Mrs. Renz's 4th Grade Class JASON XV Expedition Panama Field Notes

Real Science. Real Time. Real Learning.

Mrs. Renz was selected to join the JASON XV Project expedition team, traveling with the scientists and production team to the remote locations of Panama including Barro Colorado Island and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the middle of the Panama Canal Zone. This opportunity allowed the student and teacher Argonauts joining Dr. Robert Ballard, world class scientists, and guest researchers at the expedition site. Mrs. Renz was in Panama two weeks. Her fourth graders followed her journey each day as she updated her website with her daily journals and photos.

Mrs. Renz's Field Journal

What a great treat we had today! Our rover team drove over an hour through Soberania Park and through the countryside to get to Gatun Locks near the Atlantic Ocean to see how the three locks operate. Student argos Lisa and Abby interviewed Jorges Vasquez, the ACP maintenance manager for Gatun Locks. He took us on a tour behind the scenes at the locks. We learned that the locks operate by the natural flow of water due to gravity. Did you know that to get one ship through the canal it takes 26 million gallons of fresh water? If the canal allows 35 ships per day through the locks (which is the average) then 1.8 billion gallons of fresh water are needed per day! Wow, that is amazing and it's lucky that in the rainforest it rains enough so the rivers can keep supplying all that water to operate the canal. We also learned that there are two lanes for ships to travel, and that the lock operators can decide if traffic can go in both directions or in the same direction. Ships that can fit in the canal are called "Panamax" (Panama Canal maximum). The maximum ship size allowed is 106 feet wide, 965 feet long, and 39.5 feet draft (depth below the water line). We walked across the lock doors to see the inside of the control house. Student argos Lisa and Abby got to operate the lock chamber doors (called miter gates) to let a ship into the locks. That was fun to watch. We also went into the water spillway and saw the huge hydraulics that allowed the locks to work. Teresa, our ACP tour guide, told us that the most expensive canal transit cost the Coral Princess ship $226,194.25 in 2003 to make the eight hour passage. After the great canal tour we headed to Gatun Dam to see how it helps keep the water in Gatun Lake level at the correct level to operate the locks. During the dry season, they have to be sure to have enough water saved in the Lake to allow the canal to operate and in the rainy season the dam allows them to spill the excess water into the Atlantic Ocean to prevent flooding. It was another amazing day of learning new things in the rainforest of Panama. Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventures as our rover team heads back to BCI to work with Dr. Jackie Willis as we hike to the ocelot latrine in order to find out what the animals on BCI are eating by looking at their scat. -Mrs. Renz

Mrs. Renz's Photos from Panama

Daybreak over the Chagres River from our hotel

The control room at Gatun Locks

The machine on the left (71) is called a mule. Mules are used to pull the ship through the lock chamber evenly by using cables. Sometimes there are two or four mules on the front of the ship and several on the back.

Student argos Abby and Lisa pushed the levers which made these lock doors close.

Hi from Gatun Dam

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		Jan. 20	Jan. 21	Jan. 22	Jan. 23	Jan. 24
Jan. 25	Jan. 26	Jan. 27	Jan. 28	Jan. 29	Jan. 30	Jan. 31
Feb. 1

Redmond, Oregon