HAPPY DALE ONLINE SANITARIUM

​People have noticed a gradual discoloration of speleothems in Carlsbad Caverns.  Close observation has revealed accumulations of lint, clothing fibers, skin, and hair left behind by thousands of visitors every year.  This lint builds up on cave walls and formations and makes them appear dull and gray.  During a lint cleanup, volunteers noticed the calcite beneath the lint was pitted and had started to deteriorate.  Investigations also showed that the lint was a good source of food for microbes, mites, and spiders.  It has been suggested that the breakdown of the lint was generating organic acids that dissolved the calcite.  The large amount of organic material may support a large population of microbes that can out compete native microbes and destroy their population.

Most methods for cleaning lint from visitors would require control of air circulation, which is not possible in Carlsbad Caverns.  Researchers found that short rock walls along the sides of the trail contained much of the lint.  In these areas, trail cleaning prevented the lint from breaking down into small enough particles to be carried into the air and deposited higher on the walls.  Having people remove their clothing upon entering has proven problematical as finding the right clothing in the dark upon leaving is difficult. Instead, Carlsbad is in the process of constructing rock walls along most of the five-kilometer long trail.  This trail will be vacuumed twice a year with a HEPA vacuum to remove any lint that may have accumulated within the walls.  A volunteer group also works in the cave during a weeklong “Lint Camp” to remove lint and other litter from the visitor trails system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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