#caves — Public Fediverse posts

Eurokarst 2026: Advancing our understanding of groundwater in karst regions

Eurokarst is the bi-annual meeting for international research in the hydrogeology of karst and carbonate reservoirs.

On 31 August - 4 September 2026, the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland is hosting, and we are bringing our Australian research to Europe, arguably the home of karst research.

Our presentations highlight how underground spaces such as caves, tunnels and mines, can be used to better understand when, where and why groundwater recharge event occur....

#caves #climate #hydrology #research #academia #groundwater

http://andy-baker.org/2026/08/24/eurokarst-2026-advancing-hydrogeology-in-karst-regions/

Eurokarst 2026: Advancing our understanding of groundwater in karst regions

Eurokarst is the bi-annual meeting for international research in the hydrogeology of karst and carbonate reservoirs.

On 31 August – 4 September 2026, the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland is hosting, and we are bringing our Australian research to Europe, arguably the home of karst research.

Our presentations highlight how underground spaces such as caves, tunnels and mines, can be used to better understand when, where and why groundwater recharge event occur. And we introduce how caves can be used as observatories of groundwater recharge in the past, present and future. Our research is funded by the Australian Research Council through LIEF and Laureate Fellowship grants, and our collaborators include European colleagues at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and the Technical University of Dresden.

You can read about the Eurokarst2026 meeting here, and extended abstracts are available for all the conference presentations. Want to know more? Here are all the presentations that use data from our Australian sites.

Predicting infrequent recharge events in water-limited karstic aquifers presented by Gregoire Mariethoz (University of Lausanne) investigates the relationship between groundwater recharge events and river flood events at two sites in New South Wales. Have you ever wondered which are more frequent – river floods or groundwater recharge events? We have some evidence here: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/64

Recharge typologies of karst drip water in the vadose zone across southeastern Australia presented by Danyang Sun (UNSW) uses signal processing and time series analysis as a novel methodology to identify recharge typologies for karst drip water. This is the presentation of her paper that was just published in Water Resources Research. You can read her abstract here: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/24

How does groundwater recharge relate to weather and climate? Integrating cave drip water hydrology, stalagmites, and modelling is an overview presentation of all of our Australian projects that I am presenting. It covers our ‘National Groundwater Recharge Observing System’ (NGROS) and ‘Caves and their stalagmites: linking climate to groundwater recharge (C2G) projects. If you are interested in how much rainfall is needed to generate groundwater recharge, how often it occurs, and how it varies with climate, this might be for you: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/27

Understanding recharge dynamics using drip responses in underground spaces presented by Akhilesh Kumar (UNSW) uses a novel application of a transfer function approach to identify dominant recharge modes and response times using cave drip hydrology time series. This new approach should yield data useful for calibrating groundwater recharge models. You can read more here: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/34

Estimation of Groundwater Recharge in Australia’s Karst Regions is a presentation from Nane Weber (TU Dresden). For the first time, she uses the timing of recharge events observed from our cave observation network to constrain a global karst recharge model, and estimate groundwater recharge volumes. Her abstract is here: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/71

Key Controls on Precipitation-Driven Groundwater Recharge Occurrences in Southeastern Australia’s Karst Sites is a second presentation from Akhilesh Kumar (UNSW). Using satellite remote sensing products, he investigates the relative importance of rainfall, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and vegetation on the occurrence of recharge events. Which is more important? You can read his recent publication in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies here. The conference abstract is here: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/76355/submission/33

Gli scallops in grotta sono forme di erosione meccanica derivanti dall'azione delle correnti d'acqua sulle pareti che vengono dilavate, di dimensioni variabili da qualche centimetro a decine di centimetri.

Questo è un particolare da qualche parte nell'Antro del Corchia, anno 2017, uno dei maggiori sistemi carsici italiani, un esempio di carsismo nel marmo.

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Cave scallops are mechanical erosion features resulting from the action of water currents flowing over and dissolving rock walls, ranging in size from a few centimeters to tens of centimeters.

This detail is from somewhere inside the Antro del Corchia (2017), one of the largest Italian karst systems and a notable example of marble karstification.

