SCIENCE

info@underthejungle.com

SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Under the Jungle attracts a certain type of divers – those who are curious about the world and the unknown. There is so much about the flooded caves that we do not understand, and we are endlessly fascinated by the Yucatan’s flooded subterranean world. What better way to indulge that curiosity than through science? UTJ has a long-standing relationship with Dr. Patricia Beddows, a renowned hydrogeologist from Northwestern University. Together, our team works to provide opportunities for our divers to learn about cave geology and participate in real, important science, including our yearly Science Week, the online participation in our hydrogeology game, and citizen science with the Cave Pearl Project.

WEEKLY CAVE GEOLOGY QUESTIONS

FACEBOOK CAVE SCIENCE GAME

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Each Sunday morning, Natalie Gibb posts a cave geology question for Dr. Patrica Beddows on her Facebook page. Members of the Mexican cave diving community, cave divers around the world, and even other scientists work together to try to figure out the answer. The aim is to spark conversation, a sense of community, and most importantly, to learn more about these amazing caves we dive every day. What usually starts as simple question, almost inevitably reveals itself to be much deeper than anyone expected. In the evening, Dr. Beddows posts a PDF reply to the question, included specific answers to questions that have come up during the day, as well as sources for further reading. You can follow Nat on Facebook, and even ask to be tagged in the weekly posts if you want to participate. The weekly questions and PDFs are available for download.

FOLLOW NAT FOR NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION

PAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

HOW OLD ARE THE CAVES? HOW FAST DO THEY FORM?

WHAT CAUSES DIFFERENT COLORS IN THE CAVE WALLS AND FORMATIONS?

WHY DOES THE PRESENCE AND DENSITY OF CEILING FORMATIONS VARY IN A SINGLE CHAMBER?

DOES THE SALT WATER IN THE CAVES FLOW?

DOES THE DEEP SALT WATER IN THE CAVES MOVE?

DETERMINING THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF MINOTAURO WITH A PHOTO

HOW DO DIFFERENT LAYERS OF ROCK INFLUENCE CAVE DEVELOPEMENT?

HOW DOES THE HALOCLINE INFLUENCE CAVE DEVELOPMENT?

MORE PAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHAT ARE BATHTUB RINGS AND WHAT DO THEY TELL US ABOUT A CAVE'S HISTORY?

BUBBLES ON THE CELILING - WHAT DO THEY TELL US?

WHAT INFLUENCES THE DEPTH OF THE HALOCLINE?

HOW MUCH FRESH WATER IS THERE IN YUCATAN'S CAVES?

HOW FAST DOES CENOTE WATER FLOW? HOW OLD IS IT?

HOW DEEP IS THE SEDIMENT IN THE CENOTES?

HOW OLD ARE THE CORAL FOSSILES IN THe CAVES? WHAT DO THEY TELL US?

THE CAVE PEARL PROJECT

WHAT IS A CAVE PEARL?

Scientific instrumentation for flooded caves has historically been bulky and prohibitively expensive, making gathering data from underwater caves an exclusive pursuit of universities and others with large budgets. Until now. Over the last decade, Dr. Patricia Beddows and Edward Mallon have worked to produce open source, inexpensive instruments for mass deployment in flooded caves. They named these data loggers Cave Pearls. The build information is open source, using inexpensive Arduino technology, and anyone with a little knowledge can create their own from the build information online.

Divers in Mexico have almost certainly seen some of Dr. Beddow’s deployments, she has been deploying the instruments in sites such as Jailhouse, Chac Mool, and Dos Palmas for years. The data gathered by these devices creates a wealth of information regarding flow rate and direction, pressure, and temperature. Under the Jungle is thrilled to offer our divers the opportunity to assist with deployment and retrieval of data, increasing the scale of the project and providing opportunities for citizen science for our divers.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CAVE PEARL PROJECT

INSTALLING A CAVE PEARL

INSTAGRAM @UNDERTHEJUNGLE

underthejungle

Zoom zoom. And just like that, Pandora turns 10 ye

Zoom zoom. And just like that, Pandora turns 10 years old and 18 km long. @vrc_mexico, @tdidivers, @xdeep_dive_gear , @kissrebreathers

Big beautiful caves! As much as I love squeezing t

Big beautiful caves! As much as I love squeezing through tight wiggly passages, there's something truly awe-inspiring about some of the tall, wide tunnels winding underground in Mexico. It's a cave diver's dream, and I am thankful every day to teach cave diving for a living. What an amazing place!

