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Volume 9, Number- One UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY EX E C U TI V E COMMITTEE Published Bimonthly ( Beginning in February CHAIRPERSON TRAINING DIRECTOR William Fehring INSS 190791 Forrest M. Wilson INSS lh631, by 3508 Hollow Oak Place 2832 Concord Dr. Brandon, FI. 33511 Decatur, Ga. 30033 The Section of The National Speleological Society VICE-CHAIRPERSON TREASURER Stephen E. Hudson Stephen D. Maegerlen INSS 8;1401 893 Cedar Creek North P.O. Box 60 Deadline for publication is the second Friday of the S. E. Marietta, Ga. 30067 Williams, In. 47470 preceding month. Send exchange publications, ar. ticles and editorial correspondence to the editor: SECRETARY EDITOR Steven R. Straatsma John Zumrick John L. Zumrick, Jr. INSS 187881 3501 Santa Anita Ct. Apt. 290 120 Rusty Cans Dr. ..,;., 120 Rusty Gans Dr. Tampa, FI. 33614 Panama City Beach, FI. 32407 Panama City Beach, Florida 32407

Section membership, which includes a subscription PROGRAM COORDINATORS: to Underwater Speleology is open to all members in PUBLICATIONS ...... •...... _...... good standing of the National Speleological Society MEMBERSHIP. - ...... ••...... •...... • Sandy Fehring at $5.00 per year. Subscriptions to non-members is SLIDE PRESENTATIONS ...... ••...... • Wayne Marshall $7.00 per year. When making application for SAFETY ..•...... •••...... •••..... Tom Cook, Wes Skiles membership or requesting subscription information ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS ...... ••... Mary Ellen Eckhoff conta~t: CAVE RESCUE ...... Henry Nicholson Stephen D. Maegerlen ,',s, "141l1 CAVE FILES ...... Bill Sinclair P.O. Box 60 VISITING DIVERS ...... •...... ••...... ••. Roy Bailey Willi"ms. In. 47470 CARTOGRAPHy .... , ...... ••...... ••... Sheck Exley RESEARCH ...... •...... •...... •••..... Karen Wark Make checks payable to the NSS Cave Diving Sec­ CONSERVATION ...... , ...... •...... Dennis Williams tion in care of the Treasurer. Opinions expressed in ABE DAVIS AWARD ...... India Young Underwater Speleology are not necessarily those of WORKSHOP ...... ••...... ••.... Steve Hudson the section or the ·NSS .. c:

CALENDAR EDITORIAL by John Zumrick

May 15-16; May 29-30; July 10-11; NACO New officers elected to the executive com­ Instructor Institute. (National Association mittee this past November were William of Cave Divers. Box 1222. Gainesville. Fla Fehring. chairperson; Stephen E. Hudson, 33305.) vice-chairperson; and Stephen Straatsma. secretary. They replace Dennis Williams, May 29-30: The 19th National Speleological Karen \'\Iark and Mary Ellen Eckhoff. Continu­ Society Cave Diving Section Safety Workshop. ing on the executive committee are Stephen Branford High School. Branford. Fla. (Steve Maegerlein. Treasurer; Forrest Wilson. Train­ E. Hudson. 893 Cedar Creek North. S.E. ing Director; and John Zumrick, Editor of Marietta, Georgia 30067) Underwater Speleology. .'

June 4-5: National Speleological Society I personally would like to thank the out­ Cave Diving Section Instructors Institute. going officers for their efforts on behalf of Branford, Fla. (Forrest Wilson. 2832 Condord the Cave Diving Section over the past year, Dr •• Decatur. Georgia 30033.) and look forward to their continuing support of the section. The lessons they have learn­ June 19-25: National Cave Rescue Commission ed during their term of office will prove Seminar. Columbia. California. (Peri Frantz, helpful to the new executive committee n1tcrn­ 6345 Englewood Ave., Los Gatos, California bel'S. 95030. 408-356-8506) Over the past year several individuals have distinguished themselves by making out- ftifWffl , I June 27-Jul y 3: 1982 National Speleological · b '{till~l~~\'1 Society Convention, Bend, Oregon. See NSS stand lng contri utions to the section. Henry News for details. Nicholson and Karen Wark served as workshop chairpersons for the May and December work-

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shops. Organizing these workshops requires a SUMMARY SUBMITTED BY great deal of individu~l effort. Both work­ shops were an outstanding success based on WILLIAM FEHRING, CHAIRMAN the various comments I have received from the participants.

