Upon reading all those interesting arguments from the hi-tech front, I
actually get very envious when imagining all things possible. Then,
however, it appears to me that all this is being done when the weather is
nice. What do you do when the weather is not so nice, i.e. it's raining
or even snowing? Sure, when it's really nasty, you either do not go out
at all, or seek shelter until it brightens up. But if it starts to rain
moderately midway on a traverse, what then? You can not simple wait for
the rain to stop. I pull out my trusty Rite-in-the-Rain notebook (bright
yellow, so I can easily find it when I occaisionally leave it behind!)
and can take my notes (and sketches, when the light is bad for taking
photos) even during stronger rainfall, and still be able to read them
afterwards. Also, my Freiberger compass does not mind water.
Admittedly, not everyone works under these conditions. But this is not
Antarctica or the Yukon, but right in the middle of Europe. In the
Pyrenees I stay at campgrounds when not in the mountains or in mountain
cabins (réfuges), where it may not always be possible to lock away more
expensive larger equipment. In the mountains, bad weather may come up
frequently (and go away as quickly, fortunately). So, I am trying to
think about the weather in Scotland, which is probably much wetter than
in the Pyrenees. How do you handle rain with the field
computers?
I'd be interested to hear what the digital users have to say....
Jochen
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Dr. Jochen Mezger
Lehrbeauftragter -
Lecturer
Allgemeine Geologie
Martin-Luther-Universität
Halle-Wittenberg Tel.:
49-0-345-5526120
Institut für
Geowissenschaften
Fax:
49-0-345-5527220
Von-Seckendorff-Platz 3
06120
Halle
Email:
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GERMANY
http://www.geologie.uni-halle.de/igw/allgeo/staff/mez.html
http://allgeo.geologie.uni-halle.de/mitarbeiter/jmezger/
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