Working on a novel ecosystem such as the Marker Wadden can be very adventurous: the soil is sometimes so soft you can’t walk there. Getting stuck in the quick sand is a returning theme. So how are we working there? An overview of our struggles and solutions 🙂
Not being able to walk and not being able to swim: working on quick sand as soft as yoghurt:
- Using an inflatable boat – some water on top required! Con: the boat is punctured often.
- Using a specially designed mud sleigh. It must be operated by a couple of people – the best role is obviously sitting in the sleigh.
- Moving on floating insulation materials/ body boards – not very stable, but you can move through the whole research plot!
When the soil is a bit more consolidated, you can often walk at places and then suddenly sink into the mud. How to prevent this or handle when this happens?
- Using snow shoes
- Making board walks if you constantly have to walk along the same route
- Or when the damage is done and you got stuck: Crawling through the mud!
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