The final week of field camp consisted of a swap between geology/geophysics students, preparation of final reports, and a final presentation.
For the first day (Monday) of the geology/geophysics swap I was helping the geologists with my homebrew resistivity rig. After some small problems in the morning the device cooperated, and we took a like across a fault, seeing massive jumps in conductivity over the gouge area. The second day I was actually out with the geology professors hand mapping some of the surface geology in the area. Tom and Neil were very instructive and were able to measure a strike and dip on things that very few would term 'outcrop'. Nonetheless the data plotted nicely!
After the mapping came independent projects and final reports. Cullen and I decided to collect a gravity line across the dry union fault near Salida (the area of the first field trip). I ended up staying at camp to help the geologists process their data and Cullen went with Guang to collect the line. The results were stunning and the calculated fault dip angle is 87 degrees.
Processing the magnetic data was quite a challenge. To take the data we place flags along the path we walk, take their coordinates and press mark at each flag. The instrument is collecting a magnetic reading every 1/10 of a second. I ended up writing code that assumes a constant walking place between flags and linearly interpolates positions between. The code then re-writes a new datafile that can be plotted by OASIS. The quick code hack was not perfect and really should have already been in the software that came with the instrument. Hopefully over the summer I'll have time to perfect the code and write a nice GUI to go along with it. (Error checking would also be nice)
Finally on the last day of camp we had to give a presentation of the results. Cullen and I talked for about 40 minutes and then there was much discussion between the faculty of our image. We had everybody excited about what we should try next year! Unless plans change it is likely that Cullen and I will TA next year.
Now I'm at NASA in Houston, TX. Towards the end of this week I'll start a weekly post about the work here. It's very exciting work with a flying vehicle and guidance software. Stay Tuned! Below are a few pictures from the group trip to Pike's Peak. A copy of the final report can also be downloaded HERE.
