On March 14th we would be redeploying a station. This was because the former station in that region yielded data that was much too noisy to use. While this was a little annoying, it is also the only site we have had to do this for thus far, which is a really encouraging sign. Given that the last site in this area was a bust, I would be running a test run at this site to ensure history wouldn’t repeat itself. The other team had scouted this site, so we all made the drive together, in caravan formation, and then split up once we arrived. The other team of Samer, Gabriel, and Kennet would be making the treacherous journey down to Arío, which is where the truck got stuck just a day prior. We were nervous for them but knew it was a job that needed to be done.
We finished our installation as quickly as possible because today it was not only sweltering hot but also extremely humid because of the imminent rain showers. Today was another race against the storm clouds, we would finish this installment and rush over to Hojancha for the recovery of our semi-permanent site (the one with the gorgeous tree). After the installation and test run, we did just that, the drive would be an hour and the rain looked like it was moving quickly. The long bumpy dirt road to the permanent site would become an easy place for us to get stuck in mud if the rain beat us there. After yesterday’s events where Samer, Gabriel, and Alexa were struggling to get out of the mud for 3+ hours, we had a heightened fear of repeating history.
Unlucky for us, we were just about tied with the clouds, and as soon as we arrived, thunder rumbled through the sky.
We recovered in record time motivated by the fear of getting stuck or struck by lightning. We rocketed back down the bumpy dirt road, setting a record for the fastest drive made by our fieldwork party.
In celebration of no one getting stuck, we ended this day with a stop at Pops for some ice cream treats, which has quickly become a team favorite, and even got to enjoy a gorgeous sunset!
Progress after March 14th:
On March 15th we would be splitting into a team of three and a team of two; Kennet had some work to get done but we devised a plan to manage without him. Each team would deploy one station, while the team of three would be recovering one as well. Then we would all reunite to deploy a third station together. Gabriel and Samer headed to install one station and Alexa, Oliver, and Anna did the same for the other station. Thanks to Alexa’s handy work getting us permission the night prior, the landowner of our deployment site generously allowed us to deploy anywhere on his large property.
Next, we headed to recover the site we deployed in Vigia on the day we changed hotels, this had lots of gates, but we managed to finish up and head back to the hotel by 2 pm.
After reuniting with Samer and Gabriel, the five of us ate a quick lunch and then drove off to our last deployment of the day, which would be done as one team. This deployment was an interesting one, we had to trek through a field of tall grass to reach a flat area where the ground was grey and cracking. To top off this eerie scene, the storm clouds were rolling in fast, and as soon as the first hole was dug we started to hear thunder. This meant we had to hurry.
The looming storm made this deployment a little bit of a stressful one. Once we finished the installation (or so we thought), most of the team headed back to the car while Samer and Alexa checked the resistance values on the electrodes. We do this at every site to ensure that the receiver is working properly and that every sensor is properly connected and recording signal. At this station, it’s a good thing we checked because one of the electrodes had really high resistance, indicating an issue with its connection. Samer isolated the problem to the west electrode and/or its cable. After around 20 minutes of troubleshooting in the rain, it turned out that the issue was with the cable. We replaced the cable and were finally on our way. This was a long day for both teams and after dinner, we quickly headed to bed.
Progress after March 15th:
