Annette Summers Engel

Department of Geology & Geophysics
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
 

aengel@geol.lsu.edu

pic_me.tif (73655 bytes)

Entrance of Movile Cave, Romania, on the edge of the 
1 km wide Movile Sinkhole outside the city of Mangalia.

 

Personal Information
      
I have had a fascination with all things related to caves since 
I was twelve and went caving for the first time during a High 
Adventure Camp at Carter Caves State Resort Park, Kentucky. 
Since that time I have pursued geological and biological karst 
studies, independently and on many research projects for friends and colleagues. Currently I am a full-time graduate student in the Ph.D. program in the Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin.
     

My areas of specialty and interest include:

  • geomicrobiology
  • geochemistry
  • karst geomorphology
  • carbonate sedimentology
  • ecology and biospeleology
      

               Spring orifice from Lower Kane Cave, Wyoming. White patches 
          and filaments are microbial communities dominated by sulfur-oxidizing 
bacteria. Crack width is approximately 0.5 m across.

Research
     My research interests are strongly interdisciplinary, as I have tried to focus on the relationships between microbially-enhanced processes in karst systems, and the (geo)morphological consequences of microbial activities. However, I am still interested in understanding how caves form and the methods that can be used to study speleogenetic processes. The following is a listing of my recent work and research interests:

        WB01062_.GIF (249 bytes)  Great Saltpetre Cave, Rockcastle County, Kentucky: 
              A geology and archeology field guide (site located under Greater Cincinnati Grotto)

                  - Images from Great Saltpetre and Hard Baker Caves research

       

 Movile Cave, Romania
                 - Movile Cave Project - general site maintained by
                    Romanian investigators
                 - Masters Thesis abstract, completed at the University
                    of Cincinnati, Department of Geological Sciences
                 - Abstracts from various meetings
                 - Images from Movile Cave  

 










 
 Cesspool Cave, Virginia 
               - Abstract, "Ecological assessment and geological
                  significance of microbial communities from Cesspool
                  Cave, Virginia" Engel AS, Porter ML, Kinkle BK,Kane 
                  TC, 2001, Geomicrobiology Journal, vol. 18, p. 259-
                  274. Special Issue on Karst geomicrobiology.










 
 Frasassi Caves, Italy (Grotta Grande del Vento - Grotta  
                 de Fiume system)

                - Frasassi Caves website                  
                - Abstract, "Acidic cave-wall biofilms located in the
                  Frasassi Gorge, Italy" Vlasceanu L, Sarbu SM, Engel
                  AS, Kinkle BK, 2000, Geomicrobiology Journal, vol.
                 17(2), p.125-139.

  
 

 

  Kane Caves, Wyoming, link to research site in the
                 Department of Geological Sciences, University of
                 Texas at Austin      
                 - Abstracts
                 - Images from the Kane Caves
                 - PhD Dissertation Summary

 

  
 


 General - Geomicrobiology of Sulfidic Karst Systems 
                 - Masters thesis abstract, completed at the University
                   of Cincinnati, Department of Biological Sciences
                 - Proceedings Abstract from the Friends of Karst
                   Meeting (Karst Studies and Problems: 2000 and
                   Beyond), Cluj, Romania

 

          

 General - Geomicrobiology of Hot Springs -

El Tatio Geyser Field Project
Photo Galleries       
  • Piatra Altarului (Altar Cave), Romania - an absolutely beautiful cave I visited in 1998, in a fabulous karst region in the Apuseni Mountains.
       

Page last updated: 07/22/04