During the 18th Cave diving Workshop the SUMMARY OF MARCH 27, 19B2 EXECUTIVE<: long awaited section slide show debuted. Al­ COMMITTEE MEETING though it contains slides contributed by var­ ious section members, the majority of the A. Purchase Of Signs For Use In Caves. enormous amount of work required was borne by Wayne Marshall. This slide presentation has The Executive Committee voted to authorize already proven an outstanding success and Steve Hudson to spend up to $600 to purchase will be of significant benefit to the image additional signs for distribution in under­ of the CDS in the future. water caves. These signs would be made of highly reflective materials such as those us­ Stephen Maegerlein has for many years per­ ed for road signs. and would be sealed. formed admirably as our treasurer. As such Steve feels he can get about two dozen signs he performs an extremely tedious, little re­ made for the above sum. One half will be cognized, but essential function of maintain­ similar to signs already deployed in Peacock ing our books and important records. The and Devils Eye Cave Systems. The other half promptness and care with which he performs will be more stongly worded as indicated be­ this little recognized function over the past low. Multiple signs may be installed in some years has proven of extreme benefit to the caves, like Burma Shave commercials. Com­ section. pleted signs will be turned over to the safe­ ty coordinators for installation. ( The efforts made by the above individuals PREVENT YOUR DEATH were made in support of the section and its BE TRAINED IN CAVE DIVING members. Their work benefitted them little. OR DON'T GO ANY FURTHER Their satisfaction has corne from doing some­ MANY CERTIFIED DIVERS thing useful for the section. Such unselfish HAVE DIED HERE efforts on our behalf deserves our most sin­ (EVEN INSTRUCTORS) cere appreciation. Because of the dedicated PLEASE LISTEN efforts of section members such as these, the section is what it is today, the largest and B. Resolution For City Of Branford. most successful of all cave diving organiza­ tions. The Committee approved a resolution of appreciation to the City of Branford to be , ,Many other individuals have played a sig­ presented to the mayor at the next workshop mflcant tho less apparent role in support of in May. the section during the past year. Those who have submitted articles, participated in C. Report On May Workshop And NSS Convention workshops, served actively on the various committees, and worked to improve cave con­ Vice-chairman Steve Hudson reported that servation and the section's image to the pub­ the May workshop will be held at the Branford lic have benefitted all of us. I congratu­ high school auditorium. The committee had late you. previously approved trying to find a larger facility for the workshop. The rental may be This issue begins another volume of Under­ higher at the high school, but the committee water Speleology. The new executive commit­ feels the workshop could remain a finanadal tee is hard at work trying to make the sec­ asset. tion better for you. This year more than ever I feel sure that the outstanding contri­ Steve reported that he will be attending butions of so many on behalf of the section the NSS Convention in Bend, Oregon, in June. and its members will continue and even in­ He will conduct a meeting of Section members crease so that cave diving and the section attending and will represent the Section at will continue to prosper. the convention.

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a. Compression of courses into less than a (_. Executive Committee Meeting continued. recommended time frame, \, D. Increasing Liason With The NSS. b. Running students through the three cours­ es consecutively without a break, c. Use of borrowed or rental gear by stu­ Steve Hudson recommended that the Section dents, Chairman order the monthly internal organiza­ d. Use of vulnerable caves for training, tion circular produced by the NSS. The com­ e. mittee approved placement of a section ad in Inappropraite or manipulative motivation of students, the NSS News and submission of accident re­ f. Solicitation of students. ports to the N SS News.

