Submitted by Julie Horner on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences…
This past week, we visited Grotta Gigante, a cave in northern Italy with the largest single chamber in the world. Some of the most impressive features were the stalagmites and stalactites in the cave that were often colored white by the calcium carbonate on the tops and bottoms of the formations. This white coating on some of them were evidence that they were in fact still growing and provided useful information in estimating how old each formation was. Along with these formations, we also saw many UV lights placed in various locations throughout the cave that were used to kill some of the greenery that would grow from the artificial lights being placed in the caves for tourists. Most of this information was given to us by the guide that led us through the cave.