10 November - Action shot: an early breakfast of pate and cheese, oatmeal, chocolate, nuts, and coffee has our mascots climbing fiercly uphill towards Camp 1 at about 5500 meters above sea level. Even at this point in the climb, we're way above the highest point in the contiguous U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii): Mt. Whitney, California. Marvin is ahead at this point, but resting due to heavy work in terrestrial gravity, which is ~3 times that of Mars. Bongo is guiding the group performing fancy foot--and hand, and tail--work on the rocks, while G.B. cautiously follows the safe path upwards. At this time, Leo was working hard with the porters to negotiate all the science equipment and food up the mountain (did you ever wonder if he'd be far from the food?).

In the foreground, you can see the handles of Rob's climbing poles, which help our human companions negotiate the shaky terrain safely and efficiently. Already, the comparitavely luxurious refuge is a distant memory--if this image were a little larger to the right, you could see it on the shore of Laguna Blanca in the background. The temperatures here are lower, sunburns come oh-so-much easier, and food comes in basically two forms: dehydrated (arg), or bar (mmm...?). Sometimes, we're lucky that appetite tends to go away with increasing altitude.


11 November - The mascots' tent at the Summit Camp; night two on the mountain. A tremendously beautiful place, it's at ~5800 meters altitude, or 1.5 km above the refuge, about 200 meters below the summit, or ~80 net meters below the lake (you have to travel up, then down, to get to the summit lake).

The temperatures here get down way below freezing here, even in the afternoon when this picture was taken: G.B., Bongo, and Leo are in the tent snacking on cashews, dried banana chips, and sausages in the warmth of the tent...Marvin, used to martian weather, finds it too warm inside and has found himself a place on Andy's pack, across from the red first aid kit just in case. From here, he can watch the lines that anchor the tent to the ground with large volcanic rocks--winds here are fierce and can easily blow an empty tent far far--far!--down the mountain. We spent the night here before going on to our first science day in the crater of Licancabur.

12 November - Yaaay, we made it! The crest of the volcano, summit of the expedition, overlook to Licancabur crater lake! Bongo, G.B., and Marvin posed for this picture with Leo standing in as a photographer--a very talented one, we should add. The end result of a long journey from California and Santiago de Chile (Leo's new home--the result of a new job), we all realized the significance of reaching this point together and waited for our science team companions who were surprisingly not too far behind. This is the third year for Bongo and G.B., second for Leo, and the first ascent for Marvin...only a great team could have done this together.

You can see the lake here in good condition for study: only a little bit of ice covers the northern part of the lake. The deepest portion is the darkest, near-center, and the color is emerald green. Any snow that falls on the ground up here (we're still in a desert, remember?) has a very difficult time melting due to the cold temperature and thin atmosphere...because not too much of that water makes it to the lake, the level this year is much lower than last. At this rate, the lake could completely disappear in 25-30 years! Over that short time, the characteristics of the water and life in the lake will change drastically--as water disappeared on Mars, similar processes may have occurred.

12 November - Finally...we waited for our human teammates Rob (with Bongo), Andy (with Marvin), and Nathalie (with G.B.). Leo is again behind the camera with his longtime friend Cristian. We're proud to be here and hope you've enjoyed the hike, as well. ** Next year will take us to a new destination.

This day and the following were science days at the summit lake. Day one of science included retrieving the second UV station, bathymetric (depth) mapping, biology and sediment sampling, water sampling, and the construction of another weather station. Day two (13 November) included diving for photo and video documentation, as well as scientific sampling. After we retrieved ~24 hours of weather data, we packed up and went back down the mountain to the refuge...in only 2 hours and 15 minutes! Compared to previous times of more than four hours, it was a new record for the team...everyone made it home safely in time for tea, coffee, and much good food care of Maxima, our cook.

**Special thanks to Mr. David Ewart and his class at Juniper Academy for allowing us to take Marvin along on the trip! He had a great time!

Kid's Corner Expedition in Pictures 2004

...after 16 hours on an airplane and two days of rest, preparation, and logistics in Antofagasta, Chile, the science team and their mascots G.B., Bongo, Leo, and Marvin began the long trip to the summit of Licancabur Volcano with a drive across the desert.

G.B., a three year veteran of the project, takes the helm on the way across the Altiplano as the team travels from Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama. You can see Licancabur Volcano on the left side of the image, and Nathalie--our expedition lead--on the right.

