This past week the Sediment Dynamics Group was back in Myanmar! Andrea and I presented results at the International Joint Symposium at Pathein University. The focus of the symposium was “Challenges in educational development on agricultural and food resources in tropical Asia”. It was very different from the usual presentations we see! There were lots of talks about rice farming and fishing. But we met up with some old friends and made some new ones too. It’s always exciting to connect with researchers from other countries.

After the symposium we met up with Aaron and Evan, and headed back to Meinmahla Island to collect some new data. For the past 2-3 years, we’ve been investigating sedimentary processes in different types of tidal channels in the island. The island is a mangrove preserve, so we’re able to study processes in a natural environment. There are also agricultural fields along the banks of the river near the island, so we can investigate processes in a modified landscape. It’s an ideal study site! There are also lots of crocodiles, snakes, and centipedes (oh my!).

Even though it’s the rainy season we had amazing weather, and there was only one downpour. We measured water and sediment flow in the tidal channels and surveyed the island. We collected lots of videos of the river banks so that we can understand how the bank shapes change through the island. We also measured the elevation of the island and agricultural fields. It was a long week of hot work, but we got some awesome data!