Dr. Hazel Barton presents on the Northeast Greenland Caving Project, a collaborative scientific expedition comprised of an interdisciplinary team of palaeoclimatologists, geologists, glaciologists, and a geo-microbiologist. Dr. Barton is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Buchtel School of Arts and Sciences and a Professor of Biology and Geoscience at the university of Akron. Her research is geared toward understanding microbial interactions and processes in cave environments and has published over 100 articles on this work and has co-edited two books: Women in Microbiology, and Lechuguilla Cave: Discoveries in a Hidden Splendor.

Nick Gladstone is an environmental scientist focused on documentation and conversation of often understudied and imperiled animals. In this talk he focuses on one such group of animals which are tragically understudied and underappreciated: groundwater snails. Abstract: "Among the many taxonomic groups to successfully adapt to life in groundwater habitats are freshwater snails. However, snails that inhabit groundwater systems are generally understudied because of sampling difficulty and lack of taxonomic expertise. In my talk, I will detail the biodiversity, geographic associations, current threats, conservation and management activities associated with groundwater-restricted gastropods and current environmental policies that may offer protections for them."

Joel and Eleonore take us on an a (partial) underground tour of the Lozère region of France, where they were hosted by the very welcoming local caving club. There, they visited 3 wild caves featuring several sets of dinosaur tracks, aragonite formations and a river cascading down a beautiful slot canyon. The talk will conclude with some pictures of their very brief time above ground and a short glossary of French caving terms for people planning on attending the International Congress in July.

Bennett Lee talks about a karst project at a private Texas cave that shall remain UNNAMED here ( please don't name it in the comments either). At the January 19th Underground Texas Grotto meeting, he presented the history, current status, and future of this 20-year project and private cave. Be prepared to see lots of amazing photos. This is Bennett’s favorite and most photographed cave, and is filled with crystal clear water, a plethora of formations, huge rooms, and borehole passage.

University of Texas Geophysics student London Darcé presenting: "Central Texas is a geologically unique and exciting area, but often we drive past or crawl through features without understanding where they came from or why they formed. Let me take you through the geologic history of Texas and learn about the events that formed the underground world around us!"

Our guest for this meeting was Dr. Clark Wernecke, the Project Director for the Prehistory Research Project at the University of Texas at Austin and Executive Director of the Gault School of Archaeological Research, a nonprofit dedicated to research and education regarding the earliest peoples in the Americas. He discussed Texas' prehistory with a particular emphasis on what caves reveal about the past, both as artifact depositories and as spaces of symbolic significance for pre-Columbian cultures.

The Underground Texas Grotto presents our March 3rd meeting presentation. In this video, Matt Pelsor, a caver from the Central Indiana Grotto, and the host of The Caving Podcast speaks about the genesis of his project, how it has shaped his understanding of why we cave, and how the stories bind the community together. Matt recently added two of our Bills (Stone and Steele) to his list of illustrious guests, so he’s no stranger to UTG. If you are interested in caves, join your local grotto! Austin, TX has the Underground Texas Grotto, and for the time being, meetings are now held once monthly, on the first Wednesday of the month.

Reilly Blackwell started caving in 2016 with the VPI Cave Club in Virginia and since then has enjoyed project caving primarily in TAG and the Virginias. In 2019 she participated in Proyecto Espeleologico Sistema Huautla and helped discover a new cave in the Huautla drainage basin, which became a major focus of the 2019 expedition.