Wednesday February 23: Field Work

Today we drove westward along the coast, past Abu Dhabi until we got to Tarif.  We stopped at a coastal site and waded out a little into the Arabian Gulf to sample methane gas and sediment at the edge of the sea.  We were only able to collect a little bit of methane.  Then we backtracked to sample from a puddle on an inland salt flat. 

After an excellent Indian lunch at a truck stop, we continued on to the elegant Tilal Liwa Hotel, which is out in the middle of the dunes, with nothing around it.  The Madinat Zayed Camel Racetrack and Training Grounds, a few miles away, is the closest thing.

After checking in at the hotel, we continued south to the Liwa Oasis and went into the dunes to look for salt flats in between them.  On the road to Tel Moreeb we found a good one.  Tomorrow we will bring visiting students from the local schools there.