E. Cave Files. H. New Policies On Course Announcements And The committee approved forwarding of co­ Media Presentations. pies of the section's cave files to the NSS The committee adopted the following new cave files. policy allows data con­ policies concerning course announcements and tributors to stipulate specific restrictions media presentations sanctioned by or invol v­ on access to file material. ing the section. In addition, the committee reaffirmed the section's full support of the F. Recovery Workshop. existing NSS policy on cave conservation. The committee discussed the information to be requested of applicants for the new recov­ POLICY ON COURSE ANNOUNCEMENTS ery workshop. It was decided that any certi­ fied cave diver and section member who had 1. Simple courSe announcements should be di­ completed the evolving training program could stributed to as many locations as POSSi-( be added to the recovery team list. Location ble where they may be seen by divers who' of any diver on the regional lists will be may reasonably be expected to travel to based on experience, training, willing ness to and dive in caves or caverns including assume responsibility, etc. These lists will dive shops, dive clubs, and diving- news­ be developed by the program coordinator. The letters. committee approved issuance of recovery team 1.0. cards and a processing fee of $1.00. 2. Placement of announcements or advertize­ ments in magazines intended primarily for G. Instructor Institutes. open water recreational divers should be undertaken only with extreme care so as The committe approved new standards for not to be in conflict with policy 3 be­ NSS Cave Institutes. The low. standards include provisions regarding insti­ tute directors, staff, sanction, fees, candi­ 3. Announcements and advertizements should date prerequisites. performance standards, in no way challenge the reader's ego or and records. Copies of these standards are in any other way encourage a person with­ available from the Training Director, Forrest out a previous sincere interest in the Wilson. exploration and understanding of caves to take up cave diving. The committee asked the Training Director, assisted by his Training Committee, to review 4. Announcements or advertizements shpuld the current requirements for section sanc­ not dwell on the attributes of caves or tioned training courses in light of experi­ cave exploration so as to create an at­ ence gained since they were first adopted. traction for the reader. Rather, announ­ In the course of this review the Training cements should stress the safety orienta- Oire,ctor and the committee are to consider including an introductory chapter to the tion of the CD~ ~rogram and the necessity ~01!i of proper tralnlng to successfully par- ' training manual which may include language ticipate in this activity. addressing the following areas:

4 Underwater Speleology Vol.9 No.1 ( Rationale RATIONALE The great preponderance of cave diving ac­ A great deal of training, experience, and cidents involve open water divers entering technical skill is necessary to successfully caves even though they lack appropriate mitigate the numerous potential in­ training and experience. Successful cave volved in cave diving. Due to these require­ diving requires mitigation of a great number ments cave diving cannot be considered a sim­ of potential hazards even by highly trained ple extension of open water recreational div­ and experienced participants. Due to the nu­ ing. Proper is vital to suc­ merous potential hazards involved cave diving cessful cave diving and requires appropriate cannot be considered as a simple extension of motiva tion of participan ts • open water . Proper risk

assessment is a vital part of successful cave The "risk taking II nature of cave diving diving, a~d this requires appropriate motiva­ makes it highly vulnerable to sensationalis­ tion on the part of participants. tic media coverage. Media exposure of cave diving activities is expanding rapidly as a result of accidents, new applications of cave POLICIES ON MEDIA PRESENTATIONS diving to scientific studies, and previous ON CAVE DIVING media coverage. Such media exposure can di­ rectly contribute to participation in cave 1. Presentations should clearly differenti­ and cavern diving by persons not previously ate between cave diving and recreational familiar with this activity. open water diving. Cave diving should be depicted basically as an extension of ca­ 2 ving, not diving. ployees. Investigation showed that the cyli­ ( 2. The many safety aspects which are neces­ nders had been baked in an oven to cure the sary to mitigating the hazards of cave paint that had just been applied. Hhat fol­ diving should be clearly stressed. lowed was a major editorial in Skin Diver magazine on the problem of judging blame for 3. Presentations should not glorify under­ the injuries. Who was at fault'! Was it the water caves or cave diving, nor should tanks manufacturer or distributer, the paint­ they challenge the reader's ego, so as to er of the tank. or the tank owners for not motivate a non-participant into taking up notifying the shop's employee that the tanks cave diving. had been painted?

