Underground 'Snowy River' Alive Again

[Wayne Harrison]

Underground 'Snowy River' Alive Again
Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News

<a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/07/27/snowyriver_pla_zoom0.html?category=earth&guid=20070727090000"><img src="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/07/27/gallery/snowyriver2_goto.jpg" align=left></a>July 27, 2007 — The largest calcite cave formation of in the world has astonished researchers by coming alive with water, according to volunteer cavers who have dug a new, safer entry passage into the New Mexican treasure.

Previous study of the calcite encrusting the two-mile-long "Snowy River" in Fort Stanton Cave just after its 2001 discovery had indicated that 150 years had passed since it had flowing water. So it was with great surprise on June 30th when volunteer cavers reached the cave by a new route and found a foot of flowing water.

"It will presumably dry up and precipitate another layer of calcite," said cave researcher Penelope Boston of New Mexico Tech in Socorro.

The wetting, drying process appears to have been going on with less and less frequency since the end of the much wetter Pleistocene epoch, she told Discovery News.

The discovery of flowing water underlines the great scientific importance of the spectacular cave formation, she said. Snowy River’s calcite is thought to contain a natural archive of Southwestern climate, including El Niño conditions, going back tens of thousands of years.

<a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/07/27/snowyriver_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20070727090000">Full Story</a>

[Wayne Harrison]

from the Office of Senator Pete V. Domenici


Safer Access Opens New Research at Rare Ft. Stanton Cave Formation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, with Congressman Steve Pearce, today commended the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and their cave volunteers for successfully creating a new, safer entrance to the remarkable Snowy River passage at Fort Stanton Cave in Lincoln County—a passage believed to be the longest continuous calcite formation in the world.

The lawmakers hailed the breakthrough as important to their legislative efforts to protect the passage with the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area Act (S.260/HR.1989). The new subterranean passageway will allow safer access to the Snowy River for scientists to study the formation, including cave hydrology, microorganisms and paleoclimate studies. The new passage was completed late last month.

“This breakthrough is remarkable because it safely opens the Snowy River for research and discovery. The fact that flowing water was found in the Snowy River passage opens up whole new areas for research. I think this is exciting, and look forward to backing up these underground discoveries with enactment of our legislation to protect the cave,” Domenici said.

“Snowy River Cave was a tremendous discovery. This new passage will give scientists easier access to the cave so that they can do important research,” said Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.

“This cave is a valuable resource that in time will share with us its many wonders, but to do that we must preserve this resource for the future. The creation of the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area will secure and conserve the natural and unique features of the Snowy River Cave. The opening of the new entrance will give researchers unprecedented access and possibly give us a window to learn more about the geological history of the region,” Pearce said.

The BLM closed access to Snowy River in 2004, until a safer route could be found. The new passageway was dug by BLM volunteer cavers, and a breakthrough to Snowy River occurred June 30. Access to the Snowy River passage will continue to be limited to scientific researchers. According to BLM, scientists at New Mexico Tech, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, University of New Mexico, and the National Cave and Karst Research Institute have studied Snowy River “revealing aspects of its age, its hydrology, exotic manganese-eating microorganisms, and antibiotic producing bacteria on the walls, amongst other findings.”

S.260, introduced by Domenici, has been passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate. The House companion bill is pending in committee. The legislation creates a Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area to protect, secure and preserve the natural and unique features of the Snowy River Passage and the Fort Stanton Cave. It also authorizes the Bureau of Land Management to develop a map and legal description of Fort Stanton Cave, and to develop a comprehensive, long-term management plan for the cave area.

The Snowy River is a continuous calcite formation that extends more than two miles in the Fort Stanton Cave. Exploration of this cave dates back to at least the 1850s, but the Snowy River passage was only discovered in 2001, and kept secret until Domenici announced its discovery in 2005.