#caves #speleology #erosion #corchia
#speleology #photography #scallops #karst

Un aspetto poco noto è quello della bonifica del sottosuolo, per la quale gli speleologi fanno il loro. Nell'aprile del 2024 vigili del fuoco, speleologi e militari della Birgata Pinerolo hanno provveduto a rimuovere e far brillare in luogo sicuro nove ordigni della seconda guerra mondiale inesplosi, estratti dalla Grave di Pasciuddo (PU40). Un ipogeo che scende fino a -150 m nel territorio di Cassano delle Murge (Puglia).

Quin un anno dopo, la grotta finalmente percorribile in sicurezza.

https://www.esercito.difesa.it/comunicazione/bonificata-la-cava-di-pasciuddo/93011.html

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A lesser-known aspect is the cleanup of the underground, where cave explorers do their part. In April 2024, firefighters, speleologists, and soldiers from the Pinerolo Brigade removed and safely detonated nine unexploded World War II bombs extracted from the Grave di Pasciuddo (PU40)—a cave reaching a depth of -150 meters in the territory of Cassano delle Murge (Puglia).

Here, one year later, the cave can finally be explored safely.

#caves #speleology #caving #mines #explosives #blasting #photography #safety

La Grotta Grande del Ciolo a Gagliano del Capo, nel territorio di Santa Maria di Leuca, è una delle più grandi grotte costiere del Salento (Puglia). Raggiungibile dal mare, gli speleologi possono invece raggiungere in calata dall'alto, con un divertente pendolo o bagno nel mare per chi scende ad armare fino alla spiaggia interna. Un grande classico dell'inizio dell'estate che, anche quest'anno, non è mancato.

https://www.gruppopugliagrotte.it/relazioni/grotta-del-ciolo/

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La Grotta Grande del Ciolo in Gagliano del Capo, near Santa Maria di Leuca, is one of the largest coastal caves in Salento (Puglia). Reachable from the sea, speleologists can also access it by abseiling from above—complete with a fun pendulum swing or a swim in the sea for those descending all the way down to the internal beach. A classic early-summer tradition that didn't miss its appointment this year either.

#caves #seacaves #ciolo #salento #photography #caving #speleology #puglia

La Grotta di Serra del Gufo, situata nel Parco del Pollino, nel comune di Cerchiara di Calabria, è un altro ipogeo molto visitato dai corsi introduttivi di speleologia provenienti dalle regioni limitrofe.

La grotta ha uno sviluppo di circa 1,5 km per circa -140 m di profondità ed ha natura ipogenica, costituendo la parte alta di un sistema che in basso presenta la Grotta delle Ninfe - con le sue acque termali - e la meno nota Grotta di Balze di Cristo.

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The Serra del Gufo Cave, located in the Pollino National Park within the municipality of Cerchiara di Calabria, is another cave frequently visited by introductory caving courses from neighboring regions.

The cave spans approximately 1.5 km in length with a depth of around -140 meters and is hypogenic in nature, forming the upper section of a system that includes the Grotta delle Ninfe—with its thermal waters—and the lesser-known Grotta di Balze di Cristo below.

#caves #calabria #serradelgufo #hypogenic #karst #speleology #photography #speleo #caving

La Grave del Pulo è l'inghiottitoio principale situato nel Pulo di Altamura, un'imponente dolina carsica di diametro 700 m e profondità di circa 70-90 m, nel comune di Altamura (Puglia).

Nota e visitata da tutti gli speleologi pugliesi, è una grotta attrezzata anche per i corsi di introduzione alla speleologia per tutti i gruppi, catastata come PU860.

* https://murgeopark.com/
* https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulo_di_Altamura

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"La Grave del Pulo" is the main sinkhole located in the Pulo di Altamura, an impressive karst sinkhole with a diameter of 700 m and a depth of about 70–90 m, in the municipality of Altamura (Apulia).

Well-known and visited by Apulian speleologists, it also offers introductory caving courses for all groups and is registered in the regional cave inventory as PU860.

