Wanderlust1985
Registered
Hello all
I'm currently in Playa del Carmen and have just dived the pit, first time since 2009.
Sadly something appears to have happened to it. Visibility below about 25 metres is very poor and it's not caused the by the hydrogen sulphide cloud, it's a sediment cloud that appears to have originated deep in the cave system. Vis is bad from 25m and stays bad the deeper you go.
I wanted to create this thread to find out if anyone knows more and updates can be posted as the come to hand.
According to my guide, the issue started about a month ago and scientists are working to figure out what has happened. The current working theory is that there was an unground collapse that has silted up the deep sections while leaving the shallow sections relatively unaffected.
Two other questions I had for those that know. Does the sunlight ever hit the hydrogen sulphide layer at this time of year (early mid April). We got in the water 1pm as we'd been a bit slow as a big group and the light was already hitting the cave wall rather than the bottom. Would things be better earlier in the morning or do I just need to come back in July?
Also, the halocline seemed a lot wider and messier than I remember. Could this be a product of being last in the water for the day and the other divers have messed it up? Or is that not a big factor?
Thanks for any info
I'm currently in Playa del Carmen and have just dived the pit, first time since 2009.
Sadly something appears to have happened to it. Visibility below about 25 metres is very poor and it's not caused the by the hydrogen sulphide cloud, it's a sediment cloud that appears to have originated deep in the cave system. Vis is bad from 25m and stays bad the deeper you go.
I wanted to create this thread to find out if anyone knows more and updates can be posted as the come to hand.
According to my guide, the issue started about a month ago and scientists are working to figure out what has happened. The current working theory is that there was an unground collapse that has silted up the deep sections while leaving the shallow sections relatively unaffected.
Two other questions I had for those that know. Does the sunlight ever hit the hydrogen sulphide layer at this time of year (early mid April). We got in the water 1pm as we'd been a bit slow as a big group and the light was already hitting the cave wall rather than the bottom. Would things be better earlier in the morning or do I just need to come back in July?
Also, the halocline seemed a lot wider and messier than I remember. Could this be a product of being last in the water for the day and the other divers have messed it up? Or is that not a big factor?
Thanks for any info
