The Lago Fagnano field experience from March 13 - March 25, 2005 encompassed a wide range of scientific and cultural adventures.

Georeferenced map of the seismic data acquisition tracks conducted on Lago Fagnano during late March 2005.


This is an example of the seismic data acquired by the research group on Lago Fagnano. The image, a function of sound-wave physics, is produced as sound waves reflect from sediment layers of varying density and return to the ship where the data are collected and processed. For more on how this works, please watch UTIG scientist Steffen Saustrup explanations at http://www.ig.utexas.edu/outreach/ttif/BOLIVAR/media.php


We used base maps to plan geologic reconnaissance around Lago Fagnano. White and red lines represent lineaments (linear features) identified from remotely sensed data that may or may not represent fault splays. Black lines represent faults identified by previous researchers.

"Science is getting your feet wet, it is taking the path that may not be comfortable, may not be respectable. It is considering the unorthodox. Choosing the option you may not have even considered an option in the beginning. We walked about 20 miles that day and most of us saw very little of geologic interest. Was it worth it? Yes! Because in science, there are no dead ends, there is always another path available, and there is just as much to be learned from no as from yes. No means we must find another way, we must get our feet wet and try again."
--- Kayla Odle, Student


Students and teachers taking geologic field measurements along the Beagle Channel, under the watchful eye of GK-12 Co-PI Ian Dalziel (UTIG researcher).

Students worked in the evening conducting chemical analyses on water and soils, discussing field observations, and conversing with the research scientists.

Teachers worked with the students in the data analysis process. The group worked very well together, and some quality science was conducted as a result.

The Lago Fagnano field experience provided a unique opportunity for students and teachers ali ke to develop a deeper understanding of very complex geologic concepts. In addition to keeping a field journal, students summari zed various concepts verbally in discussion sessions and pictorially as creative cartoons, such as the one shown here depicting tectonic processes in southern South America.

Boerne High School teachers and students with NSF GK-12 Program members (GK-Fellow and GK-12 PI's) and UTIG researchers in Tierra del Fuego.

Seismic Data Collection
  UTIG researchers and their U.S, Swiss, and Argentine Colleagues used the R/V Neecho to map the bathymetry of Lago Fagnano, as well as acquire a profile of the sediment column so as to identify the best sites for futures sediment coring.

The R/V Neecho wasn't large enough to accommodate all the scientists, students and teachers onboard while the ship was in operation. Thus, the GK-12 group concentrated on collecting geologic and water/soil chemistry/isotopic data to characterize the local and regional setting-information that complements the work of the science team.

The scientists shared daily reports of the progress of the R/V Neecho with students and teachers in the evenings.

 

The R/V Neecho refueling at the dock. This ship was outfitted with special equipment to enable researchers to acquire high resolution data from the depths of Lago Fagnano.


Geologic Reconnaissance
  Lago Fagnano sits in a valley that owes its existence, in part, to tectonic activity along the Fagnano-Magellanes Fault System separating the Scotia Plate from the South America Plate. Faults that run through the lake basin continue onshore and can often be traced by surface expressions such as streams, scarps, or valleys.

Although work has been done by geologists through the years (see Lodolo et al, 2002), there are still a large number of fault splays that have not been investigated in detail, largely because of the poor exposure along portions of the Fagnano lakeshore. Students and teachers literally got their "feet wet" as field geologists by exploring some of these fault-related features, as well as structural features related to the much older deformation associated with the early (Mesozoic - Cenozoic) evolution of the southern Andes Mountain System.

After hours of trudging through a boggy valley ravaged by beaver activity, intrepid students and teachers find a recent fault that cuts through a deposit of gravel alluvium nearly reaching the modern soil horizon.

Water and Soil Sampling
  The primary goal of UTIG's "Texas Teachers in the Field" program is to involve participants in scientific research projects.

Before leaving Boerne, students and teachers developed questions to address in the field that would expand their knowledge and contribute to the Lago Fagnano researchers' understanding of the setting. To this end, they characterized the Lago Fagnano watershed in terms the soil chemistry (samples locations taken around the lake region) and the water chemistry/isotopic composition of the streams and lakes, many of which feed into Lago Fagnano.

We collected water samples and analyzed for dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, nitrate, turbidity ammonium, pH, and stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes.

We sampled different soils in the field area to establish the sand/silt/clay composition and determined the nitrogen and potassium content. These data will be compared to soil samples taken from various locations in the continental U.S. during the Boerne High School Summer field course.

These data will contribute to a database of similar soil and water chemistry information collected during a Boerne High School summer field course that exposes students to the scientific process of collecting and interpreting data. Also, these data from within the Lago Fagnano watershed will be useful for the researchers as they because processes that occur within the lake's watershed ultimately influence the nature of the sediment record that they will acquire in future from the lake bottom. In this sense, we will have a snapshot of the modern chemical and isotopic signature of Lago Fagnano that will serve as a modern spatial comparison, and a local temporal comparison.

No Rest for the Weary
  The field accommodations at Hosteria Kaiken were very pleasant so it was especially nice to come back to a warm, dry place after a long, sometimes wet, day in the field. Learning continued through the evenings with informal group discussions, presentations by researchers about their daily ship operations and preliminary results, and conversations between the students and teachers and the Lago Fagnano researchers.

One of the positive aspects of the field experience frequently cited by participants was the interaction with "real" scientists in the midst of an active field project. A deeper understanding of the scientific process is one of the main goals of the UTIG "Texas Teachers in the Field" program, and the Lago Fagnano experience expanded the model to include a subset of Boerne high school students.