that we have observed several cloud-filled days in the Atacama. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

Explorers Club Flag Expedition Photo -- Atacama Desert Flag Expedition

2008-08-08T19:20:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of scientific exploration, our expedition has been granted an Explorers Club Flag and received official recognition as a Flag Expedition. This is our expedition flag photo. Kneeling in front from left to right: Dick Alzeua (Chilean caver), Christina Colpitts (cartographer/ safety officer), Tim Titus (USGS astrophysicist). Standing in back from left to right: Lynn Hicks (expedition doctor), Dan Ruby (astronomer/ cartographer), Knutt Peterson (expedition cartography chief), Jut Wynne (expedition leader), John DeDecker (astronomer/ cartographer), and Pete Polsgrove (microbiologist/ field engineer).

For more information about Explorers Club Flag Expeditions go The Explorers Club Flag Expeditions. For more information about the club, go to The Explorers Club.

Another Wild Cave Chase

2008-08-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 06 August 2008

Pete, Tim and Lynn chatting and looking as we traverse the southern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes.

The mapping team continued working at Tragaluz Grande. They are making a lot of progress on this cave, and plan to have it completed within the next few days.

Dunal formations on the southern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes.

Tim, Pete, Lynn and I went to look for the continuously elusive Cueva Zorro Andino. The mapping team had driven along this mountain range to try and indentify either the cave or areas on the range likely to contain this cave. They identified a few areas they thought were really good targets, so we set out to investigate these areas. We hiked along the northern flank of Cordillera de los Andes for about 5 km.

A peculiar rock ring formation observed along the southern flank of the Cordillera de los Andes. About 100m north of this ring, I observed a lithics scatter slightly further north. This lithics scatter was the location where prehistoric peoples were working stone for making tools.

Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at locating this cave. Upon determining that we would not find this cave, we decided to discontinue our cave reconnaissance.

I had learned something about expedition work – especially expedition work involving cave mapping. It is a really good idea to break up the mapping work with cave reconnaissance. The mapping team has been working really hard underground, so they really appreciated some time to hike, ridge walk and look for caves. This really happened by accident. We did reconnaissance the first few days we were here. We found most of the caves where we are currently working, but we needed more caves. So, the past two days, I decided to take a couple of days to look for caves. A couple of people on the mapping team was having trouble with the dust, and this was a great way to break up the monotony of cave mapping and the adverse affects of continuous dust inhalation.

A stark landscape in the Atacama.

Wild cave chase in Canyon Catarpe and Caverna Luna Media

2008-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 05 August 2008

A sheep herder and his flock near Rio San Pedro. This is one of the many rural and beautiful views we have the priviledge of observing in northern Chile. Credit: Tim Titus.

The morning started off that we would recon a canyon known to contain caves and to look for Zorro Andeno. Because we were still a few caves shy of our target and the mapping team was still dealing with dust ingestion issues, I decided to use the entire team for cave recon.

Pete standing on a high vista scouting for caves. Credit: Tim Titus.

As we were preparing to depart, our friend Dick arrived at our house. He indicated that he knew a region containing a large cave. So, we modified our plans and we went looking for this cave. We hiked throughout this canyon and we scoured some of the nearby drainages looking for this cave. Unfortunately, we did not find anything. We were all rather disappointed at this because we spend the entire morning and a considerable portion of early afternoon on a wild cave chase.

Dick peering into a deep pit in the Atacama.

Once we were done here, we went to another canyon to look for caves. We had information from Hernan as well as others there was a cave located within this canyon. We did find a cave within this canyon. We were very pleased that we were successful here. We named this cave Caverna Luna Media (Half Moon Cave). We later learned the actual name of this cave, but to protect this cave and our work, we are using a synonym.

Our plan was to deploy sensors within this cave. Dick, Knutt and I conducted this exploration and our plan was deployed sensors within this cave. As we were exploring this feature, we determined this cave was immense. We managed to deploy sensors within the first 300m of the cave, but the cave continued to go. We plan to send in an exploration team before the expedition to find the other entrance(s) to this feature.

The "ram horn" salt formations within Caverna Luna Media.

While we were exploring Caverna Luna Media, Christina remained at the entrance in case of an emergency, while Dan, John, Lynn and Pete went further up canyon looking for additional caves. They did not find any additional caves. However, we did find one and we deployed sensors within, so we did have a productive day.

The salt landscape of the Atacama.

My return to Caverna de Quitor

2008-08-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 03 August 2008

Looking up through the sinkhole entrance of Caverna de Quitor.

Dr. Titus arrived last night. So, we now have the entire team is in San Pedro. Once we had dinner, Lynn, Knutt, John and I decided to head into town and go to Adobe – this is an incredibly pricey restaurant that we often frequent for drinks or to see Andrea play.

