Hello! I am Amanda Woolums. I am a photographer, environmental engineer, phlebotomist at Miami Valley, student, and, of course, caver!

I began caving when I was in high school. I have always loved doing things that are out of the norm. My first cave trip was with my youth group from church. I enjoyed myself. A year later, I went once more and took a friend. My friend wanted to conquer her claustrophobia and acrophobia. Needless to say, we got turned around ::Tell Story::

After this caving trip, I knew I loved caving. It was an extreme adventure where you use all sorts of skills, climbing, navigation, crawling, etc. After my youth caving trips, I accompanied Pam Carpenter and Scott Sweet on a cave trip a few weeks later. As we made the long journey to Kentucky, I was studying for my classes in school. For the longest time, I had been beside myself looking for a perfect project for my environmental engineering capstone project. I couldnt find a thing and I knew I needed to begin working on it. As we were driving, I was reading some of my research on environmental health. With my love for water purity, Scott came up with the brilliant idea to test the cave water and see if what was in the water we were chest high in. I was unsure of what I could do for this, due to my little knowledge at that time on caves and water testing. Loving both, we discussed the matter further during our ride. It was not until after our caving trip that I knew this would be my project. As we were exiting the cave, we saw two young men with gallon jugs collecting the water exiting the cave. Stunned by this, I asked what they were doing. Came to find that they were taking this water home to drink it. In this
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area of the country, this water was considered spring water and was supposedly pure and good to drink. I knew that something wasnt right here. After talking to them, we understood that community members drink the water from the caves. And so ended my search for a perfect project! I knew this is what I had to do! I completed a research paper on caving and testing. Learned how to cave, joined all the affiliated cave/rescue groups in the area. Attended the caving meetings. Borrowing water testing supplies from school, I learned how to test water for: DO (Dissolved Oxygen) fecal coliform pH BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand5-day) Temperature, Total Phosphate (PO-4-P) Turbidity Total Solids These will be discussed in further detail later.

After multiple tests and studies, I found the water to be contaminated with fecal coliform (presence/absence test). Conclusion: the water is unsafe to drink. I found my niche in the underground world.
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If you like to climb, get dirty, crawl around, and get soaking wet, you may be cut out for caving! In caves you will find: Steep pits, its not unlikely to stumble upon a pit that is over 100 feet deep. There are tight passageways, and slippery slopes you may encounter in any given cave. A cave, being an underground passageway for water, will be muddy and damp. You must dress accordingly. Personally, I come out with Cave hair every time. Why would you go caving? The ADVENTURE, awesome photography, vacationing, and scientific research. The primary reason for you adventure-seeking individuals to go caving would be the fact that there are so many avenues you can get involved with. There are caves full of rock climbing and repelling. In Florida, where we are having our NSS convention this year, there is scuba diving. This ranked as the most dangerous sport out there if you know anything about cave diving. Awesome documentaries with cave divingits really an incredible thing! Its like hiking in a new environment. If you love hiking, you would love caving in some caves. You are traveling up and down, up and down, with different scenes along the way. You can see hundreds of feet above you, then hundreds below all in one cave outing. Any adventure you wish to have can be found in a cave. It is like its own world. For any adventurer, you will find narrow passageways, tight squeezes, and interesting cave life as you venture through the cave. You may encounter rapid or deep waters anywhere in a cave.
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Some of the most interesting photography (In my opinion) has been taken in caves. The National Speleological Society (NSS), the primary caving organization, offers a fine art award. The Carbide Courier, the publication of our local caving organization, the Dayton Underground Grotto (DUG), of which I am the editor, I offer a Cave Art of the Month as you see on the back cover. Vacationers will cave at many of the nations tourist caves. This is nothing like real caving! When they are lit up, they are beautiful and some even have cement walkways so you do not stumble. After assisting in teaching a class at Yellow Spring high school, I attended their field trip to Ohio Caverns. They had an amazing exhibit! It was extraordinary! My favorite part, scientific study, has the capability to bring us new forms of medicine. Hazel Barton, a microbiologist at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, Colorado, has researched these extremophiles. Extremophiles are organisms that thrive in environments where human life could not. They adapt without sunlight and live for several years. This research could provide information on how life on other planets may survive. For example, Greenlands ice caves may have similar characteristics to Jupiters moon, Europa. In Hazels research, she is looking for a bacterium to cure Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) which is now a global threat especially in developing countries.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

DO is essential for the maintenance of healthy lakes and rivers. The presence of oxygen in water is a positive sign, the absence of oxygen is a signal of severe pollution. When no DO is present, there is little aquatic life.

