ABSTRACT:

This resource contains YSI EXO3 datasonde data (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity) obtained during a cave dive from Catfish Hotel Sink to and into the Blue Water Tunnel in the cave system of Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA.

Manatee run 1 narrative
KUR divers Lea Johnson and Joerg Hess met at 8 am at Manatee springs State Park, both divers had closed circuit rebreathers (CCRs) and Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs). The team towed a datasonde to record water quality metrics including pH, specific conductance and dissolved oxygen. The divers started at Catfish Hotel, traversed the main passage to the Blue Water tunnel. Total dive time was 150 minutes with a maximum depth of 100 ft and an approximate maximum penetration of 6000 linear feet from the Catfish Basin. The team was offsite by 2 pm.
Conditions were very typical of the spring at the time of the dive. Gauge height was 1.95 ft and flow rate was 165 cut ft/s. The USGS Suwanee River gauge shows that these metrics have been steady for several weeks, therefore the recorded data provides a reasonable baseline for normal conditions of this spring.
Visibility in the cave was ~20 ft. As is normal for this system, considerable small to moderate particulate was observed in the passage prior to the Sewer Tunnel and Friedman’s Sink. Particulate decreased and visibility increased gradually in the main passage, improving more and more as divers progressed into the system. Flow was moderately high, making the use of scooters imperative for reaching the dive objectives.
After 40 minutes of scootering and 4400 ft of travel, the dive team reached the Blue Water Tunnel near the site of the permanent water monitoring station. True to its name, this tunnel nearly always has notably better water clarity than the main passage. The passage walls and ceiling were heavily sculpted yellow limestone. The floor varied between stretches of sand and clay, similar to the main passage, but much smaller. The team spent 45 minutes in this passage before returning to the main line.
The team then progressed for another 10 minutes up the main passage before turning around and exiting the cave system. The dive ended with a short 20 minute decompression stop.
Interesting that the specific conductivity is somewhat higher than we see at other north Florida sites and even Weeki Wachee (which is around 360 uS/cm). The dive team noted that this is consistent with the observation that scuba cylinders left in Manatee corrode quickly.

ABSTRACT:

On 8/23/2025, KUR divers Lea Johnson and Sterling McMahon completed a 200-minute dive into the cave system at Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, FL, USA. Penetrating 5000 feet into the cave, divers recorded water temperature, pH, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen in real time using a YSI EXO3 datasonde, as well as collecting water samples from predetermined locations along the route for lab analysis of nitrate and others. Grab samples (500ml Nalgene bottles) were taken upstream of Sue Sink on the main line (#7, 13 minutes)), between the Milk Tunnel and the Blue Water Tunnel on the main line (#8,33 minutes ), downstream of the Fissure (#9, 72 minutes), and inside of the Sewer Tunnel (#2, 124 minutes). Sample numbers correspond to markers placed on the dive guideline and noted on the resource map, dive time given to synchronize with the real-time datasonde data.

ABSTRACT:

This is a series of data-collection dives taking place in the cave system of Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA between 7/20/2025 and 01/04/2026. Karst Underwater Research (KUR) cave divers swam the main conduit and each of the major tributary tunnels with a YSI EXO3 datasonde collecting real-time pH, temperature, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen data. Water grab samples were taken for analysis of nitrate and others at 11 locations marked on the KUR Manatee Springs Cave Map. Samples of biofilms and sediments were also taken from 2 locations for microbial analyses.

ABSTRACT:

On 9/21/2025, KUR divers Lea Johnson, Wes Farley and Shawn Blakeslee conducted a cave dive to more than 10,000 linear ft in penetration into the cave system at Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA. This dive was part of an ongoing collection of samples in the system to observe water quality parameters at different areas of the cave. Divers towed a YSI EXO3 datasonde, recording water temperature, pH, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen in real time throughout the dive. Grab samples of water (500ml Nalgene) were taken at predetermined locations in the cave, including the far upstream source tunnels, the Spring Tunnel (sample #6), the Snow Tunnel (sample #4) and also the Syphon Tunnel (sample #5), as indicated on the Manatee Cave System map. Sample numbers, corresponding markers placed on the dive guideline, and dive times are given to synchronize with the real-time datasonde data.

ABSTRACT:

On 10/11/2025 two Karst Underwater Research divers gathered data from the Milk Tunnel in the cave system of Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA. KUR divers Ken Sallot and Josh Lange ran the YSI EXO3 datasonde into the Milk Tunnel approximately 1400 feet from the main conduit.The datasonde measured water temperature, pH, specific conductivity and dissolved oxygen throughout the dive. A marker (REM) was left at the location that the team turned to return to the main tunnel. After exiting the milk tunnel the dive team continued upstream to the fracture (fissure) a karst feature approx. 4500 ft penetration upstream from Friedmans Sink then returned to exit at Catfish Hotel Sink..Total dive runtime was 190 minutes, a dive computer download along with timestamp information to help synchronize the datasonde data with various parts of the cave are included.

ABSTRACT:

These data pertain to a cave dive in the cave system of Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA made on November 22nd 2025 with the aim of sampling a vent (seep) identified on the right hand wall of the main cave conduit approximately 1300ft upstream of Friedman's Sink. Ten 50ml sterile syringes were used to collect water from inside the vent. A 500ml nalgene bottle was used to collect water from the main conduit approximately 30ft upstream of the vent.

