RE: [Texascavers] aquifer question
If you're getting stinky water, sounds like there is something wrong with your treatment plant. If it is a small plant that doesn't have a full time operator, there probably needs to maintenance or adjustments somewhere. Call up the regional office of the TCEQ and let them know. Regarding the Edwards, some houses have on-site septic system and others are on sewer that run from higher elevations in the recharge zone to the lower elevations on the south side of town were the waste water treatment sites are located. Geary From: David [mailto:dlocklea...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 12:55 AM To: Cavers Texas Subject: [Texascavers] aquifer question I live about 300 meters from sewage treatment plant that dumps the treated sewage directly into a creek that flows 1 mile downstream to the Brazos River, and then 100 miles or so later ends up in the Gulf. What happens to all the treated sewage water in the Edwards Aquifer area ? On a related note, but mainly for you birders: If you look at the discharge into this creek, it stinks really bad for over 100 meters. The marshy creek at the discharge is full of cattail like vegetation growing in the water and lots of water birds. I am not a birder ( yet ), but I think it is common to see the marsh feeding birds at the discharge, like: Great Blue Heron, Black-crowed Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tri-colored Heron, White Ibis, etc. There is also lots of nutria in a culvert downstream. Other critters in the area are turtles. But I haven't seen any fish. The marshy creek is only a foot deep, so there is no where for them to hide from the birds.( This creek may just be a man-made dredged channel, or at least that is what it is now. ) What I am getting at here, is this discharge does not appear to be hurting the environment, but I wouldn't want to go swimming in the Brazos River downstream of there. You wouldn't swim there anyways, as the gators would swallow you whole in one gulp.
Re: [Texascavers] aquifer question
And / or it is anaerobic digestion in a marsh. . It is not unusual for marshs to stink. It could be that the plant is supplying nutrients that contribute to the low dissolved oxygen Josh On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 9:51 AM, Geary Schindel gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org wrote: If you’re getting stinky water, sounds like there is something wrong with your treatment plant. If it is a small plant that doesn’t have a full time operator, there probably needs to maintenance or adjustments somewhere. Call up the regional office of the TCEQ and let them know. Regarding the Edwards, some houses have on-site septic system and others are on sewer that run from higher elevations in the recharge zone to the lower elevations on the south side of town were the waste water treatment sites are located. Geary *From:* David [mailto:dlocklea...@gmail.com] *Sent:* Friday, November 20, 2009 12:55 AM *To:* Cavers Texas *Subject:* [Texascavers] aquifer question I live about 300 meters from sewage treatment plant that dumps the treated sewage directly into a creek that flows 1 mile downstream to the Brazos River, and then 100 miles or so later ends up in the Gulf. What happens to all the treated sewage water in the Edwards Aquifer area ? On a related note, but mainly for you birders: If you look at the discharge into this creek, it stinks really bad for over 100 meters. The marshy creek at the discharge is full of cattail like vegetation growing in the water and lots of water birds. I am not a birder ( yet ), but I think it is common to see the marsh feeding birds at the discharge, like: Great Blue Heron, Black-crowed Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tri-colored Heron, White Ibis, etc. There is also lots of nutria in a culvert downstream. Other critters in the area are turtles. But I haven't seen any fish. The marshy creek is only a foot deep, so there is no where for them to hide from the birds.( This creek may just be a man-made dredged channel, or at least that is what it is now. ) What I am getting at here, is this discharge does not appear to be hurting the environment, but I wouldn't want to go swimming in the Brazos River downstream of there. You wouldn't swim there anyways, as the gators would swallow you whole in one gulp.