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Miranda!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb
The model is @mirandajebowman
Lighting with @keldan lights
Training by @tdidivers

Some old favorites from a few years ago with cave

Some old favorites from a few years ago with cave diver Andy Preas at a cenote very near our dive center. Andy swims over a fallen stone drapery covered with delicate dripstone formations.

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Andy) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb
Lighting with @keldan lights
Training by @tdidivers

Spirals of tree roots waver and drift in the flowi

Spirals of tree roots waver and drift in the flowing water. This underwater cave, near Tulum, Mexico, is so shallow that it is filled with forests of tree roots that have forced their way down through the limestone and into the underground river systems of the Riviera Maya. Cave diver Ramon Siliceo illuminates one of my favorite spots on the dive.

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb
Model: @ramonsiliceo
Lighting by @keldan lights
@tdidivers

Cave diver Ramon Siliceo has been our winter inter

Cave diver Ramon Siliceo has been our winter intern this season. He's been assisting courses, helping around the shop, and generally being a delight to have around. He's spent more time helping on courses in training caves than he has diving off the beaten path, and it was fun to take him to one of the prettiest cave lines I know for a photo shoot before he leaves. Well done, Ramon.

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

• Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb
• Lighting by @keldan lights
• Shout out to our training organization @tdidivers that makes all this fun possible!

Something about the start of a cave dive is so mag

Something about the start of a cave dive is so magical: the soft ambient light and the sense of the unknown are irresistible for divers with a sense of adventure. Here, @ramonsiliceo hovers under the calm surface and pretends to swim into the cave (after we spent 4.5 hours shooting). You get the point, though.

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb.
@tdidivers

Continuing my obsession with photographing roots i

Continuing my obsession with photographing roots in Mexican caves -- here is another shot from my dive with @ramonsiliceo this week. Here, he hovers expertly under an archway of tree roots that have forced their way underground to reach the aquifer. No wonder the jungle is so green!

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb.
Lighting by @keldan Lights.
@tdidivers

Maybe it's because I grew up in the desert -- I ha

Maybe it's because I grew up in the desert -- I have always found great beauty in the smooth calcite dunes covering the floors in some of Mexico's shallow cave diving sites. I love the fall-off of the light over their crests and the contrast they provide to the dense clusters of stalactites on the ceiling.

Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle is a @tdidivers training center, and teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

The model is @ramonsiliceo
Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb.
Lighting with @keldan Lights.

Some of my favorite cave dives are incredibly shal

Some of my favorite cave dives are incredibly shallow! @ramonsiliceo and I enjoyed an over 4-hour dive on just 3 cylinders where we spent the majority of our time underground at just 10-12 feet/3-4 meters of depth. In places where there are air domes above the tunnels, the shining surface of the water creates a mirror-like effect.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb, using a ridiculous number of @keldan lights. As always, a friendly shout-out to our training organization @tdidivers for making all this cave diving accessible to our students.
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Along the way to one of the most beautiful (in my

Along the way to one of the most beautiful (in my opinion) cave lines in the Riviera Maya, we passed through a cenote. The sunlight bounced off the surface of the water and made it look like an interface between two worlds. Which I guess it is. @ramonsiliceo and I paused on our return from our 4.5-hour dive to grab a few images in this magical place. I only had one light left. Turns out, you can shoot at 1/15th shutter speed if both the photographer and the model hold still enough. Ramon is a buoyancy beast.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb.
Light with one @keldan light on half power. A friendly shout out to our training organization @tdidivers.
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Cave diver @ramonsiliceo and I wandered off to one

Cave diver @ramonsiliceo and I wandered off to one of my new favorite dives a few days ago to capture some of the beauty of Mexico's caves. Here, he floats in front of a massive tree root, which has forced its way through the limestone bedrock and into the shallow flooded cave. Phenomenal job as a first-time model, Ramon!

