Coring of the Texas Toothpick Speleothem in Carlsbad Caverns by Dr. Brooks Elwood, former faculty member in the UGA Department of Geology. Coring is useful to recover a record of speleothem growth without removing the entire speleothem (which would be impossible anyway in the case of this giant). A central vertical core would be better for paleoenvironmental research because it would sample a consistent part of the growing speleothem (its apex), but that too is impossible in the case of such a large speleothem.
This image is from Dr. Elwood's web page at Lousiana State University.
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