RE: [Texascavers] aquifer question
Hi David, One thing to remember is that the marsh helps further filter the water before it flows on down to the Brazos and the Gulf. That's part of the importance of leaving marshes as is and not building condos on them--or just filling them in altogether. It also provides, as you've discovered, nutrients for snails, tadpoles, etc which provide food on down the chain. Here in Medford, we have big settling ponds which the birds just love to be around. That water eventually goes into the Rogue River. We have an irrigation ditch near our office which has bullfrog tadpoles, mosquito fish, etc. The great blue herons and the egrets love them as do the mallards. Since bullfrogs are an invasive species here, we love it when they get gobbled up. Love your marshes, Louise From: dlocklea...@gmail.com List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:55:22 -0600 To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: [Texascavers] aquifer question I live about 300 meters from sewage treatment plant that dumps the treated sewage directly into a creek that flows 1 mile downstream to the Brazos River, and then 100 miles or so later ends up in the Gulf. What happens to all the treated sewage water in the Edwards Aquifer area ? On a related note, but mainly for you birders: If you look at the discharge into this creek, it stinks really bad for over 100 meters. The marshy creek at the discharge is full of cattail like vegetation growing in the water and lots of water birds. I am not a birder ( yet ), but I think it is common to see the marsh feeding birds at the discharge, like: Great Blue Heron, Black-crowed Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tri-colored Heron, White Ibis, etc. There is also lots of nutria in a culvert downstream. Other critters in the area are turtles. But I haven't seen any fish. The marshy creek is only a foot deep, so there is no where for them to hide from the birds.( This creek may just be a man-made dredged channel, or at least that is what it is now. ) What I am getting at here, is this discharge does not appear to be hurting the environment, but I wouldn't want to go swimming in the Brazos River downstream of there. You wouldn't swim there anyways, as the gators would swallow you whole in one gulp.
Re: [Texascavers] Re: Trouble at PEMEX
I got taken on the bill swap between Merida and Cancun, and I knew better, I just wasn't paying attention. Now I always say the name of the bill and point my thumb at the numbers: Aqui tiene *doscientos* etc. Also, they'll fill you up with premium when you want regular, so watch that one too. ~~T From: Sheryl Rieck shri...@cableone.net To: Texas Cavers texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Thu, November 19, 2009 1:59:00 PM Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Re: Trouble at PEMEX This is all very good information since we are going to Mexico on Saturday and I haven’t been in quite some time. Sheryl
[Texascavers] Pumpkin and Deep
Hey, All, I will be at Pumpkin and Deep over the Thanksgiving holiday. No real plans except to visit Seminole Canyon State Park one day. Stop by or join me for the whole time. C'ya, Josh
[Texascavers] old French accident
The 1953 accident in France that David posted a link about is probably the most famous caving accident in France, because it was written about in detail by Haroun Tazieff in his popular book Caves of Adventure (in the English version published by Harper in 1953). It is also described briefly in Casteret's The Descent of Pierre Saint- Martin, the English title of Twente ans sous terre, 1954. The article is incorrect about the cause of the accident. In fact, the connection between the cable and the hook at the bottom failed. They were using a 5-mm steel cable and a winch to descend and ascend the roughly 1000-foot entrance shaft, which is broken by ledges. Tazieff was best known as a volcanologist, but he was also a caver. -- Mixon Rules to live by: Don't, and don't forget to. You may reply to the address this message came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[NMCAVER] 2010 project dates
SWR project leaders: If you have set dates for your activities in 2010, please send them to me so I can include them in the SWR Calendar in the next (Nov-Dec) issue of the SW Cavers. Thanks. Carol Belski (bels...@valornet.com) ___ NMCAVER mailing list nmca...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/nmcaver_caver.net
[Texascavers] Place to crash in Austin 12/4--12/6?
