CAVE AND KARST STUDIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY: ROLE OF THE NATIONAL CAVE AND KARST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Once mostly dismissed as homes for unpleasant guano deposits, curious but economically worthless mineral displays, and eccentric adventurers, caves and karst landscapes have come into the scientific research mainstream during the last decade. First-tier journals now regularly publish refereed papers and summary articles about speleological research. Only a few years ago, GSA national meetings typically included <10 cave or karst presentations. Today, multiple karst-specific sessions commonly enhance the meetings. Numerous TV documentaries have focused on cave resources, touting cancer-fighting microbes and Martian ecosystem analogues. State surveys look to speleologists and karst specialists for help solving water contamination and geoengineering problems. The discovery of Lechuguilla Cave, NM, the world’s most spectacular cave-find in the latter half of the 20th Century, ignited public and scientific interest in caves. Recognition of enormous subsurface biomass and explosive interest in geomicrobiology has led geologists to look to caves as windows to this fascinating, potentially valuable world. Other recent contributions by speleologists include paleo-climatic studies and petroleum basin, mineralization, and groundwater flow models. Changing demographics also forced attention towards karst. Two common characteristics of karst…poor soil and few surface streams…cause karst-rich areas like the Appalachia, Ozarks, and New Mexico to comprise some of the country’s most impoverished, sparsely populated regions. Today, industry and suburbia invade karstlands, increasing the impact on these formerly rural regions. Americans can no longer ignore the 20% of our country underlain by karst. Recognizing the growing need for cave and karst research and education, the US Congress mandated the National Cave & Karst Research Institute (NCKRI). Currently, 3 primary partners (National Park Service, New Mexico Tech & the City of Carlsbad) are building the Institute’s programs and headquarters. Participation by the broad cave and karst community in the development of NCKRI’s operational and administrative structure will strengthen the pursuit of its mission: To facilitate speleological research, enhance public education, and promote environmentally sound cave and karst management.