Answers to your Questions:

Updated: Questions and Answers from 10/24/02 through 01/29/03.

Q. What was the first expedition to travel to Licancabur, to study it and discover life? [Cottonwood, CA]
A. 10-25-02. #57

Q. Our class did the sedimentology lab today, which was posted on your website. What sediment studies will you be doing on the expedition? [Corning, CA]
A. 10-25-02. #56

Q. Why doesn’t the water evaporate and why is it so shallow? [Corning, CA]
A. 10-25-02. #55

Q. What do humans need to survive a trip to Mars? And why would we actually go there? [Anderson, CA]
A. 10-23-02. #54

Q. What is it like at night there? [Corning, CA]
A. 10-23-02. #53

Q. You often refer to Lagunas on your schedule. What is Lagunas? Also, what are some of the science activities you will be doing there? [Corning, CA]
A. 10-23-02. #52

Q. How deep will you dive down in the lake?Is it dangerous? [Redding, CA]
A. 10-22-02. #51

Q. What abiotic and biotic factors aply to the lake? [Wichita, Kansas]
A. 10-22-02. #50

Q. How was this lake that you're exploring get formed? [Wichita, Kansas]
A. 10-22-02. #49

Q. Why doesn’t the team just take a helicopter to the top of the mountain?
A. 10-21-02. #48

Q. Explain how the exploration of marine and space environments are similar.
A. 10-21-02. #47

Q. What happens to an organism accustomed to such a high altitude, when it is brought down to sea level?
A. 10-19-02. #46

Q. How long do you think it will be before man goes to Mars?
A. 10-19-02. #45

Q. How do you think the magnetic force differences between Mars and Earth have effected their similar developments and their different developments?
A. 10-19-02. #44

Q. How long did it take to prepare for this expedition and what preparation was the toughest?
A. 10-19-02. #43

Q. What elevation is the base camp?
A. 10-19-02. #42

Q. Why do you have to bring back the human waste from the site?
A. 10-19-02. #41

Q. What kind of instruments did you bring to map the bottom of the lake?
A. 10-19-02. #40

Q.Why is it difficult for the divers to dive at 19,400 feet in elevation?
A. 10-19-02. #39

Q.Have you or any of your other employees been injured or harmed by any chemical or scientist tool?
A. 10-19-02. #38

Q. Are you concerned about the weather changing and becoming dangerous on the mountain and are you prepared for the unexpected?
A. 10-19-02. #37

Q. How many nations and organizations are involved? How will the information be distributed among the different nation’s scientists?
A. 10-17-02. #36

Q. Are their any pre-historic animals that at one time were able to live at that elevation?
A. 10-17-02. #35

Q. What is the beginning elevation for hiking up the mountain? How long will it take to climb to the top?
A. 10-17-02. #34

Q. Is the volcano still active? Does it make you nervous?
A. 10-17-02. #33

Q. How cold is the lake?
A. 10-17-02. #32

Q. What do we expect to gain from this expedition personally?
A. 10-17-02. #31

Q. How did you prepare for the expedition physically and mentally?
A. 10-17-02. #30

Q. Will you be doing genome sequences on any of the bacteria that you will find, and what other battery of tests will we be subjecting these extremophiles to?
A. 10-17-02. #29

Q. Are there any natives on the mountain?
A. 10-17-02. #28

Q. Are there any dietary restrictions?
A. 10-17-02. #27

Q. Will you be able to sleep at high altitude?
A. 10-17-02. #26

Q. What brought you to a point in your lives where you wanted to go on an exploration to this place?
A. 10-17-02. #25

Q. What is it like to be studying right next to the source of an erupted volcano?
A. 10-17-02. #24

Q. Asked by Dr. Natalie A. Cabrol in her Field Update on Oct. 12, 2002:
I would like to change a little bit of these rules and suggest to each of you to reflect on the following question and send us your personal opinion on "Why do we explore"?
A. All Answers Submitted. #23

Q. What was the most exciting or the best place you have ever been while being a biologist? What about the scariest?
A. 10-14-02. #22

Q. What types of tool will you use to gather lake sediments and bring them to the surface?
A. 10-14-02. #21

Q. Is there any other place like in Licancabur in the u.s. that is relative to the landscaping in mars?
A. 10-14-02. #20

Q. Do you expect to find fossils in the lake sediment and if so what do you think they might represent?
A. 10-14-02. #19

Q. What types of hazards will there be in this environment and what will you do to prevent them?
A. 10-14-02. #18

Q. What will you do with all the research when you get back after 3 weeks, is it hard to keep track of all the data and things that you collect?
A. 10-14-02. #17

Q. What time of year does the ice break up on the lake and what are average water temperatures there?
A. 10-14-02. #16

Q. Why are UV-C waves not penetrating the "glass" sheets used in the Licancabur experiment on living or ganisms?
A. 10-13-02. #15

Q. I am curious that of the UV spectrum, ozone only blocks the "C" portion. What percentage of the total UV spectrum is the "C" waves. Are they more damaging then B and a waves?
A. 10-13-02. #14

Q. How did you choose the people on the team. Was there an application that people had to fill out, or did one person just decide who would be best for what? Why did you choose the people that you did to go?
A. 10-12-02. #13

Q. What kind of terrain is up there at the lake? Like, are there any trees, bushes, weeds, etc.? What about birds, fish, squirrels, etc.?
A. 10-12-02. #12

Q. What are the biggest fears or concerns you have for this expedition?
A. 10-12-02. #11

Q. What types of precautions will the team be taking in order to adapt to the high altitude?
A. 10-11-02. #10

Q. How much time will you actually be spending at the Volcanoes summit?
A. 10-11-02. #9

Q. Was the lake you are investigating the highest lake in prehistoric times?
A. 10-11-02. #8

Q. Why are you puzzled at seeing flamingos at 4,000 mts elevation? I understand their primary diet are small shrimp or krill, which give them the pink color and these high altitude lakes are full of them.
A. 10-11-02. #7

Q. What is the age range of the hikers?
A. 10-11-02. #6

Q. What kind of experiments will you do?
A. 10-10-02. #5

Q. Is there any other life on the mountain other than the scientists?
A. 10-10-02. #4

Q. Will you be able to send us video tape over the internet, or just digital photos?
A. 10-09-02. #3

Q. How much will each person on the team get to take with them to Chile?
A. 10-09-02. #2

Q. What is the elevation of your base camp in feet? What is the elevation of the lake in feet?
A. 10-09-02. #1