Woodville Karst Plain Project
The Woodville Karst Plain Project or WKPP, is a research and exploration group established in the mid 1980's to map the cave systems underlying the Woodville Karst Plain, a 450 square mile area that runs from Tallahassee, Florida, USA to the Gulf of Mexico and includes countless first magnitude springs, including Wakulla Springs, and the Leon Sinks Cave System, the longest underwater cave in the United States.
WKPP is the only organization allowed to dive these caves, which are all on State, Federal, or private land, due to the extreme nature of the systems and the discipline required to safely explore them. This has been a controversial issue at times, as many people think these caves should be open to the public.
The technology developed by the WKPP, from diver propulsion to decompression has become the basis for much of what is now done in military and scientific diving. WKPP divers hold every distance record in underwater cave diving. WKPP director George Irvine and his partner, Jarrod Jablonski hold the world's record for the greatest distance from air in a cave dive - 19,000 feet each way.
It is notable for its part in the development cave diving techniques, the DIR method of scuba diving (which is the basis for the teaching methodology of Global Underwater Explorers) and the use of the Halcyon rebreather.
The data gathered by WKPP divers has allowed planners a better definition of what to expect from the underground aquifer system and how best to handle issues relating to such things as surface water runoff and other nonpoint source pollution issues. WKPP mapping has resulted in the State of Florida and the US Dept of Agriculture establishing a "greenway" surrounding the Leon Sinks cave system and a "protection zone" for Wakulla Springs State Park, as well as numerous improvements in water management district operations, DOT road building, and development planning.
External links
- http://www.wkpp.org/, website of the WKPP.
- http://www.halcyon.net/, the Halcyon rebreather