After a few days getting used to altitude in the desert oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, our team crossed in to Bolivia and checked in to El Refugio (the refuge) at the base of Licancabur. First priority was some "research" at the local hot spring...although the distance is short, our team uses 4x4s to navigate the rough highland desert terrain and moves between different research sites like Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde. Hot Springs like this occur when water deep below the surface of the Earth is heated by magma (the same stuff that forms a volcano when it breaks through the surface; then it's called lava) and rises to form warm pools like this one. Here, we're studying the life and chemistry of these waters...Marvin is taking a siesta.

Back to work! After taking a quick swim, the team begins to record the data taken at the spring. At this altitude (about 4300 m above sea level), the sun's UV rays are especially likely to give you a sunburn (not to mention make life difficult for the organisms in the spring), so we made sure to put on sunscreen before beginning work. While G.B. types, Leo mans the touchpad, and Marvin supervises the relay to Mars and is thinking about taking a siesta...

Although the water of Thermales hot spring was very warm, air temperatures around the refuge hover right around freezing on average and go down to -10 C at night, so G.B. borrowed part of Andy's towel to stay warm and worked his way in to "el comedor" (the dining room) for some coffee. Since there's no power for refrigeration out here, everything, including milk and coffee, comes in powdered form so it doesn't go bad. While we're on the mountain, we even eat dehydrated food. To keep our backpacks light, we even use titanium mugs like the one G.B. has here.

The whole team was necessary for this work, retrieving *one year* of data from the Laguna Blanca Eldonet station. Check out the next picture to remember last year's team installing this very instrument in 2003 [142]; it records the level of the sun's radiation and air temperature every ten minutes and stores it for an entire year. Our human counterparts on the 2004 Mars Underwater science team can be seen here working, too.

Extreme environments; we talked about the source of hot springs' warmth earlier at Thermales springs near the refuge. Here, on the way to another lake called Laguna Colorada, the mascots come a step closer to the shear power and heat of the Earth. "Sol de Manana" (Morning Sun) is a geothermal area where magma beneath the surface is so close that steam jets explode from the surface, earth is melted and bubbling in the form of giant mud pots, and the stench of sulfur (like rotten eggs) fills the air. Here, the mascots sit in relative safety right next to one of the vents.

Very cautiously, helped by Cristian--one of our human collaborators, Leo comes closer to the mudpot and witnesses intense bubbling. There is no chance that Leo will take a bath in this kind of pond...It is way too hot...and muddy. G.B., Bongo, and Marvin are taking notes of Leo's comments sheltered behind rocks. Sometimes the pressure is so high that mud is ejected very high and far from the pond. If one is not cautious, serious burns can occur.

After three hours of travel from the refuge and stopping at Sol de Manana, the mascots finally arrive at Laguna Colorada. Here, the water of the lake is completely red, like strawberry juice...Marvin thinks that this reminds him of Mars and with Leo, and Bongo, they are here to help the two biologists of the team, Lynn and Lee, to understand why...They heard that it may be tiny organisms that make the water red...some things that live in some salty and/or high altitude lakes are known to use red pigments (like skin, or shell, color) as sunscreens. How do these work, and is this the source of Laguna Colorada's fantastic color? Some serious investigation is needed...Meanwhile, G.B. can be seen performing a weather experiment in the high winds at Laguna Colorada--in the background you can see dust devils blowing over the lake's islands made of salt.

Back to the refuge... After learning about geysers, mudpots, and microorganisms in salty lakes, the mascots --a little tired after all this work -- are enjoying the ride back, even though Andy and Cristian have been crammed in the back seat. Marvin, next to the window, is perplexed by the similarity of this land to his own planet...Leo, safely strapped in by his safety belt, is thinking about a great day of adventure; Bongo is day dreaming about what is still to come: ascending the giant Licancabur...He knows the drill (he, like G.B.) is a three year veteran of the expedition. This is why he knows it will be tough. This year the weather is really harsh, cold and windy...; G.B. is giving instructions to the photographer and noted the dust accumulated on the lens.

2004.11.07 002 - Following a good night's rest and a day of science activities at the lagunas, the mascots take on a serious engineering project. In this image, they're helping Rob and Andy install a weather station on the shore of Laguna Blanca that will record air temperature and water content, wind speed, and soil water content every ten minutes for up to two years! We'll combine this data with the Eldonet UV radiation data to describe local climate and better understand the relationship of this place with Mars. Starting at the top and moving down: Leo mans the anemometer (a fancy name for a wind speed sensor), Marvin is mounting the cables for the temperature sensor, G.B. monitors the micro-computer and connections for the other instruments, while Bongo--at the lower right--does some serious manual labor hammering in the stakes for guy lines that keep the entire system from blowing away in ~40 km/h (~25 m.p.h.) afternoon breezes.

