Looking back on this adventure from 23Jan2016.  What an amazing experience to get to go all the way back into Bracken Cave.

The view from the floor of the maternity dome up to the ceiling is like being in a cathedral! Home to the largest aggregation of mammals on the planet in summer months, on this cold winter day we saw only a single bat flying through the dim light from the mine shaft.

Thanks so much Fran for letting us participate!

 

Resistivity testing at Bracken Bat Cave. Using electrical implulses to find the deepest guano deposits. Old testing had depth of 36 meters, now with longer infinity cable, preliminary results showed guano depth of over 45 meters! Core sampling at these depths would give us 10,000 year old DNA of bats, their insect prey, and even grains of pollen from the plants the insects were eating!

 

Down into the cave!

 

Preparing the cables and electrodes

 

View from inside with cable leading up toward the entrance

 

Planting electrodes with hopes of finding yet undiscovered extensions to the cave

 

Do NOT step on that cable!

 

End of the infinity line

 

Cable looped across the cave floor – electrodes every two feet

 

Once quality controlled, results could show the best location for core sampling; the deepest, most undisturbed guano layers