* https://murgeopark.com/
* https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulo_di_Altamura

#caves #altamura #karst #pulodialtamura #geopark #murgeopark #photography #speleo #speleology

In painted #caves, ancient #human #DNA clings to the walls
Traces could someday help link #prehistoric #paintings to the people who made them
Study cannot link DNA to artists behind #cavepaintings. But the knowledge that human DNA can be preserved on cave walls for thousands of years may enable future work that probes role of women in ancient art, traces the movement of artists and brings clarity to the debate over #Neandertals’ artistic abilities.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-human-dna-cave-walls
https://archive.ph/TNBC3

#WondersOfNature: The #Marble #Caves are a series of intricate marble caverns and pillars that have been sculpted by the waters of General Carrera Lake in Chile.

These Caves are geological formation of unusual beauty. These caves have formed in a pure marble and are bathed in the deep blue water of General Carrera Lake.

https://knowledgezone.co.in/kbits/64c28a1aa14949347cc8a7f1

La Grotta della Lupa (o di Ripa Rossa) è un'interessante cavità carsica che si apre all'interno di una vecchia miniera di bauxite presso Roccamorice (PE) nel Parco Nazionale della Majella.. Non si conoscono ingressi naturali e si estende per circa 1.800 metri ad andamento sub-orizzontale e meandriforme per un dislivello di circa 250 metri. La progressione è piuttosto tecnica, con gallerie, piccoli salti e strettoie. L'ambiente interno presenta una grande varietà di speleotemi e ha anche interesse paleontologico per la parte di monte. Esplorata a partire dal 2015, ha una morfologia complessa.

Nel 2022 siamo stati ospiti degli amici dello Speleo Club di Chieti per esplorare questa grotta.

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Grotta della Lupa (or Ripa Rossa) is an interesting karst cave located inside an old bauxite mine near Roccamorice (Pescara) in the Majella National Park. No natural entrances are known, and it extends for about 1,800 meters in a sub-horizontal and meandric pattern, with a depth (elevation difference) of around 250 meters.

Progression is rather technical, featuring tunnels, small pitches, and squeezes. The cave interior displays a wide variety of speleothems and is also of paleontological interest in its upper section. Explored starting in 2015, it has a complex morphology.

In 2022, we were guests of our friends at the Speleo Club Chieti to explore this cave.

#caves #karst #majella #speleology #photography

RE: https://universeodon.com/@revesdespace/116848951533445294

The ESA CAVES project began around 2011 to train astronauts to live and work for long periods in hostile environments. Initially, the selected caves were in Sardinia, and they were used routinely for several years. Local caving groups handled the logistics. A well-known participant has been Prof. Jo De Waele from Bologna University and the La Venta Exploration Team.

https://blogs.esa.int/caves/2013/08/21/jo-de-waele-intro-by-loredana/

#caves #esa #speleology #space

A quasi 300 metri sotto terra si nasconde uno dei luoghi più surreali del pianeta: una cavità geologica che ospita cristalli di gesso giganti lunghi fino a 11 metri e pesanti decine di tonnellate.

Trattandosi di una vera e propria "sauna naturale" con temperature fino a 58 °C e un'umidità vicina al 100%, l'esplorazione umana è stata possibile solo con tute refrigeranti e bombole d'ossigeno, ideate dal compianto Giovanni Badino. L'esplorazione è stata curata in massima parte dall'Associazione di Esplorazioni Geografiche La Venta, di cui nel corso del tempo hanno fatto parte anche alcuni soci del GPG.

Oggi l'ingresso nella miniera a questo enorme geode naturale è chiuso per sempre. L'acqua si è ripresa la grotta.

* http://naica.org.mx/exploration
* https://www.laventa.it/en/

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Almost 300 meters underground lies one of the most surreal places on the planet: a geological cave housing giant gypsum crystals up to 11 meters long and weighing tens of tons.

A true "natural sauna" with temperatures up to 58 °C and humidity near 100%, the cave was only accessible to humans using cooling suits and oxygen tanks designed by the late Giovanni Badino. The La Venta Geographic Explorations Association carried out most of the exploration, and over time it also included several members of the GPG.

Today, the entrance to this enormous natural geode inside the mine is permanently closed. The water has reclaimed the cave.

#naica #geology #caves #crystalCaves #speleology #exploration

Back Pockets

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about internet shopping. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

Shopping

Today, I am thinking about shopping. That used to be a real pleasure.

For recreation, I would go to a mall and just wander around, looking at the shops and the people, and enjoying myself. I don’t do that any longer.

