Cuatro Cienégas Part III: The Lab

Here at CC, there is no real field lab - the 'field lab' was setup in the cabin we live in. Unlike the KBS sampling trips back at MSU, where the sampling trip is solely sampling and no sample processing, we do have to pack for some sample processing for this Mexico trip. For example, we have to prep for water filtration, spiking samples with formaldehyde or RNA Later, adding chemicals to some of the water samples for chemical analysis or preparing samples that are to be frozen in a dry shipper. There has to be lots of think ahead in terms of the types of samples to collect, number of replicates, number of items required and the amount of chemicals.

They already had a large amount of items here but when the second team came (I was part of the second team), we still had to bring 5 action packers filled with all kinds of lab goodies and a dry shipper (the dry shipper amazes me! It was charged on the last week of May and it is still holding at -80C today, June 15).

The project I will be working on has two major sampling 'trips' and two one day sampling trip. However, everyone in the team has different projects and we all look at different aspects of the ecology in this desert area. Therefore, whenever we go out sampling, we sample for all kinds of analysis - observational, hydrology, limnology, chemistry, entomology and of course, microbiology. So it turns out that we are out sampling almost every day. Some days are just an hour or two out in the field while some days everyone goes out for an entire day.

Back in the cabin, I was in charge of the FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) station, which is to prepare samples for FISH from both sediments and water. I have a filter (known as La Flautas) that allows me to filter six samples at the same time, all using a hand pump! A centrifuge was also brought there to wash sediment samples.

There is also another water filtering station where Laura pre-filters water before the guys filter it through a 0.2 µm syringe filters to prep the water for chemical analysis. In addition to that, Laura also filters water through glass fiber filters to collect bacterioplanktons for DNA/RNA analysis. That is our only vacuum pump, which heats up very quickly. Every few samples, Laura will have to move it into the bedroom to place it in front of the air-cond so that it can cool down before continue to filter more water.

Next to the water filtering station is the drying area for all our dishes. Washing dishes here is quite a chore. We have very limited amount of clean water. We buy drinking water from the store to clean out the dishes before soaking it in the acid bath. As chemical analysis can be easily contaminated by lots of stuff, including water, every dish has to be acid washed. This was not as much of a concern when I was working with soil samples but I also did not do chemical analysis myself (except for dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen). The nice thing though, we do get deionized water for all our washes, field blanks and of course, to make solutions. For solutions, we have to make fresh ones just before we need to use them since it is challenging to maintain sterility. We have limited syringe filters and have to conserve the usage because sometimes we may need to use more when the water samples we collect are murkier.

Our hazardous waste area - all with tags! 

The hall is where we gather to label our bottles/tubes/etc.

Somehow, this trip reminds me a lot of my experience at Woods Hole when I took the Microbial Diversity course. A more intense one. I am definitely getting lots of arm work outs here and learning a lot more about the big picture. Working with scientists of different expertise reminds me all the time that we must be able to relate our work to the interest of the environment and the people in the environment.

Life in Cuatro Cienegas

At Cuatro Cienegas, we (the ladies) get to stay in a cabin at Villas Del Desierto. There are only five cabins there and ours are often the only occupied cabin there. We get housekeeping service everyday, which helps a lot on crazy field sampling and sample processing days.

Love the cabin porch! 

There is also a small pool where we jump in to cool down on super hot days with no wind.

The cabin is located near the edge of the town and during the nights, it can be super dark. It is so dark that we can see way more stars in the sky than I have seen before. In fact, Laura (the lab tech @ lab manager) and I saw a shooting star on the first night that I was here! We also do not have to worry about doing our laundry because we just drop it off at the laundromat and pick it up the next day! How awesome is that? Plus, it only costs 50 pesos ~ USD 5!Interestingly, if the laundromat is closed, we just have to knock on the door next door (the purple one) because the owner lives just next door!

CC is a very laid back town. In the afternoon, while walking around town, you will always see little kids playing on the pavement, parents and neighbors sitting outside to chat, and there is just so much sign of life out here. Simple life. They do not need a lot of the luxuries we have. All they have is each other. My favorite is walking by a house where the older couple who lives in the house will always sit in their porch on their rocking chair, just relaxing and enjoying each others' company. It is like in the movie Up!. Every time I walk around town, it reminds me more and more of the days in Bayan Baru when I was a little kid.

A typical house in CC.

One of the streets in CC.

Oh, how simple life can be. 

But, all of us still have to check our emails and try our best to be on our regular work schedule. Lucky thing for us, one of the house that was rented for the guys, is owned by a hotel in town - Quinta Santa Cecilia. So they allow us to use their Internet.

Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico

My first job assignment - field sampling at Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico, one of the spots featured in The Lonely Planet. How exciting is that? Microbial ecologists typically don't spend as much time outdoors as most ecologists. A lot of our work is performed indoors with a test tube of DNA solution extracted from minute amount of samples followed by a whole bunch of data analysis in front of the computer. My previous experience with field sampling was limited to Kellogg Biological Station, which was very well equipped for field studies. This trip is definitely an eye-opening trip for me! It is always a lot easier to learn about the samples and to think of ecologically relevant questions when I get to see where the samples come from and all the biogeochemistry dynamics related to it. It is also a long one because we have a six-week long mesocosm experiment.

Cuatro Cienegas is a little town located in the state Coahuila. To get there, we had to drive from Saltillo (the capitol of Coahuila), which we flew to from US. Saltillo airport reminds me very much of Kalamazoo airport where it only has one baggage conveyer and you have to walk from the plane to the airport building. I was super glad that I was accompanied by Spanish speaking colleagues! EVERYTHING was in Spanish!

From the airport, it was about 30 minutes drive to the town area. We stayed in Saltillo for a night before driving out to Cuatro Cienegas. The lab had a rented Jeep, which we filled to the brim! Literally!! As the trip is a long one, we had to bring everything we need in the field and also materials we needed to process samples for measurements that are time-sensitive. The weirdest was bringing a dry shipper with us! It felt like R2D2 came with us. Everyone at the airport at Saltillo was curious about it. Well, we need a way to freeze our samples for DNA and RNA extraction.

Surprisingly, all the luggages placed on top of the Jeep were totally secured. It did not bulge the entire four hours drive from Saltillo to Cuatro Cienegas. The drive was quite boring, as the roads seemed endless. It was a pretty sight though, with mountains and endless desert view. It was also fun to see the dust devil, which are little dust tornados.

Once we arrived at CC and unload the Jeep, we went to get dinner at one of the local restaurant called El Doc. Like some Mexican restaurants, they serve chips and salsa as starter. In addition to salsa, they also have this pickled veggie dish that reminds me of acat! I could make that a meal if only I have some rice!