Speleonaut Explained
Speleonaut (named from the
Greek words for "cave" and "sailor") is the
submersible used by the cave diver
Jochen Hasenmayer. After the 1989
decompression accident that left his legs paralyzed, Hasenmayer designed the
Speleonaut with his friend
Konrad Gehringer in order to continue exploring the
Blauhöhle cave system, which begins at the base of the
Blautopf spring in the
Swabian Jura mountain range. The
Speleonaut is wide and has nine engines, making it easy to maneuver in all directions. It is the first
submarine designed specifically for the exploration of caves.
[1] According to Hasenmayer, the
Speleonaut has been tested in
Lake Constance to a depth of and has a design limit of .
The Speleonaut was first used at the Blautopf in 1996.[1] [2] [3] In 2001 Hasenmayer reached the Mörikedom ("Mörike cathedral") chamber of the Blauhöhle, which he had discovered in 1985, in the Speleonaut. In 2004 he reached a point beyond the Mörikedom into the mountain. In the same year he discovered two more large chambers in the Blauhöhle: the Mittelschiff (or "nave") and the Äonendom.[4]
External links
Notes and References
- News: Der Mann im Blautopf. The man in the Blautopf. Schnabel. Ulrich. Die Zeit. 10. 1 March 1996. German. 26 July 2013.
- Geologie: Auf Den Grund Gegangen. Geology: Gone to Ground. Hasenmayer. Jochen. Jochen Hasenmayer. Focus. 13. 25 March 1996. German. 26 July 2013.
- Web site: A short History of Cave Diving in Germany. https://web.archive.org/web/20120323193910/http://cave.lawo.de/jbohnert/history.htm. 23 March 2012. 26 July 2013.
- Web site: Tiefenrausch - Manuskript zur Sendung. Raabe. Kristin. 12 February 2012. Deutschlandradio. German. 26 July 2013.
