Manatee Springs Run 1:Main Tunnel to Blue Water Tunnel

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.