Does anyone in the Center of the Caving Universe have a spare bed (or comfy floor space) I might occupy during the weekend of Ed Alexander's memorial? I'm happy to provide Shiner beer and/or California wine along with my cheery disposition. (I appreciate offers I've had from folks' way out in the country, but I'm hoping to stay closer into town this visit) Thanks, Frank Frank Binney P.O. Box 258 Woodacre, CA 94973 415.488.1200 Home 415.999.0556 Mobile fr...@frankbinney.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] South bound I35
Just an fyi for folk headed south, south bound I35 is only 2 lanes through Kyle, starting at exit 217 (my exit) and it wackes up to at least loop 45 in Buda till at least 8 on weeknights. This is the start of construction in this area so it may be like this for a few months. Terry H. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop
Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop Richard A. Lovett for National Geographic News November 20, 2009 Colorful cave deposits long thought to be ordinary minerals are actually mats of waste excreted by previously unknown types of microbes, scientists say. The discovery could offer clues in the search for life on Mars and beyond, researchers said in October at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. We're finding that you need to look at things you might write off as not being biological—they might be biological, said Penelope Boston, a cave scientist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro. The microbes were found on the walls of lava tubes in Hawaii, New Mexico, and the Portuguese Azores islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean The finds include a lovely blue-green ooze dripping out of the [cave] ceiling in Hawaii; a vein of what looks like a gold, crunchy mineral in New Mexico; and, in the Azores, amazing pink hexagons, said Diana Northup, a geomicrobiologist at the University of New Mexico. That's the waste—the bug poop, if you will. Clues to Life on Mars? Lava tubes form when molten lava seeps out beneath a solidifying flow from an active volcano, leaving long caves in its wake. Since 1994 Northup and colleagues have been seeking out unusual deposits in caves, including lava tubes, and putting them under a microscope or testing them for DNA. Her team's discoveries add to a growing body of evidence that lava tubes on other planets might be the best places to look for signs of extraterrestrial life, said Saugata Datta, a geochemist from Kansas State University who was not involved in the work. In 2007, pictures from a Mars orbiter showed dark holes that appear to be places where lava-tube roofs have collapsed. Caves [are] a unique environment where we think that [minerals precipitating out of liquids] and microbial growth are enhanced by stable physical and chemical conditions, Datta said. On Mars, water could have percolated into subterranean caves long ago, possibly bringing with it a banquet of minerals that could have fed ancient microbes. Also, the insides of such caves would have remained sheltered from harsh surface conditions, giving any possible Martian fossils a better shot at long-term survival. Extraterrestrial Field Guide Now that scientists know what cave-dwelling microbes leave behind, it's possible future Mars missions might search for similar traces of life in the red planet's caves. Diana [Northup] is essentially providing a field guide as to what you might find in these things, said New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology's Boston. It's very clear from our work in all different kinds of caves on this planet that the interior of a cave can be radically different from the external environment, she added. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091120-caves-lava-tubes-microbes-poop.html
[Texascavers] an old caving story
This article appears to be from 1952: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816782,00.html It talks about a fatal caving accident in France. Note: According to the author, the term spelunker is short for speleologist. Also, they found troglobitic cockroaches. I didn't know there was such a thing until now. But apparently they have been found in Australia and Thailand? I think it is interesting that a troglobitic cockroach lives in both France and Thailand, and wonder how related they are?Did their ancestors cross the Bering Strait to get there ? I don't think so. But whatever happened, happened a long, long time ago. Right ? Or did, a surface cockroach family migrate to the cave 1,000's of years ago, and stay there ? I found no troglobitic cockroach sites on the web for France. ( maybe their in French ? )
Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story
On Nov 20, 2009, at 2:02 AM, David wrote: Also, they found troglobitic cockroaches. I didn't know there was such a thing until now. But apparently they have been found in Australia and Thailand? I don't know if they are troblobitic or troglophilic or troglowhatever, but there are a lot of 2-inch long cockroaches way back in the dark zone of Juxtlahuaca Cave in Guerrero, Mexico. I thought they were pretty neat, Diana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Diana R. Tomchick Associate Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Biochemistry 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Rm. ND10.214B Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A. Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu 214-645-6383 (phone) 214-645-6353 (fax) - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story