*What is exciting for our whole team is that this instrument, and its identical twin at the summit, is that it will not only provide outstanding science data, but will also provide critically useful climate data for the local people.

Kid's Corner Update
4 November 2004
Andrew N. Hock, dictated by G.B. the Squirrel

Today, after a marvelous breakfast of sausage and cheese, we took a short ride to Laguna Verde in the car and helped Lynn and Andy collect some water there: it's an amazing place! In english, the name means Green Lake, but it's really more aqua--we couldn't figure that out ;) We asked if we could get in, because Andy was walking around in sandals, but his shivering and a water temperature of 3 degrees Celcius (of just 3 degrees above freezing...Thermales, where we just came from, was around 37 degrees Celcius--a nice temperature for a bath).

Our last stop for the day was to pick up an "Eldonet" station. This experiment was placed on the shore of Laguna Blanca last year, and has been recording information about the sun's radiation every ten minutes since. It knows when the sun rises and sets, and studies two important types of radiation: PAR and UV. PAR stands for Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and is the light from the sun that plants use for energy. UV stands for Ultraviolet. You may have heard about this second kind before, because it's the kind that can give you a sun tan. Unfortunately, as many of you probably know, this same radiation can also give you a sun burn or damage the cells of your skin. At high altitudes, this radiation is much stronger than it is at sea level, and the organisms that live here must have learned to adapt--many of them produce chemical "sunscreens" that help them avoid getting hurt. The Mars Underwater science team also uses sunscreen, but they're not so interested in getting a tan. They study UV radiation here because UV radiation would be very strong on Mars. We wonder if there were life on Mars how it would protect itself.

Covered in sunscreen ourselves, we helped carry the Eldonet station back to the refuge and worked tirelessly through the afternoon to get all the data since last year's expedition on to our computer. After the successful download, we learned that the UV radiation was even higher than we thought during the summer months of the southern hemisphere, which lasts approximately November through February, during the northern hemisphere's summer. Tomorrow, we'll don hats and SPF 1000 sunscreen (or the highest we can find)!

The usual suspects:
Bongo the monkey. Hometown: Fremont, CA, USA. Height: 19 cm, favorite food in the field: platanos (bananas), of course.
Gribouille, G.B., the squirrel. Hometown: Mountainview, CA, USA. Height: 13 cm, favorite food in the field: nuts...it's why he's here.
Leo the Lion. Hometown: Santiago, Chile. Height: 30 cm, favorite food in the field: llama.
Marvin from Mars. Hometown: Redding, CA, USA. Height: ~20 cm, favorite food in the field: blue-green algae.
Together, we support the work of our human companions, the 2004 Mars Underwater science team. Today, we arrived at the refuge, near the southwest border of Bolivia with Chile (have a look at the map online!) at the foot of Licancabur Volcano. The goal of their work is to understand life and the environment here in a high altitude desert surrounded by volcanoes. By travelling and working here, they'll learn about how life adapts to survive in harsh environments on Earth and learn how to look for life when we go to Mars. Pretty fun way to work...and that's why we're along.
Today was a big day for everyone; we had to split in to two groups to get everything done. The first group, including all the doctors, G.B. and Bongo, went back to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to study how altitude (how high above sea level you are) effects the body. The second group--including the hardcore scientists, Marvin and Leo--stayed at the refuge to study Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde.
We all had a big breakfast with granola in hot milk and hot chocolate. After the medical doctors went to town, Leo helped Cristian organize all of the food and science equipment in our "bodega," or storeroom. Afterwards, Leo was found asleep in the sun while Cristian continued to move boxes (or was it the other way around?). Marvin went on his first mission to inspect the area for similarities to his home planet, Mars. Along with Andy, Lee, and Lynn, he inspected communities of microscopic life that had been either sheltered from or exposed to the high ultraviolet (UV) radiation around Laguna Blanca. Second, the team went to check out a Eldonet station that they'd placed last year (have a look at last year's Kid's Corner pictures) that measures UV radiation from the sun every ten minutes throughout the year. All appeared in good condition, so Marvin and Leo joined the team for a giant lunch with candy bars, chips, and pineapples and cream for a desert dessert!

Quote of the day: "it's not that i won a game, i just happened to be less bad at it" -mayel, wrt a chess game with marcelo