Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Geocaching

This is my map of the 8 positions at which we found caches:


At position one, we found log rolled inside a container. At position two, we found a container holding black eyed peas, and at position three we another log. We found a pill bottle with a mini tabasco inside of it at position four, and at position five, we found another pill bottle, but it contained soda tabs. At position six, there was a piece of chalk, and at position seven, was a battery in a clear bottle. Finally, at position eight, there were magnets and a toy car. All together, the route was about .26 miles long.

Geocaching is a sport in which individuals or teams use GPS systems in order to find "buried" items known as caches. Typically the containers are small and well hidden to seemingly encourage accuracy when using the GPS. Geocaching is commonly associated with environmentalism as it encourages outdoor exploration. The activity can casually be called a massive, high tech game of hide and seek. More information about Geocaching

GPS seems to be an incredibly useful tool in environmental research as it pin points specific locations where areas of study may be taking place. If multiple researchers are working on the same area of study in the field, then finding their exact position again will be much easier when using GPS. It may also be helpful if a particularly interesting object has been found as it will allow a research to mark the place of said finding and return to it at a later date.