Extreme sports such as canyoneering have expanded greatly since the turn of the century yet little scientific attention has been paid to the analyses of the dangers of those activities. The author was much involved in promoting one such sport, namely canyoneering, and presents this paper as an example of the kind of fluids engineering analyses that are needed in order to objectively quantify those dangers and properly advise the participants. In canyoneering, the primary fluid-related sources of danger are the impact of falling water on the human body and the dangers a swimmer faces in a plunge pool. This paper presents rough evaluations of both dangers.
Issue Section:
Flows in Complex Systems
References
1.
Brennen
, C. E.
, 1996
, “Adventure Hikes and Canyoneering in the San Gabriels
,” Dankat Publishing, Pasadena, CA.2.
Brennen
, C. E.
, 1998
, “Adventure Hikes and Canyoneering in the Southwest
,” Dankat Publishing, Pasadena, CA.3.
Whipple
, K. X.
, Hancock
, G. S.
, and Anderson
, R. S.
, 2000
, “River Incision Into Bedrock: Mechanics and Relative Efficacy of Plucking, Abrasion, and Cavitation
,” Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.
, 112
(3
), pp. 490
–503
.4.
Soteras
, I.
, Subirats
, E.
, and Strapazzon
, G.
, 2015
, “Epidemiological and Medical Aspects of Canyoning Rescue Operations
,” Injury
, 46
(4
), pp. 585
–589
.5.
USBR
, 1997
, “Water Measurement Manual
,” U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D.C.6.
Chiarabini
, L.
, 2015
, personal communication.7.
Bennett
, S. J.
, and Alonso
, C. V.
, 2006
, “Turbulent Flow and Bed Pressure Within Headcut Scour Holes Due to Plane Reattached Jets
,” J. Hydraul. Res.
, 44
(4
), pp. 510
–521
.8.
Belknapp
, B.
, and Evans
, L. B.
, 1969
, Grand Canyon River Guide
, Westwater Books
, Evergreen, CO
.9.
Ghiglieri
, M. P.
, and Myers
, T. M.
, 2001
, Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon
, Puma Press
, Flagstaff, AZ
.10.
Fedarko
, K.
, 2013
, The Emerald Mile
, Scribner
, New York
.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.