MIT research in Hawaii could impact state's management of f...( a to map temperature changes along the ...)

"The infrared images will be compared with the ground [salinity] measurements to see if it is possible to [correlate the two]," said Hemond, MIT's Leonhard Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. If so, this would allow researchers to "conduct such studies over larger reaches of coastline from the air."

"Taking students into the field is a great way to get them excited about research and expose them to what field research is really like"-- including setbacks, said Frankel. In Hawaii, for example, rough seas canceled deployment of one instrument for tracking current direction and speed.

The team was also exposed firsthand to native culture, thanks in large part to Frankel's creativity. She volunteered everyone to weed invasive plants for the Kokee Resource Conservation Program in return for four days of free lodging at an original Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Kokee State Park on Kauai. The students also presented papers on herbicides to a rapt audience of Conservation Program volunteers and state park officials.

And then, of course, came the taro fields. After hiking an hour down a steep trail and through a shallow river, the team reached the farm of Kia Fronde in Waipio Valley, Hawaii ("I never would have done it if I'd known it would be that hard," said Frankel). Once there, they cultivated the fields, which involved a morning in the knee-deep mud in which the plants thrive. Their reward? A lesson in native hydrology from Kia and a feast that included French-fried taro chips.

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Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-696-3170
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
17-Mar-2003