Longitudinal metabarcode analysis of karst bacterioplankton microbiomes provide evidence of epikarst to cave transport and community succession.

Caves are often assumed to be static environments separated from weather changes experienced on the surface. The high humidity and stability of these subterranean environments make them attractive to many different organisms including microbes such as bacteria and protists. Cave waters generally originate from the surface, may be filtered by overlying soils, can accumulate in interstitial epikarst zones underground, and emerge in caves as streams, pools and droplets on speleothems.

A guided tour of COMPASS.

The COMPASS software was designed to facilitate the use of MARSSIM and guide the user into making informed decisions in designing final status radiological surveys. COMPASS also simplifies the application of the statistical tests by performing the statistical calculations and providing prospective power curves that help in determining what level of confidence the user is willing to accept for a particular number of measurements or samples for a survey unit. After performing the final status survey, COMPASS assesses the data for comparison to the release criteria.