Dear Readers

I am honored to introduce myself as the new Director of NCKRI. I am excited to work with the National Park Service, City of Carlsbad, the NCKRI team, and all our partners to build upon our foundation to be a focal point for cave and karst research, stewardship, and education in the United States.

As a karst scientist and former resource manager, I have focused my career on conducting research to improve our ability to manage karst landscapes. This work required broad collaborations across sub-disciplines to achieve broader impacts.

I look forward to strategically growing NCKRI’s collaborations and working with more of you to fulfill NCKRI’s mission to promote and facilitate cave and karst research, education, and sustainability.

As we move forward, please do not hesitate to reach out to me to discuss possible collaborations, btobin@nckri.org.

Dr. Benjamin Tobin

We Need Your Help!

Cave Week Survey

If you participated in Cave Week or could be a future participant, we want to hear from you! What resources do you need? What did you think went well? If you celebrated, what kind of events did you have? Let us know! Your input can help make next year's Cave Week better!

If you do not want to take the survey you can also mail us at info@nckri.org.

Field Research in the Frasassi Caves

Dr. Daniel Jones, two of his PhD students Laura Rodriguez and Mackenzie Best, and Dr. Matthew Covington (University of Arkansas) spent two weeks doing fieldwork in the Frasassi Caves in July. Frasassi is a "sulfidic" cave system that is currently forming by sulfuric acid speleogenesis, much like how Carlsbad Cavern and the other large caves in the Guadalupe Mountains formed more than 4 million years ago.

Zoë Havlena, Ph.D. Defense

Zoë Havlena successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation, "Geomicrobiology and Biosignature Preservation Potential of Acidic Gypsum Deposits from Sulfidic Caves". Congrats to Dr. Havlena!

Decontamination Station and Gear Cleaning (Decon Station)

This year’s NSS Convention was filled with amazing caving trips that explored the heart of TAG. As a way to protect the organisms and special microbiome that dwell in cave environments, the decontamination station was brought to life by NCKRI along with the US Forest Service that assisted in supplying materials, and the help of volunteers. More than 341 people attended and cleaned their gear during the convention. The station was equipped with various hoses and a pressure washer for removing cave sediments, a table filled with cleaning wipes and isopropyl alcohol 70% for decontaminating hard gear like helmets and lights, and a hot water bath of 5 minutes in 131 degree Fahrenheit temperature water for decontaminating soft gear.

Cave Week Presentation

During the NSS convention Devra Willingham, NCKRI’s Educational Program Manager, and Raquel Lugo, Science Communication Intern, presented on NCKRI taking leadership of Cave Week during the Cultures of Caving session at the 2024 NSS Convention in Tennessee. At the end of the presentation they opened a discussion to gain feedback from the audience. Cave Week, which occurred from June 2-8, was a week dedicated to the celebration of caves all throughout the continent. It was a chance for cave enthusiasts, public lands, teachers and everyone in between to share knowledge and excitement about these special environments.