Opportunities

CHL's efforts to expand global relationships through science and research often provide opportunities for workshops tailored to the interests of visiting scholars. After connecting at the annual karst training hosted by the International Research Center on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO in China in 2021,  Ms. Ana Celis (Director, Karst Lab Mexico; Professor, Universidad del Caribe ) approached Dr. Chris Groves (Director, Crawford Hydrology Lab) about opportunities for collaboration and training. Through continued discussions and subsequent support provided by the US National Park Service Office of International Affairs, WKU Ogden College of Science and Engineering, and WKU’s Applied Research and Technology Program Ms. Celis spent two weeks in June 2022 in intensive field training at Mammoth Cave and attended a WKU Karst Field Studies course. 

Highlights of her training included instruction and applied training in cave survey, hydrologic monitoring, hydrogeochemical data collection and analysis, in-cave monitoring systems, and fluorescent dye tracing techniques. Ms. Celis participated in multiple dye traces in addition to receiving instruction in designing tracer studies and analytical techniques. As an expert in the karst of the Yucatan Peninsula, Celis was an astute observer of the similarities and differences between the south-central Kentucky karst and that of the Yucatan. Before leaving, Ana also participated in Cave & Karst Field Data Collection & Visualization, under the direction of Dr. Pat Kambesis, as part of WKU's Karst Field Studies Program.

In return,  a team from WKU’s Crawford Hydrology Lab (CHL)  joined forces with the Cave Research Foundation, Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region, and Mammoth Cave National Park traveled to Mexico in July 2022 to engage new research partners from the Universidad de Caribe (UC) and Proyecto Gran Acuífero Maya (GAM), in Cancun, Mexico.  The exchange was specifically geared to strengthen US-Mexico partnerships through United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Conservation Organization’s (UNESCO) scientific programs with a focus on the world’s longest caves.   It is these similarities and differences that provided scholars from both UC and WKU the opportunity to learn from the exchange of professional knowledge during their visit to each other’s respective region.