
What is dead air? : r/Urbex - Reddit
Oct 27, 2023 · Another scare in mines/caves is that gas bubbles can build up underwater and something like throwing a rock in an underground reservoir can release them, instantly displacing all the breathable air in the area.
What is Dead Air Underground? A Hidden Danger for Explorers
Dead air underground can occur in various places, such as mines, caves, tunnels, shafts, or abandoned buildings. These places may have limited or no openings to the outside, which prevents fresh air from entering and stale air from escaping.
oxygen and breathing. : r/caving - Reddit
Jul 29, 2023 · From my understanding bad air is not extremely common in caves. When in doubt though, stay out. I've never been in a cave that doesn't breathe, and most of them have surface water coming in. Large parties have spent weeks at a time in distant corners of mammoth and been fine on air.
Bad Air - and You - National Speleological Society
In the majority of cases, if a person has any of the symptoms of elevated carbon dioxide levels, a simple naked flame test will fail to ignite. This is a sure sign of foul air and it is time to get out. Carbon dioxide when treated with respect is no worse than the other dangers in caves.
How does natural air circulation in deep caves work? : r/caving - Reddit
Elevation is the big driver in a cave's ability to breath. The large caves of the Eastern Highland Rim in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia only have a thousand feet or so of elevation at most. In the winter, they pull air from their lower entrances, warm it, and blow from their upper entrances.
Cave Ventilation Systems: Airflow in Subterranean Spaces Explained
Cave ventilation systems work by creating a flow of air within the cave to maintain air quality and remove harmful gases. The most common driver of airflow in caves is the density difference between the subsurface and the outside air, known as the chimney effect.
Caving and the dangers of Foul Air(Bad Air) - Pioneer Walks
Foul air (also known as Bad Air) is the lesser known, not as often considered danger of caving. Foul air is a build up of carbon dioxide to a concentration of above 1% of the air (The normal makeup of carbon dioxide in the air is roughly 0.2%).
Many have debated the sources of bad air in caves. Caves that flood may have 02 depletion and C02 production from bacterial digestion of organic matter . In Texas there are some karst areas that commonly have bad air, but little flooding .
Foul air, sometimes called ‘bad air’, is an atmosphere which has a noticeable, abnormal physiological effect on humans. In limestone caves, foul air can be described as air containing more than 0.5% carbon dioxide (CO 2) and/or less than 18% oxygen (O 2) by volume. As a comparison, normal air contains approxi-mately 0.03% CO 2 and 21% O 2 ...
Bad air in Mexican caves and how to deal with it
An inexpensive butane lighter can indicate the underground presence of invisible, odorless, carbon dioxide and can help cave visitors avoid death by asphyxiation. Many years ago I had a chat with Dr. Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International.