Lynn about to conduct a very complicated and difficult pinkie nail operation. Credit: Dan Ruby.

Also, day before yesterday, I had another important lesson on mindfulness. If you don’t pay attention to what you are doing, well…you end up doing stupid things. I was in a hurry to leave for the field and as I rushed to close the front door. When I did, I left my pinkie finger in the door. It smarted!

Last night, it started to drain from around the edges of finger. This happened again this morning. I showed Lynn and he decided to burn a hole in the finger nail so the fluid could drain. We all hope this will be his only procedure during this expedition. It did make for quite a morning spectacle.

Pinkie finger with a hole in it. Credit: Dan Ruby

Once my pinkie finger was “operated” on, we went to Quitor Cave. This is one of the caves that we studied back in 2006. We actually had a paper published on this work. The title of the paper is On Developing Thermal Cave Detection Techniques for Earth, the Moon and Mars.

Lynn and I investigating an area within Quitor. Credit: Dan Ruby.

The team and I went to evaluate this cave for our research. This cave is heavily used by tourists and we were not certain whether this would be a good study site given. Because this is such a well-known cave, I won’t divulge whether this was one of our study features or not. However, we did have a good time evaluating this feature.

From left to right, me, Pete, Lynn, Dan and Tim in the sinkhole entrance of Caverna de Quitor. Credit: Christina Colpitts.

Another Trip to Cuevita de Huesos

2008-08-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Originally Drafted 03 August 2008

One of many ungulate skulls observed within this Cuevita.

Today we had the day off. Guillermo had emailed me the day before and indicated that Gerhard Hűdepohl and Raul Areas would be taking a trip to San Pedro to photograph Cuevita de Huesos. Gerhard is an electrical engineer with the ALMA radio telescope facility outside of San Pedro and he is also a photographer Atacama Desert Photos. Raul and I had met last week when he brought me the compasses. He has worked with Guillermo for many years and is extremely well-versed in Atacama geology.

Christina, John and I met them at Puerte de Rio San Pedro, and then we went to this cuevita. I was really looking forward to this because I knew this would give me the opportunity to further investigate this cave.

I had a lot of questions regarding this cuevita. I mentioned many of these in a previous blog. Most importantly is this site a paleontological site or an archaeological site? Also, what was the process for deposition? Were they deposited by humans or was this flood related?

First off, these are still bones. They are not fossils. Thus, the bones probably not that old. However, I must qualify this by stating I do not know the fossilization process in salt or soils containing significant amounts of salt – so, perhaps these bones are old.

I am leaning toward the possibility that it is either a paleontological site or simply a site containing recently flood-deposited animals. Raul did make an interesting observation. He noticed there were not many vertebrate within the bones eroding out of the cave walls. I did see what appeared to be a remnant of a vertebral body. However, it is also possible this could be the diaphysis of a long bone.

One piece of what appears to be fabric in context with the bones. Because this was the only evidence of humans in context with these bones calling this an archaeological site is tenuous at best.

We have very little evidence to suggest this is an archaeological site. We did photograph one area within the soil that contained fabric. I also saw some dark soil like material that may be carbon. However, it was high up on the cave wall, and I was not about to climb up on the wall and risk disturbing these materials. Also, within the larger portion of the drainage containing this cuevita we found broken pieces of ceramics and evidence of stone-tool making. Given all this, I still think this site is due to flood-related activities, and is probably not related to human activity. Because this area has been used extensively by humans for millennia, the fabric could have been garbage and simply washed into this cave with the animals. Whether the black material observed was carbon or simply dark soil/ rock is still inconclusive. The prehistoric materials observed within the larger drainage may have originally been deposited exactly where they were observed. They may not have washed down from the cuevita containing the bones.

This was a fun little trip, and it was rather instructive insofar as to understanding how these bones were deposited.

Who has Poo Duty?

2008-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Originally drafted 03 August 2008

John warming his hands by the poo fire.

There is a fun chore that we have at Rancho Tonka. For some reason, the septic system in San Pedro cannot handle toilet paper. So, all used tp (and you know the type of toilet paper I’m referring to) must be disposed of. Rather than mix human waste in with our household garbage we have decided to burn our “poo rags.” Fortunately and for some unknown reason, Knutt really enjoys poo duty. So, he has been the one who is the poo duty king. I’ve had poo duty once so far, and the others here have done it once or twice as well.

John, Knutt and Tonka hanging out by the poo fire.

Also, many of us wash our clothes at the house rather than paying the high prices to have the clothes laundered. We have jokingly stated that this is the Atacama House Cleaning Expedition.

John washing clothes with the laundry stick.