During my first summer at the University of Wyoming I was lucky enough to be out in the Laramie Range collecting data almost every other day. This extensive data set span three different catchments in the Laramie Range. I am still working with these data, especially the ones collected in the Blair-Wallis watershed. Although there is more data collection that will be occurring over the next few years, this data set will probably be the basis for my thesis. Below is a slideshow from different days of data collection. This data collection would not have been possible with out the help of the WyCEHG geophysics team, which consisted of 5 undergraduate students. I learned a lot from this summer field experience, the first being that collecting geophysical data is hard work! A lot of days we would get up into the field by 7:30 AM and not be done until 5:00 PM. It also helps to have a well oiled, well trained team because once everyone knows what they are doing things typically run smoothly.
This was a great place to have my first field experience because it was so close to home. This experience stressed the importances of remembering all of the equipment such as batteries, survey equipment and all of the appropriate cables. I also learned very quickly that the batteries used in the field must be charged every night. It really sucks to lug a heavy car battery over fought topography only to find that it’s dead an will not run the equipment. Of course you only find out the battery is dead after you have spent a few hours pounding in stakes or laying cable. Since we were 10 minutes away from the university we were able to have some one run down and pick up new batteries or anything else that was forgotten. I can tell you I learned, so did the team, because by the end of the summer we never forgot anything. This was a great experience and taught me to be prepared for anything in the field.
