N.M. cavers chart unique 'snowy' river of crystals

July 24, 2008 By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN , Associated Press Writer N.M. cavers chart unique 'snowy' river of crystals (AP)

Caver John McLean talks about the many questions scientists have about the Snowy River formation while on an expedition in Fort Stanton Cave, N.M., on July 3, 2008. New Mexico's two U.S. senators have proposed legislation to designate the cave and Snowy River as a national conservation area. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

(AP) -- Hundreds of feet beneath Earth's surface, a few seasoned cave explorers venture where no human has set foot. Their headlamps illuminate mud-covered walls, gypsum crystals and mineral deposits. The real attraction, though, is under their shoes.



Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

Similar stories from PHYSorg:


Invisibility visualized: German team unveils new software for rendering cloaked objects

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 2

W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback

created Nov 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Climate Change, Nitrogen Loss Threaten Plant Life in Arid Desert Soils

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Fantastic Voyage

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (19) | comments 3

Life's Ancient Island in the Ice

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 3


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 4.7 /5 (22 votes)

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • DoctorKnowledge - Jul 24, 2008
    • Rank: 1 / 5 (7)
    "Unknown to science". Gimme a break. "Scientists" as such don't own knowledge, they aren't the only people who make discoveries. The microbes were just "unknown". (And hey, "unknown to the most select groups of published, acknowledged, famous, up-and-coming,world-class scientists, at that.) I.e., "unknown".
  • thales - Jul 24, 2008
    • Rank: 4.4 / 5 (7)
    Here's your break, Doctor: they can't claim it's unknown to you without assuming what you know. Maybe you did already know about these microbes. Thus, "unknown to science" is LESS arrogant than "unknown to anyone".
  • jeffsaunders - Jul 25, 2008
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
    perhaps unclassified would have been more grammatically correct.

    As there have been plenty of discoveries "unknown to science" of animal species that were commonly hunted and eaten by indigenous peoples.

    To claim that none of these peoples was a scientist is pretty damn arrogant.
  • DoctorKnowledge - Jul 30, 2008
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Note that thales just misrepresented -- in the best scientific tradition -- misquoting me. I didn't write "unknown to anyone", I specifically said the phrase "unknown to science" was not appropriate, because it implies that only scientists can know things.

    jeffsaunders got the point, and added his perspective.

    On the other hand, thales' unlogical comment, which makes no point, except to abstractly criticize, appealed to Trippy, mikiwud, Corvidae, MrFred, RAL, Mercury_01, and yyz. Obviously deep thinkers, all.

July 24, 2008 all stories

Comments: 4

4.7 /5 (22 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Lebanon cave takes on Amazon for spot in new seven wonders
    created Jul 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Texas takes steps to halt spread of fungus lethal to bats
    created Jun 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Oregon's Rogue River Basin to face climate-change hurdles
    created Dec 16, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Ancient cave draws MSU archaeologists to southeast Montana
    created Oct 23, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Stalagmites may predict next Big One along the New Madrid Seismic Zone
    created Sep 25, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0



  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Other News

Ghostly 'Spokes' Puff Out From Saturn's Ring's

Ghostly 'Spokes' Puff Out From Saturn's Ring's (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 3 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Massive, bright clouds of tiny ice particles hover above the darkened rings of Saturn in an image captured by the Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 22, 2009, around the time of Saturn's equinox. ...


NASA 'Drops' Next Generation Robotic Lander During Autonomous Tests

NASA 'Drops' Next Generation Robotic Lander During Autonomous Tests

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 3 hours ago | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has successfully completed a series of autonomous "drop" tests of a robotic lander test article - in a record 10 months - to demonstrate the ability to perform a controlled landing on ...


Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns

Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created 7 hours ago | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The constellation of Orion is a hotbed of massive star formation, most prominently in the Great Nebula that sits in Orion's sword. The glowing gas of the Nebula is powered by a group of young ...


Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission (AP)

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 3 hours ago | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- With 100 Internet-savvy NASA fans cheering on the shuttle and churning out constant Twitter updates, Atlantis sailed smoothly into orbit Monday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for ...


Ancient high-altitude trees grow faster as temperatures rise

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created 4 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

PIC=32536:left]Increasing temperatures at high altitudes are fueling the post-1950 growth spurt seen in bristlecone pines, the world's oldest trees, according to new research.