Anyone know of an guide to dye tracing? Preferably online.

I'm looking for some information that can be used on an expedition with limited access to resources such as power which seems to rule out brightners.

What are the options? Green stuff or spors or?

Apart from the dye getting through what does the length of time mean? Are there any guidelines?

Thanks

Ho Ho Ho, "black art" science here!

on an expedition

Click to expand...

I hope it's somewhere nice!

By green stuff, I assume that you mean flourescene. Where the cave stream is likely to be used for drinking water, flourescene is a bad idea.

Length of time is a function of passage size, passage gradient, speed of flow, distance to resourgence, height to resourgence, etc. hence my comment about interpretation being a "dark art"

You could do worse than look in the BCRA library in Matlock for a good book.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the insight. Kinda knew it was a black art hence looking for some guidlines. Take your point about flourescence, suppose the same goes for Rhodamine.

Would love to look around the BCRA library but Matlock is a bit of a haul from Mendip!

Oh and it is somewhere nice http://www.speleophilippines.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=1&page=view&catid=1&PageNo=1&key=5&hit=1

Cheers

Hmmm nice!

I notice the "BEC get everywhere" logo on the front page.

Wasn't it Sam Price (pre-teen Cerberus member) who started your latest dig just behind you cottage for you?
While the cat's away and all that....

Use fluorescent dyes such as optical brightening agents. They're invisible to the eye but are adsorbed onto the cellulose fibres of cotton wool. Check cotton wool for existing fluorescence and place "detectors" in all suspected springs before injecting any dye in the sink to check the spring is not contaminated with any foreign fluorescent substance. Use a portable (battery operated) UV lamp and a positive "detector" will fluoresce convincingly. Remember there is no such thing as a "weak positive" result!

Alternatively use subvisual flourescein quantities and activated charcoal "detectors" processed chemically.

What happened to the BCRA Hydrology Group? If you can track down someone who was involved in this SIG they can probably give you more detail. Alternatively get hold of the book: "Caving Practice And Equipment" edited by D Judson (Cordee Books, Leicester, 1991) ISBN 1871890764. Chapter 8 on "Flow Measurement & Water Tracing" (pages 167 - 178) may be useful. This has a reference list at the end which may help further.

Thanks for all your input. We placed two tubs of green fluorescent dye in the sink which was flowing at about 0.5 Cumec. Each tub was good for 25-40K litres (I think from memory).

The resurgance we tested was 4Km from the sink and was flowing at 1 Cumec. After 5 days we did not recieve a positive result however this could be because the sink lost height fast and the bulk of the passage downstream was swimming in deep water. With such a huge resevoir of water underground (one lake was difficult to see across with a 14LED rig) it is possible that it could take weeks to reappear. Or it could just go somewhere else altogether...

I think it is going to be checked again in a couple of weeks.

i did here the if you ask very nicely the lime stone reeserch group would do one 4 you but dont quot me on it.

they are baced at hudasfield uni