4. Presentations should clearly differenti­ lt is perhaps interesting that the diving ate between the nature and attributes of communitee had been warned of just such a specific caves or regions containing problem as far bac k as May 1977 where in the caves. Underwater Forum of Skin Diver, H. W. Weart, Chairman of the Dept. of Metallurgical and 5. Visual or written depictions of cave div­ Nuclear Engineering, University of Missouri­ ing should generally include only proper Rolla wrote. liThe other important metallurgi­ cave and techniques. cal fact is that tank materials lose their Depictions of improper equipment or tech­ if niques should be clearly labelled as manufactured strength very rapidly they are overheated even for short times such as such, and the potentially fatal results in a fire. The 6351 alloy used for aluminum of such equipment or techniques should be clearly stated. is especially susceptable to this averaging, which can begin in less than 15 minutes at 3500 F • I t is quite possible for a tank to receive such a heat treatment without 'illy NOTES ON ALUMINUM TANKS outward sign betraying it because some paints will not even discolor with such a brief You may by now recall that two aluminum dive cylinders recently blew up while being continued on page 11. charged, seriously injuring two dive shop em-

5 Underwater Speleology Vo1.9 No.1

SENSATION SEEKING AND LOCUS OF CONTROL ( IN SPELUNKERS: FURTHER VALIDATION OF THESE PERSONALITY CONSTRUCTS

Penny R. Lukin and Barry F. Beck Georgia South Western College, Americus, Georgia 31709, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

The personality of spelunkers was investigated by means of a mail-survey to a random sample of National Speleological Society members. Demographic variables, amount and intensity of caving I activity, sensation-seeking and internal-external locus of control scores were obtained for each subject. Results showed spelunkers to be a heterogeneous group with sensation-seeking and locus of control scores not significantly different from the general population. Amount and intensity of caving activit y, however, did correlate significantly with sensation-seeking, with the most active cavers being higher in sensation-seeking. Locus of control scores only showed significant correlations with certain types of spelunking. Males and females showed no significant differ- ence in caving activity.

Why do some people like to crawl, walk or viduals who regard the locus of control to be climb in cold, dark holes in the earth? What internal (self-generated) while external con­ type of person chooses to be a spelunker? trol refers to individuals who believe rein­ This study was designed to investigate the forcements are not under their personal con­ relationship of certain personality dimen­ trol, but are under the control of external sions to amount and nature of caving activi­ (e. g., luck, chance, fate, powerfu}-. ty. The dimensions on which the study focus­ others). Both sensation seeking and belie\ ed were sensation-seeking and internal versus in internal or external control are measured external control of reinforcement. by a forced choice test where the subject se­ lects which of 2 choices best describes him Sensation seeking, as conceived by 01:" her. Zuckerman, can be conceptualized .as curiosi­ ty, exploratory drive or a need for stimula­ Since sensation-seeking has been shown to tion. The, total concept of sensation seeking be higher in those involved in physical risk comprises four distinct subscales: thrill and taking, such as skydiving, race car driving, adventure seeking, boredom susceptibility, snowmobiling and (Zuckerman disinhibition, and experience seeking. Ex­ 1978 a, p. 519), it was hypothesized that perience seeking is the need to try a wide­ spelunkers also would show high sensation­ variety of new and different experiences, seeking scores. Previous research (Joe, whereas thrill and adventure seeking is the 1971, p. 632) also suggests a relationship desire to attempt activities which most would between internal-external control and risk­ consider exciting, or even dangerous, not taking behaviour. Internals are more cau­ just different. Boredom susceptibility and tious and conservative than externals in ris­ disinhibition are self explanatory. Research k-taking situations in an attempt to control has shown wide-spread individual differences events. Zuckerman (1978, p.508) also reports in this trait which may be biologically bas­ a correlation between a belief in external ed. (See Zuckerman, 1978 a & b for a more control and various aspects of sensation­ detailed discussion of this construct and a seeking. Thus, it was hypothesized that cav- review of the research literature.) ers would be high both in sensation-seeking and belief in external control. A random The concept of internal vs. external con­ sample (!!. = 200) of members from the National trol of reinforcement was developed by Rotter Speleological Society (NSS) was selected fromi~1Bf \ (1966 & 1971) from social learning theory to the NSS 1978-1979 membership list. Thes~Hmlli describe the degree to which individuals per­ subjects were sent: (1) a cover letter ex­ ceive reinforcement contingent upon their own plaining the research project; (2) a Back­ behavior. Internal control refers to indi- ground Data Sheet, to ascertain demographic

