Tic Tock...I leave soon... DIC DOC ...DIC DOC?? IGF? What? La Selva, Costa Rica
Once in a Lifetime Thanks for the lyrics, Talking Heads
"And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here? "
This trip has been a long time coming. In fact, I can still picture sitting in the BASC lab one night (well actually it looked like daytime, because the sun was out) in Barrow, AK when Dr. Steve Oberbauer and I planned this trip during the summer 2008.
Now over 4.5 years later it is becoming a reality. I leave in 3 days. I will fly into San Jose, Costa Rica where I will be met at the airport by a driver and taken to La Selva Biological Station affiliated with the Organization for Tropical Studies, otherwise known as Organizacion de Estudios Tropicales.
In order to prepare I have been getting a series of emails from Dr. Oberbauer, stating what to bring, who to see, what to do, information regarding his National Science Foundation grant, information on the research he does there and most important what time I will eat. He says “poncho’s are good, but raincoats are not so good”… it’s all about staying cool. I need rain boots, umbrellas, flashlights and of course my camera.
Recently, I brought some of my “cool” clothes to my classroom and below you will see a few students modeling the great big GREEN tent I will wear.
Where is Costa Rica? Caitlin is ready to go. Photo taken by student Frankie Scarpulla
Where is Costa Rica? Caitlin is ready to go. Photo taken by student Frankie Scarpulla
Zoni is dressed and ready to go with PolarTREC alumni teacher Elizabeth Eubanks and PolarTREC alumni PI Dr. Oberbauer. Photo taken by Elizabeth Eubanks PolarTREC 08
Shireen sports the big green poncho... all agow with head lamp on top! Photo taken by Elizabeth Eubanks PolarTREC 08
Shireen sports the big green poncho... all agow with head lamp on top! photo taken by Elizabeth Eubanks PolarTREC 08
Daniella is a new student at St. Mark and she is ready to go back home to Costa Rica! She doesn't really wear this at home, but it is fun to model.
So what’s all of this “DIC DOC” and “IGF” stuff that is stated in the title of this journal? I am not so sure yet, but that is what I hope to learn more about.
One of the projects that Dr. Oberbauer works on involves the Interbasin Groundwater Flow (IGF) and hydrologic fluxes of carbon. So what do I mean by DIC’s and DOC’s ? Dissolved Inorganic Carbons and Dissolved Organic Carbons …. but of course...right?
More on that later, once I learn a little more.
For those of you who followed my journals while I was in Alaska, you will be so happy to see the return of the “bird or birds of the day” I hear Costa Rica has a sweet selection of my feathered friends.