Hi all,
You'll have to pardon my ignorance a bit. I'm a rather quiet, long time caver from Nova Scotia, Canada. I've long been a lurker around the site and have recently joined the forums so I would have a place to discuss some topics with like-minded folks.
WNS was recently confirmed in NS. I would consider myself fortunate for being able to take part in research and awareness efforts relating to WNS in and around our province. Research has been ongoing for a couple of years in advance of WNS arrival and is quite busy now that it has been confirmed. I'm sure I'm not alone in being upset while watching everything taking place around me. With tests recently confirming the presence of WNS on day-flying bats, the coming winter will undoubtedly prove to be the last for the vast majority of our bats here in NS. WNS is certainly high on my list of discussion topics.
I'm also interested in talking with people about speleogenesis and the karst topography of NS. Nova Scotia is home to some of the best gypsum karst in the world - full of gnarly, fall-to-the-system-below kind of karst, if you're not careful. Our karsts are still largely unexplored and tend to yield interesting discoveries on almost every trip out.
A short time ago, my team made an exciting find in a field of lesser-known NS karst. I'm looking to learn more about this find and its importance. By international caving standards, most of our caves are rather simple and small. Occasionally, we still turn things over by making a significant new find. We're confident this latest find is one of the most important in learning more about how our caves are formed - to our knowledge, it's the first of its kind discovered, though I would be happy to learn that it's not and to learn that there is some education to be had on the subject.
I look forward to joining in on the discussion.
Cheers