6 Underwater Speleology Vol.9 No.1

( variables and the amount and intensity of sport caving and carousing actiVities, as caving activity; (3) a modified version of well as being high in Sensation-Seeking. Rotter's Internal- External (I-E) Locus of However, those high in Carousing or Sport or Control scale (Rotter, 1966); and (4) Form V Group caving were not identical. While all of the Sensation-Seeking scale (Zuckerman, three groups' scores correlated significantly 1971). Subjects were asked to complete the (p <.05) with the Sensation-Seeking subscales questionaires, and return the answer sheet, of Experiences-Seeking and Disinhibition, on­ anonymously if they preferred, to the re­ ly those high in Sport caving tended to have searchers. high scores on the subscale of Thrill and Ad­ venture Seeking. Seventy-nine q uestionaires were returned, yielding a 40% response rate. Sensation­ Locus of Control scores only correlated seeking scales (SSS) were scored for Thrill significantly with carousing, with high ex­ and Adventure Seeking (TAS), Experience Seek­ ternal Locus of Control being Significantly ing (ES), Disinhibition (Dis), and Boredom correlated (p <.05) with amount of carousing. Susceptibility (BS), as well as a total score (TSS). The l-E Locus of Control scale was As an interesting adjunct, all variables scored for the amount of belief in external were compared for males vs. females. None of control, with high scores indicating high ex­ the caving related variables showed any sig­ ternal orientation, low scores indicating nificant difference. In fact, only two of high internal orientation. all the variables were significantly differ­ ent: gross income and Thrill and Adventure The frequency and intensity of caving ac­ Seeking subscores. Zuckerman (1978a) had al­ tivity was scored by tabulating responses to ready reported the latter in several studies. various items on the Background Data Sheet. An unpublished survey by Carol Besely and Three scores were derived in the following Dave Bunnel, conducted at the 1979 NSS Con­ ( manner: (1) "Group" caving indicated the a­ vention, did find Significant differences in mount of participation in group meetings, caving activity between males and females. cave projects, society newsletters, group It is hypothesized that this discrepancy is caving and cave conservation projects; (2) the result of sampling technique. At a con­ "Sport" caving indicated the extent of in­ vention, female dependents who are not pri­ volvement in actual spelunking, vertical cav­ marily cavers in their own right are more apt ing and cave diving; (3) "Carousing" indicat­ to respond to a survey. On the other hand, ed the extent of involvement in partying at non-cav~ng dependents would be unlikely to NSS conventions, extra and premarital sexual take the time to respond to a mail survey. activities, and consumption of marijuana and alcohol. In summary, spelunkers, as reflected by the N SS sample, seem to be a hetergeneous Histograms were constructed to observe the group in personality, with scores on Sensa­ patterns· of scores, and Pearson product­ tion-Seeking and 1-£ Locus of Control scales moment correlations computed to explore the varying as in the general population. High relationship between background variables, Sensation -Seeking, however, does seem to dif­ caving activity and the scores on the person­ ferentiate between very active and less ac­ ality measures. tive cavers. In addition, the Sensation­ Seeking subscales differentiate among differ­ Statistical analyses showed that spelunk­ ent types of cavers, with all active groups ers as a whole are a heterogeneous group. showing high scores in Experience Seeking and Their mean scores on the Sensation-Seeking Disinhibition, but only active Sport cavers scales did not differ signifcantly from those showing high scores on Thrill and Adventure found in the standardization sample (See Seeking. Zuckerman, 1971). However, the degree of Ca­ rousing, Sport and Group caving all correlat­ Locus of Control does not seem to differ­ ed significantly (p <.05) with Sensation­ entiate the active versus less active cavers, Seeking scores and with each other. For ex­ except in the area of carousing, where belief ample, cavers who are very active in group in external control was correlated with ca­ social activities also tend to be active in rousing activity. Thus, those cavers who are

