Some more #photography from my #hikingtrip to the #beautiful #ApostleIslands. #lakesuperior #waves have been #beating on the #rocks forming #caves with #gentle #streams and #waterfalls. #nature is something to #behold

Visita mandatória às grutas de Mira d'Aire.

Thursday's office: a cave that has groundwater flooding.

The stalagmites here grow only when the water table is below them.

And have to grow through white calcite crystals left from the floodwater.

This is how it looks after the 2023 floods.

Crawling in cold water in small spaces to study biodiversity. Yeah, it is pretty fun!

Earlier this week we helped some freshly graduated from college folk get footage underground for their film projects. Enjoying science and art, they are entering science communication by working in visual arts. Some were getting video for a project on salamanders of the region, and another was there for groundwater. Salamanders are charismatic, a wonderful choice. Groundwater is often ignored, but so important, showcasing it in a fun and engaging way will help people care about it.

The kids are okay.

I'm delighted to share that this is my office for the week.

Thanks to Dubbo Regional Council for hosting us again at Wellington Caves, Australia.

We'll be underground, continuing our investigation of caves as observatories of groundwater recharge.

In the meantime, this is Dippy the diprotodon.

PhD Opportunities in Climate and Groundwater at UNSW Sydney 2025-2027

Last updated: 21st July 2025 The Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship ‘Caves and their stalagmites: linking climate to groundwater recharge’ awarded to Andy Baker (UNSW Sydney, Australia) has opportunities for PhD projects in the following areas. PhD positions are for start in 2025 to 2027 and will remain open until filled. PhD 1: Using long-term hydrology records from caves to explore the amount of rainfall needed to replenish groundwater and the climate and weather needed....

http://andy-baker.org/2025/07/21/phd-opportunities-in-climate-and-groundwater-at-unsw-sydney-2025-2027/

Me: I am really working too much and need a break.

Also me: BUT THERE ARE CAVES.

*schedules more field work days, which increases work load exponentially*

I called this photo, "And This Was the Good Passage!"
...Don't ask.

Cuevas Del Aguila - a wonderland :) - videos.trom.tf/w/xdjRvcM28Mxim…

This cave looks so out of this world. The white of the calcium combined with the "rust" of the rock make up for a unique landscape. Very memorable! We paid 11 Euros each for the tour and it was well worth it.

Ongoing Cave Climate Data Collection in Australia

Back in 2020, in the depths of COVID lockdowns here in Australia, the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association organised a cave climate 'baseline monitoring' project. At that time, numerous tourist caves were closed to visitors. The opportunity was taken to record the cave climate. Data loggers were calibrated and shipped to the participating cave organisations. They regularly sent back cave temperature and relative humidity data....

http://andy-baker.org/2025/07/20/ongoing-cave-climate-data-collection-in-australia/

Best Hotels, Beaches, and Restaurants https://www.byteseu.com/1177949/ #Beaches #caves #Portugal #seafood #TheAlgarve #Viceroy #WineCountry

One could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled onto the set of a new movie in the Alien franchise. It would not look out of place if a xenomorph raised its head from behind some rocks or stalagmites.

#photography #abstract #caves #xenomorph #Spain #Mallorca

http://leonard.earth/2025/07/06/cuevas-del-drach-vi-2/

Sometimes life feels like it's just climbing up waterfall after waterfall. At least this one was fun!

If Pattie Gonia and others flew a flag high on El Capitan (https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/05/21/trans-flag-hung-yosemite-national-park/) let's take the progress pride flag deep underground! Less sexy and no media but whatev's.

Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia

More about me & prints:
https://linktr.ee/steven.sandner

Aperture: f/6.1
Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec
ISO: 400

Turning the globally significant Nullarbor’s limestone cave landscape into an industrial site with suburbs ?
“They put it slap-bang on the most intensively karstified area of the Nullarbor...This issue is not just about avoiding damage to a few caves. It’s about protecting the whole landscape.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/25/scientists-sound-the-alarm-for-nullarbor-plain-limestone-caves-and-unique-underground-creatures
#biodiversity #stillness #caves #megafauna #energy #Nullarbor

Times like this I wish I had a cave of my own. So enjoy this throwback to a lava tube cave in California. I love how beautiful the passage is and yet since lava sucks up light (doesn't bounce it around well, just kinda absorbs it) the passages are dark and it looks like dark eyes staring into your soul.