The malls, for some reason, have lost their appeal. The last time I really went shopping, to get something as a present for my wife, I walked around the entire mall, looked at every store, and there wasn’t anything that said “Buy me!”

What has changed? Ta-da! It’s the internet.

Sitting at home in our comfy chair, we can browse for hours through endless ideas of things to buy. They arrive, sometimes the same day, but, at least overnight, without our ever having to leave the house.

Why drive down to a store, taking time and using gas, when you can order something on the computer for a cheaper price than the store would ask, and it shows up at your house?

When Amazon arrived on the scene I thought it would never succeed. I also worried about the small store owners who had to compete with it.

Today, I tell you, I have surrendered. More options, less cost, convenient . . . what more can you ask?

It seems China, Viet Nam and Korea have become the merchants of the masses.

Last month, I was on the internet looking at men’s slacks. I came across slacks that were quite stylish and were made of a very light fabric, which.dries quickly. That’s perfect for the Florida climate.They had my size, which sometimes can be a problem, and they were inexpensive. A great buy. So, I ordered a couple pair.

I was quite pleased when they arrived. They were very good-looking, they were lightweight, and they fit. Everything was fine until I went to put my wallet in the back pocket, and I found out there were no back pockets. There was a little flap that looked like it was a back pocket, but it was just decorative.

No back pockets? Who would want pants with no back pockets?Back pockets are pretty important to a guy. We don’t have purses, so we normally have our phone back there, our wallet, and a comb. In our front pockets, we carry our car keys, house key, maybe a money clip.

So, lacking back pockets, I put all these items in the front pockets, which then looked like I was walking around carrying grapefruit or bowling balls in my pants. Not a good look. My satisfaction with the Slacks was somewhat diminished.

Sometime later, I was back on the internet, and I came across another attractive set of slacks that were lightweight. The advertisement for them mentioned, as a selling point, that they had back pockets. Terrific.

I ordered two pairs, a white one and a beige one.When they arrived, I was quick to put them on. They looked terrific. They fit well. Everything was good. Everything was good until I went to take a pee, and then I discovered: no fly.

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts

(www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America

and I show work locally at 

On A Different Note

MORE TO COME

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

On a Different Note

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Take a look at my website:

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Impressions of Florida

Three new papers using caves as hydrological observatories

A short post, highlighting three papers published in recent weeks that I have had the fortune of contributing to. All use networks of drip loggers in caves to record water movement from the surface to the water table. First, ...

http://andy-baker.org/2026/08/07/three-new-papers-using-caves-as-hydrological-observatories/

#academia #groundwater #caves

Three new papers using caves as hydrological observatories

A short post, highlighting three papers published in recent weeks that I have had the fortune of contributing to. All use networks of drip loggers in caves to record water movement from the surface to the water table.

First, led by Akhilesh Kumar at UNSW Sydney, is a satellite remote sensing study. Can we use satellite-derived products, such as rainfall, vegetation characteristics and soil moisture, to understand when recharge events might occur? Using a network of cave drip loggers in SE Australia, the paper ‘Investigating correlative & causal drivers of precipitation-driven groundwater recharge occurrences in southeastern Australia’ gives the answer. Find out more here (Open Access) in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.

Second, led by Kashif Mahmud and Rowann Remie at Midwestern State University in the USA, uses another network of cave drip loggers, this time distributed throughout Natural Bridge Caves in Texas. The paper, ‘Heterogeneity of karst water movement revealed through cave drip hydrology’, tackles the question of the controls on water movement in karstified limestone. What is more important control on the variability of water movement – depth below surface, geology, or something else? You can read more here (Open Access) in Frontiers in Water.

Third, led by Danyang Sun at UNSW Sydney, uses time series analyses to conceptualise water movement in karstified limestones using a network of drip loggers in SE Australia. Her paper, ‘Classification and Conceptualization of Karst Recharge Processes Through Spectral and Change Point Analysis of Drip Water Dynamics’ is just published in the journal Water Resources Research, and you can read it here (Open Access).

The references:

Sun, D., Baker, A., Andersen, M.S., McDonough, L.K., Shanafield, M.S and Kumar, A., 2026. Classification and Conceptualization of Karst Recharge Processes Through Spectral and Change Point Analysis of Drip Water Dynamics. Water Resources Research, 62, e2025WR042816.