The recovery of Louben's body is the subject of what I consider a caving clasic, *Caves of Adventure* by Haroun Tazieff. If a martian naturelist comes to our planet, he or she or it will announce the dominant lifeform is Beetles (including cockroachs). There are more species of Coleoptra than all the mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibeans and the rest of the insects combined. I believe they even have more mass then all of us. When we get through with this world or, more precisely, the world gets through with us, Coleoptra will survive. To paraphrase the bible, the cockroach will inherit the world. Josh On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 2:02 AM, David dlocklea...@gmail.com wrote: This article appears to be from 1952: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816782,00.html It talks about a fatal caving accident in France. Note: According to the author, the term spelunker is short for speleologist. Also, they found troglobitic cockroaches. I didn't know there was such a thing until now. But apparently they have been found in Australia and Thailand? I think it is interesting that a troglobitic cockroach lives in both France and Thailand, and wonder how related they are?Did their ancestors cross the Bering Strait to get there ? I don't think so. But whatever happened, happened a long, long time ago. Right ? Or did, a surface cockroach family migrate to the cave 1,000's of years ago, and stay there ? I found no troglobitic cockroach sites on the web for France. ( maybe their in French ? )
Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story
Wouldn't Bacteria beat out all other forms in both species and biomass, by quite a lot? I mean they're everywhere, including in all other life. Matt Turner It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle Empty pockets never held anyone back.Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.- Norman Vincent Peale From: Josh Rubinstein kars...@gmail.com To: David dlocklea...@gmail.com Cc: Cavers Texas texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Fri, November 20, 2009 11:19:03 AM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story The recovery of Louben's body is the subject of what I consider a caving clasic, Caves of Adventure by Haroun Tazieff. If a martian naturelist comes to our planet, he or she or it will announce the dominant lifeform is Beetles (including cockroachs). There are more species of Coleoptra than all the mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibeans and the rest of the insects combined. I believe they even have more mass then all of us. When we get through with this world or, more precisely, the world gets through with us, Coleoptra will survive. To paraphrase the bible, the cockroach will inherit the world. Josh
Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story
Yep. They will outlast the cockroachs. Josh On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 1:27 PM, Matt Turner kat...@yahoo.com wrote: Wouldn't Bacteria beat out all other forms in both species and biomass, by quite a lot? I mean they're everywhere, including in all other life. Matt Turner It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle Empty pockets never held anyone back.Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.- Norman Vincent Peale -- *From:* Josh Rubinstein kars...@gmail.com *To:* David dlocklea...@gmail.com *Cc:* Cavers Texas texascavers@texascavers.com *Sent:* Fri, November 20, 2009 11:19:03 AM *Subject:* Re: [Texascavers] an old caving story The recovery of Louben's body is the subject of what I consider a caving clasic, *Caves of Adventure* by Haroun Tazieff. If a martian naturelist comes to our planet, he or she or it will announce the dominant lifeform is Beetles (including cockroachs). There are more species of Coleoptra than all the mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibeans and the rest of the insects combined. I believe they even have more mass then all of us. When we get through with this world or, more precisely, the world gets through with us, Coleoptra will survive. To paraphrase the bible, the cockroach will inherit the world. Josh
Re: [Texascavers] KXAN's Jim Swift in Antioch Cave
no, but you can get a pro bono job and great thanks for helping the aquifer and get to go caving! j --- On Fri, 11/20/09, Don Cooper wavyca...@gmail.com wrote: From: Don Cooper wavyca...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] KXAN's Jim Swift in Antioch Cave To: Jules Jenkins julesje...@yahoo.com Cc: tex cave texascavers@texascavers.com List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Friday, November 20, 2009, 2:05 AM could I get a payin part time job for moving those rocks around? -WaV On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Jules Jenkins julesje...@yahoo.com wrote: fyi- it is what it is.. http://www.kxan.com/dpp/weather/scientists-unveil-new-cave-entrance
Re: [Texascavers] KXAN's Jim Swift in Antioch Cave
Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal too! (That being said - the current conditions of Antioch are probably a bit wet right now...) -WaV On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 2:55 PM, Jules Jenkins julesje...@yahoo.com wrote: no, but you can get a pro bono job and great thanks for helping the aquifer and get to go caving! j --- On *Fri, 11/20/09, Don Cooper wavyca...@gmail.com* wrote: From: Don Cooper wavyca...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] KXAN's Jim Swift in Antioch Cave To: Jules Jenkins julesje...@yahoo.com Cc: tex cave texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Friday, November 20, 2009, 2:05 AM could I get a payin part time job for moving those rocks around? -WaV On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Jules Jenkins julesje...@yahoo.comhttp://mc/compose?to=julesje...@yahoo.com wrote: fyi- it is what it is.. http://www.kxan.com/dpp/weather/scientists-unveil-new-cave-entrance
