From rhinoceros caves to neanderthal drawings, enslaved tour guides to former ritual sites, a new geological sciences course is going to cover all things “cave.” Coming in Fall 2025, GEO 106, The Science of Caves, is a course that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of caves while also satisfying a core curriculum requirement.  

“We’re going to do anthropology, history, geology, chemistry, climate science,” said Hazel Barton, the Loper Endowed Professor of Geological Sciences and instructor of the course. “We’re going to do a little bit of everything so students can really get an idea of how integrated science is becoming.” 

Barton will teach the interdisciplinary course, inviting many experts of caves, history, anthropology and other disciplines to give guest lectures. Topics will range from how caves are formed, the types of rocks that form caves, the people who interact with caves and environments analogous to caves, among others. 

Barton’s cave research has taken her to all seven continents as she studies photosynthesis, antibiotic resistance, nylon recycling and other subjects in caves that have environments analogous to planets, exoplanets and moons. One of her projects, an investigation into the workings of Wind Cave in South Dakota, brings light to how manganese could allow life to thrive on Jupiter’s moon Europa.  

“We’re really interested in the basics of how microbes make a living in a cave and how that living changes the cave environment in ways that we can observe and detect,” Barton said. “By understanding those changes, how can we apply that to other problems: nylon recycling, carbon sequestration, even just understanding life on other planets.” 

Outside of academics and research, Barton is also the advisor for the Cave Appreciation Club, an organization that introduces UA students to caving. Max Koether, club president and second-year PhD student in Barton’s geomicrobiology lab, said cavers throughout the world seek Alabama caves.  

“This area here, in the Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia area, is world famous for its caves,” Koether said. “I have caving friends in England and Malaysia who would travel here just to go caving for a week or two. When our lab moved here with Dr. Barton this year, it felt like such a missed opportunity to not expose young bright minds to all the great cave opportunities that are available in this area, so we kicked off the cave club.” 

Barton said this is not a new concept; other colleges and universities have popular caving clubs and famous cave explorers. For a state with as many caves as Alabama, Barton said she was shocked there weren’t any caving opportunities.  

“We’re hoping, given how many caves there are in Alabama, that we can launch that [the club] and grow some of our own famous explorers here,” Barton said. 

Want to submit a story idea? Email Abby McCreary at admccreary@ua.edu