Mahmud, K., Remie, R,, Gary, M., Price, J.D., Katumwehe, A., Vauter, B. and Baker, A., 2026. Heterogeneity of Karst Water Movement Revealed Through Cave Drip Hydrology. Frontiers in Water, 8, 1892078.

Kumar, A., Baker, A., Andersen, M.S., Timms, W., Fisher, A.G. and Sun, D., 2026. Investigating correlative & causal drivers of precipitation-driven groundwater recharge occurrences in southeastern Australia. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 66, 103547

"It’s true that some of the very oldest cave art features stencils of human hands – but what is the hand if not the place where the human touches the nonhuman, the very interface of self and world?"

#Caves #Art #Humanities #Lascaux #Fediverse #Mastodon #Social #Human #Dreams #FoodForThought

Art Creation and AI: Embracing Digital Tools

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about making art with a computer. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

The Act of Creation

Today, there’s a great deal of discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) as it applies to art creation. Artists are afraid that their art will be copied and modified using a machine powered by artificial intelligence and presented as original art work .

That does not mean, however, that art done using a machine, a computer, is not legitimate. The difference is in the creative process.

I have a friend, a very accomplished composer, whose music I listen to almost daily on YouTube. He has done movie scores, symphonies and has been recognized internationally for his symphonic music. He uses a digital synthesizer to create his work. Although it’s done with a computer, his are definitely original compositions.

The same thing happens with the visual arts. There are many specialized software programs that creators can use in producing their artwork. I use a program called Painter2023. It’s like having an entire art studio at my disposal.

Let me show you. This screen is used to select a brush.

The column on the left shows a list of brushes available. There are quite a few, in fact, there are hundreds. And the next column over allows the artist to pick the working characteristic of the brush chosen.

Brushes are just one small part of the process. There are surfaces (paper, canvas, wood etc) and textures and mediums (acrylic, oil, watercolor, chalk, etc) and more. This is a very complicated program.

Mostly my work is created with traditional medium: paints, paper, canvas, and brushes. But from time to time, I do produce work in the computer. And once it’s finished, I have the option, if I’m pleased with it, to have it printed on paper or canvas.

My Work

What follows is a piece that I created in the computer as a demonstration. The work is done on layers. Think of sheets of transparent paper, one over the other. This gives me the ability to turn off a layer to see what happens if I don’t like what’s on it, or to stack them in a different order, which changes the nature of the composition.

Below is a composition, “Lilies in a Glass.” “I’ll show you a series of stages that it went through, so you get a sense of how that works.

Lillies In A Glass

And, there you have it: Art created in the computer.

On A Different Note

And

MORE TO COME

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach.

If you like Musing sign up at the end in comments and you will receive a notice when Musings is posted

RECENT WORK

Nocturnal Butterfly

North County Road

Colony Hotel

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

On The Waterfront

Works on Paper

Impressions of Florida

These are some nice views from Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park (Vietnam) I took yesterday with my daughter: absolutely stunning!

...actually, they are from a small complex of #caves
in the hills of Vittorio Veneto (Treviso #Italy), exactly 3.9km from where I lived 20 years. Never-ever-visited until yesterday, and I feel so dumb.

Just marvellous

#GrotteCaglieron #photography #tourism

“A mouse never entrusts his life to only one hole”*…

… Well, our earth is riddled with them. And as our old friend Randall Munroe at xkcd reminds us, some of them are very deep…

“Holes”

Via Jason Kottke, who reminds us that “Explain xkcd has more info on each of the various holes, including the truly bonkers Cave of Crystals in Mexico” (and explanatory background on other xkcd posts as well…)

* Plautus

###

As we spelunk, we might recall that it was on this date in 1962 that the U.S. military detonated Little Feller I, a tactical nuclear weapon at the Nevada Test Site as part of Operation Sunbeam. It was the last near-ground atmospheric nuclear detonation conducted by the United States. The high-altitude Fishbowl tests concluded in November of1962 with a detonation at around 69,000 feet altitude. Thereafter, in accordance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, tests were conducted underground… more holes.

https://youtu.be/eiM-RzPHyGs?si=tLLvcvNcta2JPKFN