For those of us who have come to Wakulla today for the first time, the idea that a frontier of such Grand Canyon proportions could lie beneath the black, misty pool in front of us is difficult to grasp. Though lush and primeval on the surface, Wakulla Springs is just 10 miles from the sprawling interface of Tallahassee. Yet, it's for precisely this reason that Wes, Jill, and Brian are determined to pioneer the technology to help people log their own "virtual" dives into Florida's aquifer. Wakulla's inner wilderness, like the unexplored frontier of underwater caves throughout the state, is something you've got to see to believe, and as far as Wes in concerned, it's the responsibility of cave divers to establish this personal connection with the aquifer for those who will never witness it first hand.

"If we can help people connect with the aquifer through this technology and show them where our water comes from," Wes explains to the students as the divers get underway, "We can help them understand why it's so important to manage the human activities which affect water quality and inspire them to get involved."

Within minutes of the first transmissions from the divers, it's clear that Wes and Brian have firmly established that personal connection for the students and others lucky enough to witness today's event. As the receiver crackles to life, the students stop speechless in their tracks and hover over Brian's garage shop antenna as if it were hardwired directly to the moon. Though hundreds of feet beneath us under a ceiling of solid limestone rock, it's as if Jill, Paul, and Shannon are right next door. For Wes and the rest of the Karst team who have put their reputations on the line with a public display of a new and uncertain technology, the satisfaction of today's test is greater still. Even Brian, often the last to fluff his feathers over his inventions, allows himself a pat on the back.

Over the next few weeks, Jill, Wes, Brian, and the rest of the Karst team will begin to put their new transmission technology to use, exploring and mapping other underwater caves throughout north Florida relative to the land surface features which impact them from above. In terms of protecting the aquifer, it's just the kind of data Secretary Struhs has been hoping for.

"What expeditions like this allow us to do," he explains, "is to connect natural science with political science. The dive team is giving us the information we need to build popular support for protecting the springs and to take the steps legislatively and financially to follow through."

Wes is equally optimistic about the future.

"What we did here today might not seem like much to some people," says Wes, "But it's these kinds of small steps that got us to the moon. With this technology, who knows where we can go from here?"

If Wes gets his way, it'll be even deeper into the aquifer to explore underground rivers.

«Previous  |   Page 2 of 2

*This story was first published in 2002. David Struhs is the former secretary of the Department of Environmental Education.