Today was spent gearing up for a week of field work in the desert.  Justin, Rick, & Liz rented a 4WD pickup truck, and retrieved Rick & Liz's lost luggage from the Iquique Airport.  While they were doing this, Sue and Ryan did some sightseeing.  The image below was taken from a beach with basalt outcropping in the foreground; the juxtaposition between ocean, city, and desert is striking (the desert is apparent in the bone-dry ridge rising up behind the skyscrapers).  Using your imagination (or Google Earth), it is also interesting to note that a deep ocean trench lies just off the coast of Iquique (all of South America, actually).  This trench runs along the western coast of South America, where the Nazca (oceanic) plate is sliding (or subducting) below the South American (continental) plate.  This trench provides cold water from the ocean depths to the surface, which is partially responsible for the extreme arid conditions in this region of South America.

We've Arrived!!!

We're finally here.  Rick, Liz, Justin, and Ryan left DeKalb, Illinois, at 1130am on Saturday, November 1, and arrived in Iquique, Chile, ~300pm on Sunday, November 2.  The trip was long, but it went (fairly) smooth.  We met up with Sue Swanson in Santiago; however, Rick's clothes and Liz's research supplies didn't quite make it.  They should arrive in Iquique tomorrow...we'll see!  The weather here is mild with highs in the mid-70s and lows in the low-60s (Fahrenheit).

For our first night in Chile, we kept things simple...get familiar with our surroundings, eat, and rest.  We had dinner out at a local surf and turf cafe--the food was amazing.  Steaks, ceviche, fresh seafood, papas fritas, and Chilean malbec.  It was a good way to start the trip.

Tomorrow, we get a rental truck and gear up for the research.  In the meantime, here is a picture of the U.S.-based research team, clockwise from left: 

Dr. Ryan Pollyea - Assistant Professor of hydrogeology at Northern Illinois University, 

Ms. Elizabeth Olson - Ph.D. student at NIU specializing in stable isotope geochemistry and climate change, 

Dr. Sue Swanson - Professor of hydrogeology at Beloit College,

Mr. Richard Jayne - M.S. student at NIU specializing in basin-scale fluid flow and geostatistics, and 

Dr. Justin Dodd - Assistant Professor of stable isotope geochemistry at NIU.

For the LINCOLN LIONS:  Our trip yesterday started in Chicago.  Then we took airplanes to Miami (Florida), Santiago (Chile), and Iquique (Chile).  Ask Mrs. Phelps if she can show you a map of these places on your overhead screen.  What kind of animals do you think we'll see?  What kind of food do you think we'll eat?

DeKalb, IL is 4,453 miles from Iquique, Chile.

On November 1, 2014, a research team from the Department of Geology & Environmental Geosciences at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and Beloit College will embark on a 4,453 mile journey from DeKalb, Illinois to Iquique, Chile.  The purpose of this trip is to study the hydrology of the Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer, which is the sole source of municipal, agricultural, and industrial water in the region.  The research team includes Dr. Justin Dodd and Dr. Ryan Pollyea from NIU, Dr. Sue Swanson from Beloit College, and two NIU graduate students, Elizabeth Olson and Rick Jayne.

In this blog, we will document this epic journey for our friends at NIU, Beloit College, Naperville Central High School, and the dinosaur-loving kindergarteners at Lincoln Elementary School!

Stay tuned...