Into the Underworld: Patricia Beddows on Cave Diving, Science & Hidden Rivers

What happens when science, exploration, and cave diving come together beneath the surface of the Earth? 🌎🤿 In Episode 17 of Voices Beneath the Waves, host Stephanie Miele sits down with Patricia Beddows, renowned hydrogeologist, cave diver, educator, and member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Patricia’s work has taken her deep into the flooded cave systems of the Yucatán Peninsula, where hidden underground rivers hold critical clues about climate change, water resources, geology, and even some of the oldest human remains discovered in North America. From building open-source scientific tools through the Cave Pearl Project to helping democratize underwater science around the world, Patricia shares how curiosity, perseverance, and exploration can change both science and the way we understand our planet. 🌊 Episode Highlights 🕳️ Cave diving as scientific exploration 🌎 Hidden underground rivers and climate science 🔬 The Cave Pearl Project and citizen science initiatives 💧 Why karst systems matter to global drinking water supplies 📚 Education, mentorship, and creating access to science 🤿 The intersection of technical diving and discovery 📢 Get Involved Support the Women Divers Hall of Fame and help fund scholarships, grants, mentorship programs, and opportunities for the next generation of divers, scientists, and explorers. 💬 Join the Conversation If you could explore one hidden place beneath the surface of the Earth, where would it be? Let us know in the comments below! 👇 🔔 Follow & Stay Connected Follow Patricia Beddows: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.beddows.5 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-a-beddows-83ba435a/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricia_beddows/ Northwestern University Profile: https://www.deeps.northwestern.edu/our-people/faculty/beddows-patricia.html Women Divers Hall of Fame: https://www.wdhof.org/members/patricia-beddows-ph-d Cave Pearl Project: https://thecavepearlproject.org/ Follow Stephanie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-miele-68a604/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmiele/ SDI – Scuba Diving International: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scuba-diving-international-sdi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SDIdivers/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdidivers/ WDHOF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wdhof Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdhof LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wdhof https://www.wdhof.org/ 📍 Listen & Subscribe to Voices Beneath the Waves: 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/73cu8QZVAFfolpc21hPaYl 🍏 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/voices-beneath-the-waves/id1806336175 #VoicesBeneathTheWaves #PatriciaBeddows #CaveDiving #UnderwaterExploration #Hydrogeology #WomenDiversHallOfFame #WDHOF #TechnicalDiving #ScubaDiving #Cenotes #OceanScience #MarineScience #ClimateScience #OneDiveFamily #SDIdivers *Please note that translations in all of our materials are created by a process that utilizes translators in combination with automatically generated content. We make efforts to verify these translations, but we apologize for any inaccuracies in the words or phrases. We appreciate feedback and suggested edits to our materials. Please email us at Feedback@tdisdi.com with any comments.*