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| Weather map during deployment. |
When the time came to install our 1200 small seismographs
across Georgia at the flagged positions, the rains came…. A lot of rain. During our first deployment day, we
received 1-2 inches of rain, and another wave of rain clouds came through on
Day 2 (check out map). Roads that used to be easily passable became mudholes or were flooded with
water. All-wheel-drive vehicles and drill rigs alike got stuck, and a few station locations could only be reached on foot. Our hard-working field
crew labored in the rain digging holes and deploying seismometers. Vehicles, equipment and people were
covered in the famous Georgia red clay (and other muds and sands of Georgia and
northernmost Florida). Adding insult to injury, problems with the programming of
some of the instruments meant that we actually had to pick up and redeploy many of them. It was a mudbath.
Nonetheless, our field crew managed to deploy 1200 seismometers across
Georgia by Tuesday at sundown. It was an impressive show of endurance, and an inspiring
display of positivity given the number of people that were still smiling and
upbeat at the end of it all.
A couple of days later, after our seismic shots, it was
already time to pick up the instruments, and the weather changed
completely. The sun shined on SW
Georgia, and we picked up almost every last seismometer in just one day under
blue skies….
Donna Shillington, LDEO
