CAVE CLIMATE CHARACTERIZATION AND EXAMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CAVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES - TIMPANOGOS CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Timpanogos Cave National Monument, a small alpine cave system of 1,706m of surveyed passage, lies on the southern flank of American Fork Canyon within the Wasatch Mountain Range near American Fork, UT. The cave system is comprised of three caves (Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave) that are connected by two man-made tunnels. Throughout the past fifteen years temperature and relative humidity data from numerous sensors throughout the caves have been collected. Within this data collection period there have been many changes in cave management practices with the intention of returning cave climate back to baseline conditions by decreasing cave temperature. In particular, tour frequency and tour size has been reduced, warmer halogen cave lights have been replaced with cooler LED lights, and new tunnel doors have been installed in order to help isolate air flow through the caves. The purpose of this study is to characterize the cave climate of all three caves individually and to delineate any microclimates within each cave. It will additionally determine the daily, seasonal, and yearly stability of the caves and determine if any instability is a result of park practices. Lastly, the effectiveness of modifications in cave management practices will be examined. Evidence will be looked at for determining correlations between temperature and the changes in tour frequency and size, the replacement of the warmer lights, and determining if the new doors have improved the stability of the cave climate.