Healthy ecosystems are those of which have high DO levels. Algae and rooted aquatic plants give oxygen in addition to the atmospheres DO. The DO levels peak in the afternoon during photosynthesis and plummet at night due to the lack of photosynthesis.

From humans, the build up of organic wastes will alter the DO levels. Algae will become abundant when there is a love DO level.

Fecal Coliform

Fecal coli form bacteria are found in the feces of humans and other warm-blooded animals. In infected individuals, pathogenic organisms are found along with fecal coli form bacteria. If fecal coliform counts are high (over 200 colonies/100mL of water) there is a greater chance that pathogenic organisms are present. Diseases and illnesses such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, dysentery, and ear infections.

pH Levels

This test measures the positive Hydrogen ions in the water to tell if it is acidic or basic. A pH of 7 is neutral, anything below is acidic, and anything above a 7 is considered basic. This is important because certain organisms survive in certain levels.

BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 day) As organic matter decomposes, it is fed upon by aerobic bacteria. After it is combined with oxygen in a five day period, we measure the quantity of oxygen used by these microorganisms. This measures the purity of the water.

Total Phosphate

Phosphorus is an essential element for life. It is a plant nutrient needed for growth and fundamental element in the metabolic reactions of plants and animals. Plant growth is limited by the amount of phosphorus available. Because algae only requires a small amount of phosphorus to live, excess P causes extensive algal growth called blooms. Algal blooms are a classic symptom of cultural eutrophication. Phosphorus comes from human/animal wastes, industrial wastes, and human disturbances of the land and its vegetation. Sewage from wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks is one source of P in rivers. Soil erosion contributes P to rivers. Soil particles washed into waterways contribute more P. Fertilizers are also a large contributor of P.

Nitrates (NO-3) Nitrogen is an element needed by all living plants and animals to build protein. Nitrogen is a much more abundant nutrient than phosphorus (P) in nature. It is most commonly found in its molecular form (N2), which makes up 79% of the air we breathe. Blue-green algae, the primary algae of algal blooms, are able to use N2 and convert it into forms of nitrogen that plants can take up through their roots and use for growth: Ammonia (NH3) and Nitrate (NO-3) As aquatic plants and animals die, bacteria break down large protein molecules into ammonia. Ammonia is then oxidized (combined with O2) by specialized bacteria to form nitrites (NO-2) and nitrates (NO-3). These bacteria get energy for metabolism from oxidation. Duck and geese contribute a heavy load of N (excrement). Because N, in the form of ammonia and nitrates, acts as a plant nutrient, it also causes europhications. Eutrophication promotes more plant growth and decay. Sewage is the main source of nitrates added by humans. Two other important sources of nitrates in water are fertilizers, and the runoff from cattle feedlots, dairies, and barnyards. High nitrate levels have been discovered in groundwater beneath croplands due to excessive fertilizer use, especially in heavily irrigated areas with sandy soils. Places where animals are concentrated, such as feedlots and diaries, produce large amount of wastes rich in ammonia and nitrates.

Turbidity Turbidity is a measure of the relative clarity of water: the greater the turbidity, the murkier the water. Turbidity increases as a result of suspended solids in the water that reduce the transmission of
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light. Suspended solids vary: ranging from clay, silt, and plankton, to industrial wastes and sewage. Causes: Soil erosion, waste discharge, urban runoff, abundant bottom feeders (carp) or algal growth. The higher the turbidity, the less photosynthesis can take place (since the sunlight has a harder time penetrating the murk). Also, the suspended solids affect the aquatic life by clogging fish gills, reducing the growth rates, and preventing egg and larval development.

Now, would you like to go caving?

Wonderful!

What do you need? Lights (3 min) Thermals (Layers) Power Bars Plastic Trash Bags Sturdy Footwear Helmet Gloves Knee Pads Bottled Water
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 First Aid Kit Cave Pack (Military)

Rules of Three: Groups of 3 or more Tell 3 people where you are going and when you shall return Three sources of light Three points of contact when climbing

International Emergency Signal: 3 Toots of a whistle

3 Honks on a horn

3 Giant Xs on Rocks or Snow

Food and Excretion: No crumbs

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 Ziplock Ham Bags/Bottles (men) All trash MUST be carried OUT of the cave

Dangers: Getting lost Loss of light Hypothermia Passages flooding Falling rocks Falling off cliffs (not seen) Poor Footing

What can you see in caves? Stalactites Stalagmites Columns Soda Straws
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Drapery Flowstone Popcorn

The Chemistry behind the formations: Calcite (CaCO3) Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu) Manganese (Mn)

Rhinestone Dams Cave Life in Dams Cave Life

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