Wed 20 Jan 99 14:01
Well, howdy campers.
It's the Eid al-Fitr holiday here in the great Middle East,
and with that, even irreligionists like myself get a batch of
days off for the end of Ramadan and the attendant feasting
and supping.
With 6 full days off, and being supremely bored, I was
reminded that Qatar University here in town has an Ad-Hoc
program for us ExPats to take all interested parties out in
the field and explain our respective fields. This, for
geologists is precisely that, going out with a caravan of 4WD
vehicles and doing a bit of field geology. Oh, yes, for all
you snow-bound characters, it's currently 34C here, winds
light and variable, and with the ubiquitous excessively
placid blue sky.
the name of the program for ExPats has the clever acronym of
"IDEA" (hey, I said it was clever); which stands for
"InterDepartmental Educational Adjunct". It's
interdepartmental because my particular specialty not only
covers field geology, but also paleontology and a bit of
archeology thrown in for good measure. Everyone hopes to have
a good IDEA...
ahem...
Well, we saddle up and head for the Dune Sea to the south of
the country, where the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene
crops out and access is relatively easy and non-injurious.
Well, we caravan out, some 30 Land Cruisers, Nissan patrol
and the odd Mitsubishi Galloper strong. We all get our maps,
compasses and split up into 5 or 6 special interest groups
("SIG's"); where each IDEA has his own GPS and laser ranging
apparatus. Reason being, that there's very few benchmarks
out in the desert, and even those are constantly at the mercy
of the shifting and ever-blowing sands.
Since we're split into groups and at any one time, ranging up
to and including some 50 km^2, when a real find is located, a
device called the "DIME" (Digital Interface Monitor Emblem)
is attached and programed into the GPS for location later; it
is a digital sort of low frequency transponder, developed
from technology used by offshore drillers and jacket setters
where benchmarks are even more transitory).
The way it works is rather simple. When something is to be
marked for later retrieval, a series of wooden posts are
pounded in a triangular manner around the find, and the DIME
is set, programed with the GPS and attached to one or more of
the posts.
That's the theory, at least.
Everything works well, especially all the hardened
electronics and computer gizmos, but attaching the DIME to
the stakes is the real problem. It can't be nailed, screwed
or fastened with any sort of metal contrivance as that
farkles the magnetic field and causes all sorts of goofy
spurious signals. Many sites have been lost to the shifting
sands this way.
Velcro doesn't work too well, as the sand fills the hooks of
the receiving piece of velcro and soon renders it useless.
String or fishing line work, but that's temporary (they
melt). Glue or mastic are out as these are supposed to be
temporary. Even plastic sleeves don't work due to the heat
out there (it can reach 60C 1 foot about the sands).
Well, my group and I went out and searched some local
outcrops, but those have been thoroughly examined; so we
struck out for some on the seemingly near horizon.
Let me tell you, everything in the desert is at least 3 times
as far and three times longer to get to than originally
planned. We finally got to the suspicious looking-outcrop and
note that it's pristine. Evidently, no one's been here for at
least a few decades.
After searching for only a few minutes, we uncover an ancient
inhabitant of the Pliocene sea. It's one of the usual
"bulldog" fish, some full 2 meters in length. It's in great
condition, lying on it's bedding plane. It's easily 98%
complete, with good looking gastralia and preserved stomach
contents. It's a grand, though not Earth-shattering, find.
One of the locals notes that the sky is getting rather dark
off to the west. In this country, dark skies at noon don't
mean thunderstorms, it means sandstorm. And they move in
quickly.
So must we.
We start pounding in stakes, mapping the locality and prepare
the DIME. By this time, the wind is howling, the visibility
is dropping quickly and the caravan is headed our way for a
quick (thankfully) evacuation; as the lightning in these
storms can really ruin ones day. Unfortunately, the DIME
won't stay in place. We tried everything: shoelaces, wax,
duct tape...nothing worked.
Until one of the guys in the group suggested some Doublemint.
It hardens quickly, is relatively sticky and seemed to resist
the onslaught of the sand well. 2 well chewed packs later,
we're back in the 4WD's and headed out of the storm to
overnight at the Sealine Resort.
We arose early the next morning, and after a hurried meal of
yaws and goiters, we set out to try and retrieve our prize.
We all went to the general area where we were picked up, and
everything looked totally different. Fully, hectares of sand
have shifted in the interim. Hell, we couldn't even find the
outcrop.
We all set out with our GPS's and sought to triangulate in on
the DIME we left there the previous night. After 3 hours of
fruitless searching, the original group reported a weak
signal; fully 4 km distant to where we were currently
searching. It was the best lead so far, so we piled into a
Land Cruiser and sped over.
We arrived to find one of the crew digging a ever-shifting
pit in the loose sand. After about 10 more minutes of digging
and shoring, one of the local fellers stands up, holding the
sticky, gritty, grime-encased transponder.
Grinning like a maniac, loudly and quite happily he exclaims:
"Here it is! Looks like an IDEA whose DIME has gum!"
True story.
mrl@qatar.net.qa
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.
MARTY LEIPZIG
leipzig@qgpc.com.qa
rocknocker@holysmoke.org
The views and opinions stated within this web page are those of the
author or authors which wrote them and may not reflect the views and
opinions of the ISP or account user which hosts the web page. The
opinions may or may not be those of the Chairman of The Skeptic Tank.