ABSTRACT:

These data pertain to a cave dive in the cave system of Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida, USA made on October 29th 2025 with the aim of sampling a vent (seep) identified on the right hand wall of the main cave conduit approximately 1300ft upstream of Friedman's Sink. Six 50ml sterile syringes were used to collect water from inside the vent, a dark grey biofilm and underlying sediment was collected into sterile 50ml centrifuge tubes.. A 500ml nalgene bottle was used to collect water from the main conduit approximately 30ft upstream of the vent and samples of normal-appearing sediment were collected from the same location.

ABSTRACT:

This resource contains a summary of Nitrate-N results obtained from gab samples from cave dives at Manatee Springs State Park. Sample numbers correspond to locations on the resource cave map.

ABSTRACT:

A cave dive performed on 15 April 2025, from Fogarty Sink in the lower section of Lafayette Blue Springs cave system with a diver carrying an EXO2 data sonde measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and pH. Two water grab samples were also taken.

ABSTRACT:

Data from multiple cave dives and surface sampling in the sinkholes and cave system of Lafayette Blue Springs State Park, Lafayette County, Florida, USA. Cave divers utilized an EXO2 datasonde, measuring depth, time, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductivity as well as obtaining water grab samples.

ABSTRACT:

A cave dive on 22 April 2025 from Manor Sink in the east section of the Lafayette Blue Springs system with a diver carrying a YSI EXO2 datasonde, measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and pH. Two water grab samples were also taken.

ABSTRACT:

A cave dive on 22 April 2025 from Green Sink in the north section of the Lafayette Blue Springs system with a diver carrying a YSI EXO2 datasonde, measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and pH. A water grab sample was also taken.

ABSTRACT:

A cave dive on 16 April 2025 from Fogarty Sink in the South section of the Lafayette Blue Springs system with a diver carrying a YSI EXO2 datasonde, measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and pH. Two water grab samples were also taken.

ABSTRACT:

A cave dive performed on 14 April 2025, from Vengeance Sink in the middle section of Lafayette Blue Springs cave system with a diver carrying an EXO2 data sonde measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and pH. Two water grab samples were also taken.

ABSTRACT:

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) funded grant AT024 that provided resources to Sunfish Inc and the University of South Florida (USF) to comprehensively study the cave system associated with Lafayette Blue Springs (LBS) which drains the highly productive, karstic Floridan Aquifer System (FAS). The project consisted of two primary components. The first was to use the Sunfish Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to map the location, geometry, and water quality of the cave system that supplies water to LBS. The conduit location information can be used to understand land use connections that contribute to water quality changes while the water quality and conduit geometry can be used in groundwater models to understand groundwater flow and solute transport dynamics. The second component was led by USF and utilized the high-resolution nitrate, specific conductivity, and temperature data collected by Sunfish AUV to identify areas of the cave system where more detailed geochemistry would be collected by scientific divers. The detailed geochemistry was used to more precisely inform pollution sources and identify controls on water quality variability across the LBS cave system.
The physical and geochemical data collected at LBS for this project provides results that can be directly used in water resource decision making and the development of detailed groundwater flow and solute transport models. The water quality mapping by SUNFISH AUV, water quality sampling from scientific diving, and geochemical analyses provided insight on the controls on nitrate variability within the cave system and subsequent geochemical analysis identified markers on the landscape contributing to groundwater contamination. Furthermore, the Sun SUNFISH AUV water quality mapping highlights the
utility in high spatial resolution water quality data collection that cannot be captured by discrete sampling from scientific diving alone. The physical conduit data can be used to not only understand land use influences on LBS, but also to develop a groundwater model to identify contamination storage and transport timescales, which is much needed for this impaired system. The groundwater model can also be used to test remediation strategies including turning off the nitrate source and quantifying timescales to improve water quality at LBS. Coupled robotic technology and scientific diving efforts to explore cave systems in the FAS can more precisely inform management of targeted land use remediation, and these results collectively highlight the need to know the location and geochemical characteristics of the cave systems that support critical spring ecosystems

ABSTRACT:

On Sunday 01-04-2026 as part of our collaboration with Dr. Patricia Spellman (Department of Geosciences, University of South Florida), two Karst Underwater Research (KUR) cave divers gathered data from the main conduit, Snow tunnel, and Spring tunnel of the cave system in Manatee Springs State Park, Levy County, Florida USA. Divers Ken Sallot and Josh Lange entered at Catfish Hotel sink and used diver propulsion vehicles to run a YSI EXO3 datasonde along the main cave line and into the Snow tunnel and then Spring tunnel, approximately 10,000 feet upstream in the main conduit. The datasonde measured water temperature, pH, specific conductivity and dissolved oxygen throughout the dive. Divers verified the location of the 11 sample locations that will be used in this project and updated the cave system map accordingly. Divers returned via the same route and exited at Catfish Hotel Sink.. Total dive runtime was 227 minutes. Timestamp information is included to help synchronize the datasonde data with various locations in the cave are included.