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 Tags >> Research
Posted by: Theresa Yoshioka
on Nov 11, 2011
We are down to hours and minutes left to vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. If you haven’t voted, you may want to vote now at www.new7wonders.com.
In looking at the amazing pictures and videos of the wonders of nature from around the world, I was pleased to find our Trimble Yuma rugged tablet computer. The Yuma tablet is used in unique studies of water flow in the Puerto Princesa Underground River, a candidate for the New 7 Wonders of Nature list.
Posted by: Guest
on Nov 01, 2010
The Gabon Caving Expedition has had 2 very successful weeks (minus our very scary caving accident). In that time we have found over 10 new caves, mapped approximately 2.4 miles or 4km of new cave passage, and most importantly we have discovered
Posted by: Guest
on Oct 11, 2010
I would like use this blog to share with you all how we are using the RECON to further conservation in Mexico. I have lived in Playa del Carmen Quintana Roo, Mexico for almost 15 years and am the Director of a non profit association dedicated to protecting the fresh water resources of this area through exploration, science and education (www.cindaq.org). Any of you that have visited this area will know that it is world renown for its incredible white sand beaches and Maya Temples. The hydrology of this area is fairly unique in that water (both fresh and salt) flow through flooded solution cave systems. Most peoples first impression of underwater caves and cave diving is that of small silty cavities, and thrill seeking adrenaline junkies that venture into them. The fact is, that the caves of this area are absolutely enormous and that those of us who are involved in the exploration of these caves could be used in a case study for risk management. To give you an idea of the enormity of the caves for this area, we currently have the 8th and 9th longest cave systems in the world. Sistema Ox Bel Ha has @170,000 meters of explored passageway while Sistema Sac Actun has over 155,000 meters. What is truly amazing is that these caves only began to be explored in the last 20 years and that they continue to grow on a yearly basis. For an in depth description on this areas caves visit the following website of the Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (http://www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrss.htm). So why are these caves important? Well, they serve as the link between every major ecosystem that we have for this region. The caves allow freshwater to flow from the jungle interior out to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef which is the second longest barrier reef in the world. Due to the high porosity of limestone these caves are vulnerable to all kinds of contamination. In the case of Ox Bel Ha, which extends more than 9 kilometers from the beach back into the jungle, any contaminant that enters the cave system can potentially exit onto the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. When you consider that Quintana Roo (The Riviera Maya, Cancun, Cozumel and the Costa Maya) generates 10-12% of Mexico's GNP, you can see that the conservation of the regions underground rivers is vital to the future economic sustainability of the area. Contamination is already being detected in the caves, the sources are from sewage and solid waste. This is what makes the exploration of the caves so very important.
Posted by: Charles Bonville
on May 26, 2010
I'm happy to share another follow up to the research on Magellenic penguins in Punta Tombo, Argentina. The Summer of 2009 - 2010 (remember, we're talking about the Southern Hemisphere) was the first time researchers used a Yuma to collect data, instead of pen and paper. After talking with researcher Olivia Kane, I learned more about why the Yuma was such a welcome tool. Olivia says the Yuma made data gathering easier and data processing was much quicker.
Posted by: Charles Bonville
on May 19, 2010
In a couple of earlier blogs, I talked about penguin researchers in Punta Tombo, Argentina. They've tracked and researched the Magellenic penguin for years, and they've been doing it using pen and paper - and a lot of notebooks. In the Summer of 2009 - 2010, they tested a Trimble Yuma. I checked in with Olivia Kane, a researcher from the University of Washington, to see what she thought of working with the Yuma and in a nutshell, she loved it!
Posted by: Charles Bonville
on Apr 14, 2010
I mentioned in an earlier blog that researchers of the Magellanic penguin in Punta Tombo, Argentina were using a Yuma to collect data. Now that field work is complete, they're now working on data analysis.
Posted by: Charles Bonville
on Mar 30, 2010
"Trimble has rugged, portable computers that would be ideal for working on data collection in harsh field conditions, with dust, wind, rain, heat, grit, poop and blood – namely, on penguins. For 27 years we have studied Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo, Argentina home which hosts the world's largest colony of this species. Our interests are in the conservation of the 200,000 breeding penguins, which last year attracted over 100,000 tourists . . ."
So began a letter from Dr. P. Dee Boersma, professor of biology at University of Washington. So, also began a partnership that would enable Dr. Boersma and her team to use Trimble Yuma outdoor rugged computers to capture information that was previously recorded by pen and paper.
Posted by: Charles Bonville
on Feb 10, 2010
University of Washington's Dr. Dee Boersman studies the Magellanic penguin population in Punta Tombo, Argentina. Last year, she contacted Trimble because she thought the Yuma would be ideal for her data collection efforts. You'll see the Yuma early in the program and just before it ends. For over 25 years, she's gathered data using paper and pencil. One attempt to use a PDA didn't work because of frequent device crashes caused by harsh field conditions.
You don't see the Yuma all the time, even though Dr. Boersman always has it with her. It's inside the carry case, ready to be used whenever she needs to input data.
Yuma gets the job done even where there's dust, wind, rain, heat grit and penguin poop. View the video story at ABC News.
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