7 Underwater Speleology Vo1.9 No.1 more likely to drink, take drugs, be sexually A DIVE WITH ( promiscuous and party frequently are more likely to believe in external locus of con­ trol. By Sheck Exley Such data adds further construct validity to the cont;:epts of Sensation-Seeking and Locus of Control, in that these personality dimensions seem to have some expected behav­ ioral correlates. Although the original pre­ My recent trip to had four object­ diction that spelunkers as a total group ives; (1) to view the new 1982 VW1s since my would be generally higher in Sensation­ VH dealership was paying for the trip, (2) to Seeking was not supported, it can be seen see the land that my ancestors were chased f that the amount and intensity of caving acti­ from 250 years ago, (3) to dive in a German vity definitely correlates with Sensation­ cave, and most importantly to meet Jochen Seeking. Although caving activity, in gener­ Hasenmayer. I doubt if there is any experi­ al, did not correlate with external locus of enced cave diver in the world who has not control, intensity of carousing activity did. heard of Jochen's exploits many of which have Thus, while spelunker do not seem to be a ho­ involved record dives. It is no exaggeration mogeneous group, clearly distinguishable from to say that he has dominated cave diving on the gereral population, the amount and type the European continent since 1957 (though of caving activity, however, does seem to lately Leger, LeGuen and Isler have offered have various personality correlates. him some competition). Naturally, when I learned that by far the finest cave dive in Acknowlelgemen ts Germany is a few miles outside the hometown of my ancestors (). I had to immediately This research was supported in part by write Jochen to see if there was any possi­ (" funds from the Charles Mix Foundation. bility of us getting together.

References My dreams were realized despite severe difficulties. Jochen was able to secure Joe, V.C. 1971. Review of the internal- extra'-special permission for our dive and was external control construct as a perSon­ able tl) hurry back from France in time for ality variable. Psychological Reportr:;, the only day I could dive in spite of mechan­ ~, 619-640. ical difficulties with his van. As if this Rotter, J.B. 1966. Generalized expectancies were not enough, he even let me use his tanks for internal vs. external control of re­ and regulators. bought us lunch and souven­ inforcement. Psychological Monographs, irs and his attractive wife Barbara took a ~ (Whole #609). lot of pictures for us. Rotter, J.B. 1975. Some problems and mis­ conceptions related to the construct of On the appointed Saturday our escape from internal versus external control of re­ the autobahn was successful (we had to run inforcement. Journal of Consulting and 90-100 mph to keep from getting run over in Clinical Psychology, 43 (1). 56-67. the right lane while in the left lane Por­ Zuckerman, M. 1971. Preliminary Manual with ches, Sciroccos and Rabbit GTIIs whizzed past Scoring Keys and Norms for Form V of the at 140 mph on this no speed limit superhigh­ Sensation Seeking Scale, unpublished way). My friends Wolfgang Morlock and manuscript, Newark. Franzjorg Krieg had told me that Jochen was Zuckerman, M. 1978(a). Sensation seeking. about my height and . otherwise 1 would In . H. and Exner, J. Dimensions have expected him to be at least six and a of Personality. New York: John Wiley half feet tall because of his peerless repu­ and Sons, Inc. tation. Yet I was to learn that the two of Zuckerman, M. 1978(b). The search for high us were remarkably similar in many respects, sensation. Psychology Today, .!l, (9), even to having about the same eyeglasses! 38-99. However, in at least the area of cave diving

8 Underwater Speleology Vol.9 No.1

I must admit that was clearly inferior. cended above 60 feet, and I called the dive Consider this: J ochen has independently come despite my desires to see more of the cave. up with almost every innovation in equipment Jochen reacted instantly to my light signal, and procedure that has been produced by the which was typical of his excellent alertness entire Florida cave diving community many of and attentiveness, putting forever to rest them years be fore us! And he has many the myth that solo divers do not make good additional ideas that have yet to occur to buddies. His silt technique was also excel­ us. And consider that he has gone 5740 feet lent and he was extremely relaxed. For my in a French 230 feet deep with 50°F own part I was a little uncomfortable because water requiring ten hours duration, a dive of the extreme cold and strange equipment de­ beyond the immagination of an yother spite Jochen's help. Nevertheless, during European, British, American, or Australian there was only one word I could cave diver. It is no wonder that Jochen is write on my slate to Jochen Hasenmayer, the the world's only full time professional cave world's best cave diver: Wunderbar! diver.

