We are excited to be kicking off the seminar series again in 2025 starting with a presentation from J. Max Koether on Microbial Nitrogen Cycling and Cave Passage Modification in Mulu National Park. The seminar will start at 7:30pm on Monday 13th January with details of how to join on the BCRA website. The abstract for the talk is as follows:
Research into how caves form increasingly reveals the critical role of microbes in promoting chemical erosion through the production of acidic byproducts. The caves of Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, offer a setting to explore a novel nitrogen-driven method of cave passage modification and enlargement. These caves include some of the world's largest and longest cave systems, including Clearwater Cave, which extends over 250 kilometers, and many of these caves feature unusual formations, such as massive ceiling scallops and corroded speleothems. We suggest that these distinctive features result from dissolution caused by microbial activity.
Microbial activity within the nitrogen-rich guano from birds and bats in the caves generates ammonia gas. This ammonia adheres to moisture on cave walls, where microbes recapture the ammonia and metabolize it, producing nitric acid as a byproduct and leading to the chemical dissolution of the rock. Using several analytical techniques, both in the field and in the lab, we propose that nitrogen-driven dissolution is a common process in tropical caves, and that this mechanism may play a significant role in enlarging cave passages after their initial formation.
All are welcome to join!
Research into how caves form increasingly reveals the critical role of microbes in promoting chemical erosion through the production of acidic byproducts. The caves of Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, offer a setting to explore a novel nitrogen-driven method of cave passage modification and enlargement. These caves include some of the world's largest and longest cave systems, including Clearwater Cave, which extends over 250 kilometers, and many of these caves feature unusual formations, such as massive ceiling scallops and corroded speleothems. We suggest that these distinctive features result from dissolution caused by microbial activity.
Microbial activity within the nitrogen-rich guano from birds and bats in the caves generates ammonia gas. This ammonia adheres to moisture on cave walls, where microbes recapture the ammonia and metabolize it, producing nitric acid as a byproduct and leading to the chemical dissolution of the rock. Using several analytical techniques, both in the field and in the lab, we propose that nitrogen-driven dissolution is a common process in tropical caves, and that this mechanism may play a significant role in enlarging cave passages after their initial formation.
All are welcome to join!
