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Atlanta, GA | Posted: August 30, 2022
News Contact Info
Jason Maderer
College of Engineering
Summary Sentence:
Student researchers enter one of the planet’s harshest environments to better understand sulfur worms’ collective behavior.
Full Summary:
Student researchers enter one of the planet’s harshest environments to better understand sulfur worms’ collective behavior.
Caving for Worm Blob
Worm Blob Toxic Cave EntranceSix minutes.
After flying 1,500 miles, that’s all three Georgia Tech student researchers would have inside a dark, smelly cave tucked under a small ridge near a ski lift in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Even with full-on oxygen masks and protective clothing.
The trio recently traveled from Atlanta to explore the cave, which was packed with a toxic — and deadly — mix of gases capable of knocking a person unconscious within a few breaths. Surrounded by walls covered in patches of sulfuric acid able to burn skin and eat through clothing and gear, they searched for a phenomenon they’ve only observed in a Georgia Tech lab: worm blobs.
“It was dangerous, but it was necessary,” said Harry Tuazon, a bioengineering Ph.D. student who led the excursion.
Read about their treacherous exploration of the cave.
