From project design to field implementation and analytical services, CHL has you covered. We offer professional consultation for water resource studies in karst and non-karst areas and provide services in water quality sampling and hydrologic monitoring. Currently CHL is working from Pennsylvania to Utah, with clients and research partners in some of the nation's most pristine areas as well as US EPA Superfund sites. 

While fluorescent dye tracing is our specialty, our hydrogeology expertise includes using applied science for various water resource solutions -

both above and below ground

Contact us today to discuss your next project!

This summer CHL continued hydrogeologic research within the Great Onyx Groundwater Basin at Mammoth Cave National Park.  However this season's traces involved using an InSitu AquaTroll 600 for high-resolution, quantitative data collection.  Water chemistry probes as well as sensors for both Fluorescein and Rhodamine WT were used in our two month study. With more precise timing of initial dye detection as well as geochemical changes and spring flow,  CHL is able to expand its interpretation of results. This effort not only allowed expanded data collection but field training for students and visiting scholars and led to new findings via in-cave tracing and mapping the 'internal plumbing' of the basin. For us, this was a reliable and user friendly logger that complemented our charcoal receptor monitoring network. Thank you In-Situ for the assistance!

2022 has been filled with shared scholarship and collaborative research with several CHL partners across the globe - both virtually and in-person. We highlight two of those international experiences here.

Continuing our scholar exchange with University of Belgrade, Serbia (UB) through the support of Trust for Mutual Understanding, the National Speleological Society, and the Cave Research Foundation, Autumn Singer, Lab Manager, traveled to eastern Europe where she attended the 29th International Karstologial School in Postonja, Slovenia after convening with UB faculty to exchange ideas for future interactions with our academic and scientific partners in the region. Check out more details at WKU News.

At the same time Autumn was traveling, CHL hosted archaeologist and karst scientist, Ana K. Celis, then Research Director of the Great Mayan Aquifer Project and currently Universidad del Caribe professor in Cancun, Mexico. During her two weeks in Kentucky, she conducted research and training with CHL, the Cave Research Foundation (CRF), and Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA). She also attended a WKU Karst Field Studies Course. 

In turn a team from CHL, CRF, MACA, and the Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region spent a week in Mexico where they gave presentations at an international symposium and public events, participated in a cave exploration workshop, mapped karst features, visited research sites, and met with conservation organizations as well as the US Consul General. This scholar exchange has already led to planned collaboration in research, education, and sustainability focused projects to include WKU faculty, staff, and students. You can read the full news story here. We will share  updates this winter!

The International Scholar Exchange in Cave and Karst Studies: Strengthening US-Mexico relationships through UNESCO Science Programs was directly supported by the National Park Service Office of International Affairs, Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region, CHL,  WKU Ogden College of Science and Engineering, WKU Applied Research and Technology Program, and  WKU Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences.