This is the place! Indian Trail Caverns - Native Americans left drawings on the ceiling of the cave open for tours (there is a small admission charge).
Sheriden Cave was discovered when sediments were excavated from a sinkhole in an attempt to expand the tourist experience. When the Hendricks discovered animals bones, they called professionals and the scientific investigations began.
Those are icicles, not stalactites (what do you expect in March?), we hope they will melt before the field school begins.
Scientist examines jawbone found in cave sediments. A lot remains to be discovered here!
Where do we start digging? Lots of open space in this field - perhaps some geophysical exploration will locate a likely spot!
We will used a mark ("X") in this slab - at the Hendricks Cave entrance - as our site datum. If we find a good place to dig, we will specify the location in terms of meters north and east (or south or west) of this spot. Graduate student Mike Friedhoff is using a gravity meter, tying this field base to a gravity base station in Toledo.
Graduate student Yonghong Jiang with the transmitting antenna, EM34, vertical dipole mode.
Teaching assistant Scott Gurney coaches Mike Friedhoff in operating EM34 receiver antenna (here shown in horizontal dipole position), signal processing electronics and data logger.
Mike wrapped in cables and harnesses at receiving end of the EM34. A third hand or prehensile tail would really be useful at times like this!
When operating in vertical dipole mode only, a pair of carts (designed and built by Ms. Maggie Chaffee for her thesis research) relieves the transmitter and receiver operators from some of their burdens. These carts can be converted to sleds for winter conditions.
