3 min to read
Flat tires and science workshops in the desert
How to turn an unexpected car trouble in an opportunity
“Uh oh”.
I heard as soon as we stopped the trucks. It is indeed a very interesting thing to hear, while in the middle of the Puna in Argentina, one of the highest plateaus in the world. We had just arrived from sampling a hidden hot spring, half forgotten in an old geological map. We, a team of international researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds, stood together looking at a flat tire. The sun was high at that time of the day, the air was dry, and there was not a single cloud in the sky.
“Alright, let’s change the tire and move on to the next site”. Said Donato Giovannelli, a professor of Microbiology at the University of Naples, and leader of the expedition. We were on a tight schedule. We still had 2500 km to go, while we had already left another 2500 km behind us.
We opened the backdoors of the truck, and took out our bags and some sampling equipment. From below the seats, we got the tools to change the tires. We jacked the car up, removed the bolts, attached the spare tire, and then we looked at each other
“Wait, that doesn’t seem right, does it?”
The spare tires didn’t actually fit those wheels, nor any of the other spare tires we had in the other trucks. It’s quite amusing how things can change so fast, from just a quick stop to change a flat tire, to not being able to move at all. We were stuck. At this point some concerned looks started to pop up around.
“What now?”
After discussing for a while, Carlos Ramírez, a volcanologist and geophysicist at SeGeoAm (Costa Rica), and Agostina Chiodi, researcher at the IBIGEO (Argentina), took one of the trucks, and drove to the nearest city to try to get some appropriate tires. The waiting time? Five hours.
There were some benches and tables around in the shade of spare trees. We could hear kids playing between classes in a school nearby, and some curious birds chirping. There was nothing to do while we were waiting, and I thought: “Wait a minute, I am here surrounded by all these experienced researchers!”. So I took the chance, grabbed my computer, and said something pretty sure all scientists like to hear:
“How about we look at some data?”
I opened my computer, and we started looking at some of the results I had obtained before we went on the expedition.
We sat together, around the table in the middle of the mountains, to discuss data.
This moment, where Jacopo Pasotti, a photojournalist that was documenting our expedition, took this picture, illustrates something that I really appreciate about science. In the polarized times we live today, where in some instances we rush to point fingers, and judge one another too readily and too harshly, it is especially important to remember that science is also about gathering people. People with different backgrounds, different beliefs, different cultures and upbringings. Different ways of experiencing Life. People that sit together, have a laugh, and look at data, fueled by the same shared curiosity to understand and explain how the natural world works.
For me, on a more personal note, and as someone just starting my career as a PhD student, this is a moment I am particularly fond of. It reminds me that science is also the sharing of ideas, the sharing of expertise and knowledge that is distilled and passed on.
It reminds me why I like doing it, and why I want to keep doing it. Then, a message popped up in the right corner of my computer screen. “5 minutes of battery left”. Shortly after receiving this alarming note, we saw a truck coming in the distance, followed by a small cloud of dust. It was time to pack, new tires were coming, and the next site waiting.
(Photo: Jacopo Pasotti, 2024)
