Launching
a high tech website in the middle
of the Sahara Desert poses some challenges.
To begin with, the computers need
to survive rough transport and extremely
dusty conditions - not to mention
the fact that there aren't really
any sockets to plug a computer or
phone line into.
Aerial
view of one of the camps during
Dinosaur Expedition 2000
As the team learned during Dinosaur
Expedition 2000, an enclosed
tent is NOT the place to be in 130
degrees. This field season, the the
team plans to run the 2003 online
expedition out of the back of a field
vehicle. A vehicle affords shade,
a cross breeze between open windows
and real seats! The computers - and
the phone - are powered by truck batteries.
The computers will be connected to
a satellite phone that can transmit
information to the United States at
65 kilobites a minute - faster than
most dial-up connections.
The information travels 23,000 miles
up over the equator and then comes
back down another 23,000 miles. The
trip - nearly 50,000 miles - results
in a one-second delay. The Dinosaur
Expedition 2003 online expedition
is kept live by a small team of people.
To
see a diagram of how it works, click
here
STATESIDE WEBSITE TEAM:
- Ezzedin Abdelmagid
works with various schools in Chicago
to coordinate questions from the
students to the team in the field
and get the team's answers back
to the students.
- Elena Schroeter helps lay
the groundwork with research and
a good eye for what will work well
in classrooms.
- Erik Vecchione is Project
Exploration's webmaster. He works
with PE to design the page and program
the features. While the expedition
is in the field, Erik is responsible
for sending the team email questions
from the States and posting the
team's outgoing images, updates,
and interviews.
FIELD WEBSITE TEAM:
The field team consists of Mike
Hettwer and Gabrielle
(Gabe) Lyon. In addition to
their responsibilities to prospect
countless miles in search of fossils,
cut burlap strips, and move tons of
rock by hand, Mike and Gabe create
the site from the field. They work
to capture images, write about what's
happening, and subject the rest of
the team to a barrage of questions.
Most of the work takes place offline
and at night, when it's cool and the
equipment is under less strain.
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