From our dive in , German for sur­ prise! -Blue Spring, Jochen let me use two single 20 liter tanks hooked together and You know you have been decompressing too mounted on the back like our twin 100's ex­ long when: cept about eight inches longer. Each tank had dual screw type vlaves especially machin­ - You begin searching under rubble for food; ed by Jochen to accomodate two O'rings for - Your dentist's efforts and years of braces­ safety. On some dives he actually uses four fail as you bite takes on the current form of of these huge tanks, all back mounted. His your regulator mouthpiece; homemade is clearly superior to any­ ( thing on the commercial market. His helmet - You begin reading books you would never ad­ mounted quartz lamps are the equivalent of mit to even looking at topside; Aqua-suns without their wiring problems and in his equipment even extends to - Upon emergence from the spring your dry­ dual watches. suit resembles an individual with a severe cast:' of elephantiasis;

Blautopf itself is a beautiful blue basin - Your woodcarving of the New York Skyline about 200 feet in diameter at the base of an is completed and your decompression tree re­ imposing cliff of the Schwabish Alps. The sembles a totem pole; basin is filled with very clear water (we had 40 foot visibility which Jochen says some­ - You give up looking for food and begin times in 'September gets as good as 100 feet.) eating limestone. wood. or mud; and loads of plants and fish. Unfortunately, - Your bottom timer runs down; at 48°F the water was two degrees colder than any cave water I had ever been in, and by the You take your fins off and revive end of our hour and a half dive I was quite ballroom dancing (preferably at a ten foot chilled. .Iochen looked like he was good for stop with a sand floor, music optional); at least another half day or so. The cave entrance was at a depth of about 70 feet, at - You resemble a Christmas tree with snails the bottom of a large cavity in the center of on every conceivable projection; the basin. Inside the cave quickly opened up You switch to the gallon size .Toy into very comfortable dimensions and a fairly dishwashing liquid for penance in the linear trend (Jochen joked, "West toward spring after the di ve; California, east is home toward Florida. II). Some of the rooms were quite large and - You are writing your life story and run irregular, but no side passages were spotted. out of things to say.

At 500 feet back we dipped down to about 130 feet depth. My tanks became uncomfortab­ ly positively bouyant at 1150 feet as we as-

9 Underwater Speleology Vol.9 No.1 CAVE DIVER WORKING TO TURN SPOp·T INTO TOOL FOR RESEARCH By Gil Klein Reprinted Courtesy of the Tampa Tribune

It ranks among the most hazardous ways to less they are highly trained and have the gather data, but a. group of cave divers wants right equipment, they are taking a potential­ to mold its ad venturous sport for scientific ly fa tal risk • research that could provide. Florida with new supplies of fresh water, protect known water "I've personally recovered three bodies ( supplies from pollution and find potential from sinkholes in the past 10 days," Fehring sinkholes. said earlier this month. IISixteen people have died in caves during the past year. "One little sinkhole that's no bigger There's a very limited number of people who than my desk can connect to thousands and are willing to make the total commitment to thousands of feet of tunnels and caverns," safety that this req uires . " said Dr. William Fehring. IIA lot of people dive into caves for the thrill of exploring Much of Florida north of Tampa and west of the unknown, but there's a place for someone the state's central ridge is permeated with with the interest and training to search for tunnels and caverns that have formed in lime­ the scientific unknowns too." stone deposits during millions of years.

