Sure, I’d be glad to give a quick synopsis of the longer Quintana Roo underwater caves. You can also find more information on the web site. I usually do monthly updates, so one is due very soon:
http://www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrss.htmAs of today, the five longest caves in Quintana Roo are (in meters):
Sistema Ox Bel Ha 180038.7
Sistema Sac Actun 170998.2
Sistema Dos Ojos 62252.0
Sistema Toh Ha 27796.8
Sistema Actun Hu 24912.8
Sistema Ox Bel Ha has the potential to grow further, but breaking out of its existing pattern of development into distinct new cave areas is problematical. It has some geographical boundaries to contend with (the Caribbean Sea, a large bay with extensive mangrove areas, a large fracture zone, etc.). Ox Bel Ha and Sac Actun are about 5 kilometers distance from their closest points. There are five explored caves between them. At this date though, no one (I am aware of) is searching for a common passage between those caves.
Sistema Sac Actun has a far greater potential to grow. The cave parallels the coast for nearly 12 kilometers; there are many areas/leads to have a better look at on its western (inland) flank. A connection to Sistema Dos Ojos is also quite possible. Last year the explorers were within less than 10 meters from a connection (stopped by solid rock and breakdown). They are working in another connection area that’s being quite cooperative. The chances for a connection do look promising between Sac Actun, Dos Ojos, and other smaller caves.
Sistema Aktun Hu also has numerous possibilities, in fact the team exploring Aktun Hu has added a few kilometers of new survey this week. I’ve yet to receive their new data, but I’ll get it in the next few days. A connection to the Nohoch Nah Chich section of Sistema Sac Actun is also looking more feasible.
I agree that there can be instances where the length of a cave can be overstated, although one would expect that splay shots, room perimeter surveys, and redundant surveys would be excluded from the final length total. The cave length/depth figures that QRSS reports are from raw cave survey data that explorers share with the Survey. I do review the data, so it is fairly easy to spot any errors or questionable data (included in the overall cave length). I'll also agree that when a shorter cave overtakes a longer cave by just a few meters, the margin is pretty slim. But, it is still the current surveyed length (and this usually produces more exploration in both caves).
I think it is great to have such a rich area for underwater cave exploration in this area. We are also finding that dry cave exploration in this area is quite fertile. Some of these dry caves become important as connections between separate underwater caves that end at sumps within the dry caves. Who cares if they are filled with water, air, or ice cream? They are still caves, large or small, and all of us are very fortunate to be able to explore them.
Jim