John Alan Glennon
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
and explorer. His work has been mapping and describing caves and geysers.
Caves
In 1996, Glennon and Jon Jasper discovered an entrance to the Martin Ridge Cave SystemMartin Ridge Cave System
The Martin Ridge Cave System is a large cave near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. The system, composed of the interconnected Whigpistle, Martin Ridge, and Jackpot Caves, has been mapped to over , and is currently the United States' eleventh longest cave.-Discovery:...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and explored connections to nearby Jackpot and Whigpistle Caves (Groves, C.G. 1998). The combined cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
system is 51 kilometres (31.7 mi) long (Gulden, B. 2005). The cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
is hydrologically connected to Mammoth Cave---the world's longest cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
(Quinlan J.F. and Ray, J. 1989). Glennon also was involved in the discovery of one of the largest cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
chambers in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
(Yonker, R. 2003).
Geysers
In 2002, Glennon led an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
expedition to El Tatio
El Tatio
thumb|A geyser bubbling at El Tatio geyser fieldEl Tatio is a geyser field located within the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above mean sea level. Contrary to some reports, it is not the highest-elevation geyser field in the world. Puchuldiza Geyser Field, Chile, and possibly...
Geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
Field, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. The team produced the first comprehensive inventory and description of the geysers' behaviors. The resulting report concluded that the site was the world's third largest geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
field (Glennon, J.A. and Pfaff, R.M. 2003).
Hoffman Environmental Research Institute (HERI)
With Dr. Chris GrovesCave Research Foundation
The Cave Research Foundation is an American private, non-profit group dedicated to the exploration, research, and conservation of caves. The group arose in the early 1950s from the exploration efforts at Floyd Collins Crystal Cave, now within Mammoth Cave National Park...
, president of the Cave Research Foundation (2004-2006), Glennon cofounded HERI in 1999. The Institute's mission is to study the environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and geologic aspects of caves and karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
landscapes. Headquartered at Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
, HERI's major scientific focus has been on the karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
issues of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Background
Glennon is a geographyGeography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
of Dr. Michael Frank Goodchild
Michael Frank Goodchild
Michael Frank Goodchild is a British-American geographer. He is currently a professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara...
at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. Goodchild is a pioneer in Geographic Information Science
Geographic Information Science
Geographic information science is the academic theory behind the development, use, and application of geographic information systems...
and discoverer of Castleguard Cave
Castleguard Cave
Castleguard Cave is a limestone cave located at the north end of Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With 20,357m of surveyed passages , it is Canada's longest cave, and its fifth deepest at 384m...
, Canada's longest cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
. Glennon received a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Geoscience from Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
, 2001, and Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Park Administration from Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, 1994.
Works authored
- Glennon, J.A., Pfaff, R.M. (2005). The operation and geography of carbon-dioxide-driven, cold-water geysers, GOSA Transactions, vol. 9, pp. 184-192.
- Glennon, J.A., Pfaff, R.M. (2003). The extraordinary thermal activity of El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile, GOSA Transactions, vol 8. pp. 31-78.
- Glennon, J.A. (2001). Application of Morphometric Relationships to Active Flow Networks within the Mammoth Cave Watershed, M.Sc. Thesis, Bowling Green: Western Kentucky University, 87 p (includes a description of the discovery of Martin Ridge Cave).
- Gulden, B. (2005). USA longest caves. National Speleological Society GEO2 Committee. (web).
- Groves C.G. (1998). The Martin Ridge Cave System, Cave Research Foundation Newsletter.
- Quinlan, J. F. and Ray, J. (1989). Map of groundwater basins, surface drainage, major caves, flow routes, the potentiometric surface, and an index to the topographic maps in the Mammoth Cave Region south of the Green River, 2nd edition. Friends of the Karst, Mammoth Cave, KY.
Articles
- Associated Press: Cave Passage Explored
- Kentucky Living Magazine: Underground Rock Stars
- Western Scholar Magazine: Underworld Explorer