Fehring spends a great deal of his free Layers of limestone, which is largely com­ time form his job as the Tampa Port Author­ pressed coral, were created each time the sea ( ity's environmental affairs director diving level rose to wash over the land. Those lay- into caves and squeezing through crevices to ers make up Florida's aquifer, the fresh explore the caverns under Florida. water-laden rock that supplies most of the state's drinking water. He was recently appointed chairman of the As the sea level receded, the limestone ca ve diving section of the National Geologi­ was exposed to rainwater which is slightly cal (sic) Society. and he is now trying to acidic from carbon dioxide and soil acids. encourage interest in the scientific value of his sport. The acidity dissolved the limestone along its cracks and fissures, which created sink­ A homeowner sitting next to his pool in holes dropping scores of feet, tunnels hun­ the Beacon \voods subdivision in Pasco County dreds of feet long, and caverns as large as was startled recently to hear a voice come Tampa Stadium. out of a small nearby pond shouting, "\vhere are we? II Two divers were splashing around in The caverns became interconnected by the the pond, and as mysteriously as they appear­ tunnels to form underground rivers that even­ ed, they disappeared back underwater. tually pop out as springs. Some of those springs are along the marshland that borders That was Fehring and a fellow diver study­ the Gulf of Mexico, and the fresh water ing the interconnecting cave system under pouring out of them has become an integral Beacon Woods. He said he did not think that part of the coastline ecology. the subdivision was in danger of dropping in­ to sinkholes. but he warned developers to be Until the middle 1960'5. researc hers wo rK­ careful what they dump into the area's ponds ing with drills only had a vague idea that because the water in them is linked directly these underground caves and rivers existed. to a public water supply well. But with the widespread use of the Aqua-Lung scuba device, people began to dive down into Fehring is quick to emphasize the springs and sinholes and discover the tun­ of cave diving, and to warn poeople that un- nels.

10 Underwater Speleology Vo1.9 No.1 ( "We can actually see the geology laid out "If they look up and see a dome that's down thel." just like the Grand Canyon," lined with clay rather than limestone, and Fehring s.:lld h explaining why diving into it's got roots coming out of it," Sinclair the cavers produces more information than said, "they will have found a spot that soon­ drilling roc k samples. "A core boring from a er or later is going to cave in." weU can only look at a narrow piece, but is looking at a whole geological sys­ Fehring said water conservation and pollu­ tem. tion control are as much a part of his gro­ up's research as water supply. "For the price of one fill-up of air, we can gather much more information than a numb­ Some subdivisions drain their storm-water er of core borings, and we can do it a lot runoff into ponds that are actually sink­ faster," he said. "A core boring can only holes, he said. That means all the oils. me­ look at a vertical sample of the rock. A tals and chemicals that wash down suburban diver can look at the formations laterally." streets are dropping into these interconnect­ ing rivers of fresh water that may stretch William Sinclair. a researcher for the for miles. U • S. Geological Survey, agreed that the cave divers could provide important information Some of these tunnels open under the Gulf that would be difficult to get any other of Mexico, he said, so that the water running way. through the system ebbs and flows with the . That means the pollutants dumped into "Vve have computer models of the aquifer, sinkholes could be pushed farther inland with but they are only generalities of what is un­ incoming tides unti.l they are under water­ derground, " he said. "The divers are looking supply wells. ( at the anomalies. An underground river is a unique thing." If a garbage landfill is built over a cav­ ern sya tem, he said, toxic poUu tants could This information could be valuable to pro­ seep down into the underground river system vide Florida with a more reliable water sup­ and be carried farther than anyone realizes. ply, he said. Now, most of Florida's water comes form wellfields where wells are drilled into the aquifer and water is sucked out from Tanks. continued from page 5. the crevices in the porous limestone.

The city of Tampa experimented by pumping excursion... The implication is water from a sinkhole near the Morris Bridge clear: any aluminum tank with discolored weUfield and from the wellfield itself , paint or that is suspected to have been heat­ Sinclair said. The results showed that pump­ ed above 300°F for more than a few minutes ing from the sinkhole lowered the ground wat­ should be h ydrotested before being refilled." er level less than pumping from the well­ field.

Finding these underground systems could save Floridians untold amounts of money: and COMING IN FUTURE ISSUES OF controversy to supply water-poor southwest UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY Florida in the future, he said. A New Cave Diving Light "There may already be natural pipelines," he said. "We have to find where they are." The Use of Composite Cylinders for Cave Diving And while the divers are exploring, he said, they may be able to spot potential The Story of DiePolders Sinks. Its early sinkholes. exploration and the reopening

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