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb, using a large number of @keldan Lights. Shout out as always to our training organization that makes all this possible, @tdidivers.

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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Under the Jungle's winter intern, Ramon Siliceo, h

Under the Jungle's winter intern, Ramon Siliceo, has spent the season with us assisting courses and helping out around the shop. It's only fair that he has his turn in front of the camera. We made a nice long dive to a root window that I have been dying to shoot, and he rocked the photo. It's not easy to float 45° head-up in doubles in moderate flow.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb, with a large number of @keldan lights. @tdidivers
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Ramon!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

@tdidivers cave diver Tyler Flynn (@tylerdives) i

@tdidivers cave diver Tyler Flynn (@tylerdives) illuminates underwater cave formations at Cenote Concha, near Tulum, Mexico.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb back-lighting my diver with @keldan Lights

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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Tyler!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Under the Jungle co-owner and @tdidivers instruct

Under the Jungle co-owner and @tdidivers instructor trainer, Vincent Rouquette-cathala (@vrc_mexico) rides a DPV through Otoch Ha, a hyper-decorated cave in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. There's not much that is more fun than scootering through an underwater cave.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb once again lighting up Mexico's caves with an obscene number of @keldan Lights.
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Vince!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Cave diver and cave explorer Arielle Ginsberg (@ar

Cave diver and cave explorer Arielle Ginsberg (@arielleunderwater) was kind enough to model for me at Cenote Taak Bi Ha, a fantastic cave and cavern diving site near Tulum, Mexico. This dive site is accessible to both certified cavern and cave divers and is the starting point for the epic DPV Dive to El Pit. @tdidivers @xdeep_dive_gear

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb using an insane amount of @keldan Lights.

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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Arielle!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

@arya.irmeli swims into the cavern zone at Cenote

@arya.irmeli swims into the cavern zone at Cenote Carwash, a popular training site for fundamental skills, cavern, and cave diving in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Arya is a @tdidivers overhead diving instructor, a tech diving instructor, and a JJ-CCR rebreather instructor with our dive center, Under the Jungle.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb.

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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Arya!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

Jinuk Song (@zephyrhope) floats expertly in front

Jinuk Song (@zephyrhope) floats expertly in front of a stationary backlight in Cenote Concha, a flooded cave near Tulum, Mexico. Jinuk finished his @tdidivers Full Cave Course with Under the Jungle last year, and was back to enjoy some independent cave dives with his buddy Tyler. Well done!

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb lighting the caves up with my @keldan Lights as usualy.
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Jinuk!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

When you just vibe with your cave buddy -- magic h

When you just vibe with your cave buddy -- magic happens. Tyler Flynn (@tylerdives) and Jinuk Song (@zephyrhope) both completed their @tdidivers Cave Diver training with Under the Jungle last year and spent a few weeks independently cave diving all over the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Our shop offers some of the most demanding, lengthy cave training in the area, but when you are confident to hit the caves without a guide immediately after finishing your course, all that effort and work pays off 🙂

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb, lighting the caves with @keldan Lights (as usual).
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Jinuk and Tyler!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

@tylerdives (Tyler Flynn) floats among knobbly sta

@tylerdives (Tyler Flynn) floats among knobbly stalactites in Cenote Concha, one of my favorite cave dives near Tulum, Mexico. Tyler recently completed his @tdidivers Stage Cave Diver course with us and then spent a few weeks with his buddy Jinuk independently cave diving all around the Riviera Maya and Cozumel.

Photo by me, Natalie L Gibb, lighting with @keldan Lights (as usual).
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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this (and maybe even look as good as Tyler!) If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

A tree root appears in a flooded cave, and a cave

A tree root appears in a flooded cave, and a cave diver looks at it gracefully.

Diver. @mermaid_underground
Photographer. Natalie L Gibb

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Want to do this? Our shop, Under the Jungle, teaches everything from technical-style open water courses to sidemount/back mount basics to cave diving specialties, rebreathers, and advanced trimix. We can teach you to do this! If you are already a certified diver, you can experience cenotes on a guided cavern tour, and if you are a cave diver, we'd love to guide you in some of our favorite caves.

@tdidivers @keldan @diveshearwater @divedui @xdeep_dive_gear

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