The day began with the RDTF helicopters completing the transport of the second expedition wave from Cobija to Puerto Araona. The helicopters flew with the doors open, enabling the passengers to capture the scenery below with digital cameras. Particularly noteworthy, was the wandering track of the light brown tinted rivers. The sediment deposition in Riberalta and the huge amount of rain that swells the rivers during the rainy season suggests that the rivers would have their pathways modified as they travel across the relatively flat terrain. Oxbow lakes, indicating the former course of the river, can be observed with great frequency. The oxbow lake is identified as ‘black water’ and the river is ‘ brown water’. The green pathways noted in the images represent former river course that had been bypassed and filled with sediment providing the substrate for the grassland.

Dave mingles with the population of Puerto Araona as he leads a group to welcome the incoming second wave RDTF flights. Life in the village settles into a mutual amusement platform with the villagers proud to show off their new babies, the older children demonstrating that they were content with our presence and the youngest were sometimes captivated by the strange visitors. The windowless ICE-house took on the appearance of a theater in the middle of the village. Anytime the team was in the ICE-house there was always an audience observing and adults and adventurous children alike would wander in for a closer look. (o23ao) The biggest attraction was seeing a picture taken with a digital camera instantly displayed onto a laptop screen.

Early in the afternoon, the first webcast was broadcast with PeterW and TimK introducing the expedition. The biology team and Gunther wasted no time and took a canoe trip down the Rio Manupare to a forest trail that would take them to the Rio Manurimi. During this trip they collected butterflies (A / B), spiders, frogs, snakes and several plants on this trip. Bat and frog spotting/trapping was set up in the evening. TimK and the Museo biologists are interested in biodiversity in Amazonia and this is fortuitous for the crater verification team as the plant life remote sensing signature will help to refine interpretations of the Landsat imagery.