BARBARA KLEIN: The Bahamas may have more than a thousand blue holes. But only about two hundred have been discovered. This includes the world’s deepest known blue hole, called Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island. It measures two hundred two meters in depth.
Kenny Broad and his team spent time talking with native Bahamians to ask them if they knew where the team could find other blue holes. He says younger generations are generally not aware of such caves. But their parents know about them and once used them.
KENNY BROAD: “What’s interesting, though, is that when you talk to these folks’ parents, they were keenly aware of these holes because they used them as their source for drinking water. They used them for all sorts of medicinal reasons. And now they are ignored, and in fact in lots of places we can’t even drink the water because of what goes into these holes.”
STEVE EMBER: Many blue holes have become areas where people throw away waste. But these actions are polluting an important source of fresh water. Part of Kenny Broad’s goal is to raise awareness about these underground areas so local communities will take better care in protecting them.
He says these caves and fresh water sources are not given much attention because they are hard to see.
Another threat these cave systems face is rising sea levels. As sea levels rise, the careful balance of chemistry and nature in these caves could be destroyed.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25