Image courtesy of Katie Beem

From: Katie Beem
Arica, Chile, October 21, 2008

Challenges of field work

Hi All,

I wanted to share a photo of our lab space. We use this area to clean our instrument, take measurements of pH, and prepare our samples which will be returned to the United States for analysis. As you may have guessed from the picture, our 'lab space' is several desks in a hotel room. The people at our hotel have been very helpful by providing more desks and chairs so we could have this space available for our work.

This is just one of the many challenges that field work presents but it is definitely worth it! In my bathroom, I have a water pre-treatment system where I can produce water that can be used in a deionizing water system. This means that some days I don't have use of my sink, but it's only for a short period of time! Other challenges include communicating in a language that is not your own and finding supplies and food in stores.

Postcards from the Field: Climate Science from the Southeast Pacific

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Rhea George

Many students in atmospheric science were motivated to enter the field by some fascinating extreme weather event experienced as a child. This was not the case with me. When I was an undergraduate I was...more

Dr. Boris Dewitte

I'm a physical oceanographer interested in climate variability and especially the El Niño phenomenon. Other than the annual cyle of the seasons, El Niño is the largest pulsation of the climate. I'm interested...more

Dr. Paquita Zuidema

Hola! I am originally from the Netherlands and thereafter spent 3 years as a child in the Peruvian Andes, but I have lived most of my life in the United States. I received my bachelor's degree in physics...more

Lelia Hawkins

I am starting my fourth year of graduate school at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, studying atmospheric chemistry and climate science. I love earth science and have always wanted to do something...more

Dr. Jeff Snider

I am a university professor involved in studies of the concentration and type of particles contained within clouds. It is important to know these things in order to say how often clouds produce precipitation...more

Dr. Chris Zappa

I am a specialist in ocean-atmosphere interactions. My interests include wave dynamics and wave breaking, the effect of near-surface turbulence on heat, gas, and momentum transport, airborne infrared...more

Jake Crouch

I am a graduate student studying meteorology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. I grew up in Beckley, WV and obtained my B.S. in meteorology from the University of North Carolina – Asheville....more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA