LPL Field Trips are alive and well! This past spring (spring 2009), Professors Shane Byrne and Adam Showman led the PTYS 594A field trip to California's Mojave desert in the region between Barstow and Needles. Field-trippers spent four days driving, camping and hiking to sites of geological interest. The sites visited included the Kelso sand dunes, Amboy crater and the Cima volcanic field.

Professor Rick Greenberg joined the group by flying a light plane to the town of Amboy, California (and landing just off route 66). The aerial photos proved a useful counterpart to the groundbased mapping of geologic features.

One of the great things about the Mojave is the amount of remote-sensing data that exist for the region (taken by aircraft and spacecraft). Comparing these data with the actual site provides the experience needed to interpret spacecraft data of other planetary surfaces (where field trips aren't so common).

This semester (Fall 2009), the PTYS 594A field trip will be led by professor Shane Byrne, with assistance from former LPL graduate students Joe Spitale, Dave O'Brien, and Colin Dundas. Destination: the Geronimo volcanic field and the Chiricahua mountains in south-eastern Arizona.