Boots on the ground

Had the best sleep!  Thank goodness for the tents!

Thomas and I started out the morning doing our best but still missing the mark in making a data dictionary.  We were really lacking a good mentor, Dr. Becker’s absence was noted.  I started panicking when everyone was speaking with the TA’s and instructors about their dictionaries and getting advice, but no one was checking in or helping us.  I decided to inquire of TA Scott.  What a blessing he was.  He even had a geologic map of the area.  It was starting to feel strange not having been given any topo maps to be able to orient ourselves, I wonder if geographers don’t use topo maps like geologists…  I searched USGS as well as other websites with no luck.  Scott pulled through in that arena too, having a PDF topo map of the area.

Thomas, Scott and I were able to really technical a plan, and our data dictionary took a turn in a different direction. We are mostly mapping contacts of two different types of alluvium.  The older consists of a clay rich soil, which may be a reason for surface water seen.  The younger alluvium is not clay rich and very friable/porous, which may be where water disappears.  We now plan on mapping/walking the contact.  After doing this we may be able to see if there is a pattern between soil type and water at the surface!

However our day started with a fantastic hike up to a canyon where we believe we found a taro terrace, a century old well, and BEAUTIFUL views.  How lucky we are to be working here.  As we walked down to our stream/contact spot, we found further terraces evenly spaced down the hill and running up the valley at nearly the same elevation.  Would be FANTASTIC to analyze these features on LiDAR.  The project I want to do!

Plenty to do but looking forward to tomorrow.