Category: Japan 2001

But, everyone understood me … People, no matter where they live, love dolphins. I get to see the wonder in everyone's eyes when we talk about how dolphins socialize, how they communicate. It is an honor to share my research and information about dolphins with folks. I had practiced my nihongo (Japanese) several times and was able to give my presentation with only a few stumbles over some words. And, then I watched the dubbed version of DOLPHINS. It was odd seeing myself on that giant screen the first time, and most times thereafter.

Interviews and sharing informationIt was a long, loooonnnggg day. But, a good one. People are truly interested in anything related to dolphins. It is an honor to be able to share my research with folks. As I may have indicated earlier, DOLPHINS opens in Japan officially this week. And, I will introduce it at a theater in Tokyo (Takashimaya) and then the next day in Osaka. I will give a 10 min. presentation in Japanese (nihongo).

Leaving on a jet plane … Well, my bags are packed … two large cases of gear and a garment bag with clothing and snorkeling gear. And, my laptop and one other check on bag. this is traveling light for me! I'll stop by customs to have them check my gear list with serial numbers. This is so that when I return I won't (hopefully) be charged duty on my gear. My flight is about 10 hours and I will cross the international dateline.

Miyake & the volcano eruptions Some of you may remember that when I was in Japan last year, the volcanoe on Miyake erupted. Not lava, but gas and ash. The smoke clouds were amazing and quite tall. In late August, when I was in the Bahamas, I received messages from friends that the entire island (popn. ~3500 people) was evacuated. The latest estimates are that people will not be able to return home for ten to twenty years! yes, you read that correctly.

and more Packing. The spare room in my house and my office are quite chaotic. All my gear and my clothing is spread out in each of these rooms. We are using a second click detector board in the echolocation click detector. This will allow us to capture two different frequencies from dolphin echolocation clicks. Also, we have a preamplifier unit added to the MVA system. We added this preamplifier to the array (MVA) to boost the signal from the hydrophones. This will help us record clearer signals with less noise.

Field Reports – Summer 2001 Welcome to our online field reports site. I look forward to sharing my field work and daily happenings with you. Let me acquaint you, or refresh you, with how these postings work. I will post updates about my research – data collection, preliminary analyses. I also include any unusual observations of dolphin behavior. And, I like to share a bit about my life in the field. About once a week, I will post answers to as many of the questions some of you post to the Ask Kathleen section of these reports.