'Tanking'
John Garver, professor of geology, is no stranger
to meeting the logistical challenges of doing fieldwork
in remote areas, especially the Russian Far East.
But last summer brought something new: a tank.
“Over the years, I have learned that logistical
challenges spawn interesting solutions,” he wrote in
an account of his trip. “This last summer we found our
field party of 11 loading gear onto a surplus Russian military
tank for a 14-day excursion to the mountains. Nothing could
be so simple and elegant, yet so bizarre.”
The tank's gun was removed and a cargo box for gear
and diesel fuel was mounted on the back. Inside, the
tank could fit only two or three plus the driver, leaving the others
to ride on top. Whether inside or on the roof, earplugs were
a must against the loud engine and metal-on-metal clanking
of the treads.
“More than once,” Garver wrote, “I thought what it
must be like to be a soldier in the Russian military, and
was thankful for my cushy job as a college professor.”
“This revitalized Cold War machine was being used
to take an American-Russian team to do science in
the field,” he said. “How times have changed.”
Garver and Sarah Johnston '02 were part of a team
that included geologists from the U.S. and Russia. Their
project, investigating the “suture zone” from a collision of
oceanic plates 45 million years ago, is funded by a grant from
the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs.