How visitation is affecting the air quality in Carlsbad Cavern Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas in Earth’s atmosphere, but in high concentrations, the gas can act as an asphyxiant. OSHA and other government agencies recommend a 5,000 parts per million (ppm) workplace exposure limit of 8 hours...
My Mosaics in Science internship concludes this week, and as I say 再见(zàijiàn)—goodbye to Carlsbad Caverns, I wanted to reflect on my experiences here over the past three months. This summer, I collected data on current environmental conditions in Carlsbad Cavern in order to establish a...
Participating on Derek Bristol’s expedition in Carlsbad Cavern was a very special experience for me. I had forgotten how much I loved the feeling of being on an expedition surrounded by likeminded people that are equally passionate about contributing to our common goals of safety,...
My grandpa’s favorite saying was, “When you assume, you make an a** out of you and me.” This past week, I learned a costly lesson from making assumptions and it was a hard lesson in what NOT to do. I assumed that my data loggers...
After I got off work at 5pm, I drove five hours to Santa Fe to pick up my husband, Joey. Our only plan for my three-day weekend was to go to Meow Wolf, which I had heard so much about; I was careful not to...
The Resource Division at Carlsbad Caverns is responsibility for managing the park's natural resources. The resources can be divided into three categories: paleontological (cultural resources), physical (caves, geology, hydrology), and biological (plants, animals). Erin Lynch, Physical Science Technician, Carlsbad Caverns National Park Erin Lynch belaying on the...
In the past week, I have had the pleasure of attending two fascinating talks here at Carlsbad Caverns National Park—Superbugs, Wonder Drugs, and Amazing Caves: Lechuguilla Cave and the future of antibiotic resistance by Katey Bender, graduate student of integrated bioscience at University of Akron...
The framework starts with defining the limits of acceptable change, or the minimally acceptable conditions, then developing and carrying out monitoring studies, if the data show the park has surpassed the limits of acceptable change, then park management must take an action to address this....
Iceburg Rock in Carlsbad CavernPapoose Room in Carlsbad CavernUnique drapery formation in the Papoose RoomGreen Lake in Carlsbad Cavern About Carlsbad. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico, very near the border between Texas and Mexico. The land here was...
Caver portrait of Sonia Meyer. Photo by Kasia Biernacka (http://www.kasiabiernacka.com) My name is Sonia Meyer. I grew up in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC, but I’ve called Santa Clara, CA my home for the past year. Caving has been a great passion of mine...