by Ardith Bravenec
Carlsbad Caverns
The workshop begins at Carlsbad Caverns, a natural wonder known for its extensive underground limestone caves. From the entrance gate in White City, the road to the Visitor Center stretches 11.3 km, climbing an elevation of approximately 230 meters, from 1117 meters to 1347 meters above sea level. Many visitors are unaware that this scenic drive takes them up and through an ancient limestone reef. This reef, primarily formed by sponges and algae, originated in a shallow marine basin ~280-240 million years ago during the Permian Period. Hidden beneath the Chihuahuan Desert surface are over 119 caves, formed from sulfuric acid dissolving limestone.

Workshop participants witnessed stunning speleothem formations. These intricate structures include primary speleothems made of calcite, along with impressive formations of gypsum and aragonite. Microbial communities, including bacteria found on speleothem surfaces, are now recognized as significant contributors to the formation of these cave structures, making them points of keen interest to astrobiology.
NASA scientist Heather Graham, an organic geochemist and expert in chemical biosignatures, played a key role in planning the workshop and delivered guest lectures. New Mexico Tech Prof. Dan Jones, a geomicrobiologist and biogeochemist specializing in microbial sulfur cycling and microbe-mineral interactions in cave systems, guided the tour.
White Sands: Dunes and Playa
Enormous, wave-like gypsum sand dunes cover 275 square miles of desert, forming the largest gypsum dune field on Earth. White Sands National Park protects a significant portion of this unique landscape, along with its diverse flora and fauna. Professors Jody Bourgeois and Brook Nunn, along with postdoc Ardith Bravenec from the University of Washington, led the field group, covering topics from geology and thermodynamics to astrobiology.
“I loved returning to some of my favorite sedimentary places like Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands and gaining new insights from astrobiologists,” said Prof. Jody Bourgeois. “White Sands is an excellent place to envision dune fields on Mars and other rocky planetary bodies. For a geologist like me, dunes are some of the coolest and most apparent features for teaching and learning about sedimentary processes and products. My favorite new experience was sending a small ‘Rover’ team out onto a playa to sample deposits, allowing us to interpret the findings with implications for early life.”

Sunspot and Apache Point Observatory
It was a delight to visit both the Sunspot Solar Observatory, a federally funded research and development center dedicated to advancing our understanding of the physics of the Sun, and Apache Point Observatory (APO). Founded in 1985 and operated by New Mexico State University, APO hosts the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a long-term collaborative project to survey the sky at optical and infrared wavelengths, of which UW Astronomy is a founding member.
David Wang, a graduate student with a dual title in Astronomy and Astrobiology, remarked on the visit, “Most of the time, the telescopes at APO use imagers and spectrographs to take data; however, we had the rare opportunity to put an eyepiece on the 3.5m telescope and look at variety of deep space and solar system objects. I especially enjoyed being able to show Enceladus and Europa to some of the astrobiologists from other departments who study icy moons!”

The Very Large Array (VLA)
Last but not least, the workshop concluded with a tour of the Very Large Array Radio Telescope facility (VLA). This iconic astronomy observatory features 27 massive antennas arranged in a Y-shaped configuration, providing participants with an unforgettable glimpse into the cutting-edge research and awe-inspiring technology used to explore the universe.
“Given that Contact is my all-time favorite book about science and faith, I was thrilled to get a tour of the Very Large Array,” said Prof. Jody Bourgeois.

This workshop has been an incredible journey through some of the most fascinating geological and astronomical sites. It’s been a pleasure to see the participants so engaged and inspired by the blend of field trips, tours, and lectures spanning multiple disciplines. Thank you to all the workshop participants, organizers, and observatory and park staff for an unforgettable time! Images courtesy of workshop participants.
Workshop leaders, organizers, and guest lecturers: Prof. Brook Nunn, Prof. Jody Bourgeois, Dr. Ardith Bravenec, graduate student David Wang, Dr. Heather Graham, Dr. Dan Jones, Prof. Roger Buick.