Caroline White-Nockleby
Examining Water Scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert through an Interdisciplinary Lens
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Project Proposal
In terms of my research at the institute of Archeology and Anthropology, the last few months have been a chance to pull together some of the research on bofedales, as well as multiple fieldwork trips, that I conducted in the first few months of my stay. In late June, I travelled to Arica, Chile, with my advisor Manuel Prieto to meet with our collaborators on the bofedal literature review project. I presented the research and findings of the literature review I had been working on to the group, and we collaboratively discussed and outlined a paper that I would take the lead on writing with regards to this research. When I returned to San Pedro I spent some focused time writing this paper, and am now in the process of meeting with my advisor Manuel to revise and cut this paper, potentially with the goal of submitting it to a journal in Critical Physical Geography or a related field. I will also be presenting the main findings of this research at a conference on mining extractivism in the Southern Andes, a week-long gathering that is being held at the Institute in San Pedro this coming week. Within the institute, I have also helped with a translation for a recent large grant proposal, which helped me continue to deepen both my academic Spanish skills and my connection with professors here.
Alongside the work on bofedales, I also took a class in July on the geology of the San Pedro de Atacama basin. This month-long class met daily from 8pm to 10pm, and also had two full-day field trips. Though it was meant for tour guides practicing in San Pedro, I found the class fascinating – it was incredibly informative to better situate myself both geographically and geologically in the area, and especially helpful to start to learn more about some of the processes that have led to the unique concentration of mineral resources in the region, something that, as I’ll discuss briefly below, may be relevant to my future work and interests. Additionally, through the class I made many new friends and got a much better sense of the world of outdoors and adventure guides in San Pedro
Final Report
I was based at the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology of the Catholic University of the North in San Pedro de Atacama. While at the institute, my primary task was to conduct a large literature review. I met with my advisor on average once a week, and also got to meet a number of other professors and students from Chile and multiple other countries during my stay. I also participated in 3 multi-day field sampling excursions (one related to anthropology, one to biology, and one to remote sensing — all of bofedales). Additionally, I spent a week in the nearby coastal city of Arica to meet with our collaborators, and attended and presented on a weeklong conference on mining in the Andes (involving multiple field excursions to nearby mines) hosted at the Institute, as well as a number of smaller meetings, workshops, and events. During all of these excursions, the majority of my food, lodging, and transport was paid for by grant money from my advisor, Manuel Prieto. I was able to complete the literature review/analysis, and brought many of my own ideas to the analysis process — we are planning to continue to work together to potentially publish the work.
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Proposal:
