Expedition Name (& Club): Djebel Serdij - Tunisia 2011 (ICCC)

Destination country: Tunisia
Region: Djebel Serdj

Lat: 35.9367 Long: 9.5497 Elevation: 1327 m
MEF funding: none

Leader: Clare Tan

Brief Expedition objectives:

List a short summary of the main Expedition objectives.

Main aim is to locate, explore and survey new caves and passages around Djebel Serdj (elevation 1327m, in the Silyanah region) in Northern Tunisia. Dripwater samples in caves will also be collected for Dr Michael Rogerson, as part of his research on the North African climate. This will also be a good opportunity for relatively new expedtioneers to gain valuable experience, and to establish contacts and exchange ideas with the Tunisian caving community.

How can the GPF support your Expedition?:

Please explain the aspects of the trip which make it eligible for Ghar Parau funding.

Despite it's karstic potential, there have been very few expeditions (mostly French) to Tunisia, and virtually no British ones at all. Consultation with Ms Mary Wilde at the BCRA library yielded no information at all on caving in Tunisia. Therefore, the team feels that our findings will be a valuable addition to the collective information on overseas caving in the UK. Also, while there is a group of mostly young, very keen cavers in Tunisia, they lack the relevant expertise, techniques, equipment and experience to explore deep cave systems. (This is especially the case with CRESS Siliana; Zaghouan is comparatively more experienced, though still not to the level of European caving clubs.) Because the team will be working closely with local cavers on the expedition, it is hoped that a transfer of ideas and skills will take place, and both groups will encourage each other to aspire to greater heights in caving. The motivation for this planned expedition is very much fuelled by the enthusiasm for foreign exploration generated by the club’s activity in Slovenia. The success of ICCC’s exploration in the area can be seen here: http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/slovenia/intro/slov_intro.php From our past expeditions the club's dedication and seriousness to cave exploration is evident. The less experienced are always pushed to their full potential by the more seasoned members and the result is a constant high level of expedition caving. This expedition is very much a natural consequence of that ethos. As can be seen from the expedition personnel, our most experienced member is Jarvist, who has been caving for 8 years and is a seasoned expedition caver. On the other hand, the other members have only been caving for 2-3 years (though all are regulars on weekend trips, well-practiced at UK caving and most have joined the club on the annual exploration to Slovenia, pushing and surveying cave to depths of -600m). It is hoped that this expedition will provide the newer members with valuable experience of organising their own expedition, and bring about increased levels of caving, bolting and rigging expertise and medical training. To this end, cave rescue training and first aid training weekends have been organised (and budgeted for, which goes some way to explaining the high expenditure cost). The team feels that this expedition is a great way to ensure that the newer generation of cavers maintain their enthusiasm for exploration caving, and that they acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to proceed on to the next level in our sport. It is worth noting that the expedition has received preliminary approval from the Imperial College Exploration Board, and as such will be fully sanctioned as an expedition by the university. With regard to the current political unrest in Tunisia, it is hoped that the situation will have calmed down enough by September 2011 for safe travel. Furthermore, since the majority of our time will be spent in rural areas and in the mountains it should not effect our expedition too severely. However, safety of expedition members is paramount, so should Tunisian travel still be ill-advised by September the team has identified Morocco as a suitable back-up destination. The choice of Morocco was largely motivated by ICCC's previous successful expeditions to the area in 1999 and 2001 (details at http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rcc/caving/morocco/expo2001/report.php). Morocco will provide ample opportunities for cave exploration, and much of our current proposal/plan is portable as the caving terrain and expedition logistics is expected to be very similar. The science case is transferable as well. This contingency plan has also been discussed with and approved by the IC Exploration Board.

Detailed description of objectives:

Give a more detailed account of the purpose of the trip, including any particular known caves you intend to visit, specific areas where you will explore for new cave, and scientific experiments you will attempt.

Camp will be established in the mountains near the village of Ain Boussaadia (N 36° 2' 57.00", E 9° 38' 19.32"), as correspondence with local cavers has suggested that this is an area with one of the most karstic potential for cave development. We will be in the field for a total of 14 days. The plan is to do some surface bashing in the immediate vicinity of the camp, as well as to descend and explore unpushed leads in known cave entrances, with the help of and information from local caving groups we are in contact with (Speleoclub Zaghouan and CRESS Siliana). Greatest emphasis will be placed on exploration, with survey to BCRA Grade 5B and publication of any notable finds. (Reports and surveys will be published in university newspapers, on the club's website, and if our finds are significant a talk will be given at the next Hidden Earth and articles will be written for Descent and Speleology publications.) The team will also support a research project to study the North African climate and 'Green Sahara' phases, led by Dr Michael Rogerson (his research is also supported by the RGS, Tunisian Geological Survey, and Tunisian Ministry of Mines). Dr Rogerson's research is unique in that it is one of the pioneering projects in which cave science plays a significant role. Speleotherms are one of the most important archives to the study of past climatic change, due to the exceptional precision and accuracy with which stalagmite calcite can be dated using U-Th disequilibrium geochronology and the fact that the chemistry of stalagmite calcite mainly reflects the composition of the drip supplying water to the site. In a similar vein, dripwater in caves provide an extremely useful method of recording current climate conditions. Our role in Dr Rogerson's research is to collect drip water samples found in the caves, providing some basic knowledge on which he can build a systematic and rigorous sampling campaign. Currently, there is a conspicuous absence of any sort of drip water or speleotherm samples from the region in the scientific community, and as such any contribution from the team would be akin to “gold dust” for the researchers. In addition, any new caves or passages discovered by the team may also yield more drip water sampling sites that are suitable for Dr Rogerson's research purposes.

Previous work in this area:

Give details of any previous work in this area by your own and other teams. Include references to reports and articles published on the area, and the names of any local cavers or academics with whom you have discussed the Expedition.

Dr Rogerson recently visited Tunisia on a 12-day reconnaissance trip in December 2010. This was an exceptionally fruitful trip, as he met up with many of the local cavers and authorities in the Ministry of Mines, and was able to clarify any logistical doubts we may have had. Largely because of Dr Rogerson's December trip, Mr Moez Mansoura at the Ministry of Mines is now fully aware of the team's plans, and we have his complete support. He will provide the team with all the necessary permits, as well as help with the freighting the collected drip water samples back to the UK. Dr Rogerson also met with many of the Tunisian cavers we were in contact with through emails, which helped cement relations between the teams further. The Tunisian cavers, while not as well-equipped or experienced, are extremely keen and enthusiastic to progress the sport in their country. Therefore, they very much welcome our presence and are very interested in joint expeditions. This also means that the team will have the benefit of local knowledge, and this should help reduce the time spent searching for entrances.