Central American Resource Group
Research
Bureau of Economic Geology
Environmental Studies in Belize
Bureau researchers have worked with professionals from the Belizian Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources since 1996, studying deforestation, land cover, and land use. Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery, satellite data, and field studies were employed to evaluate the success of the government's efforts to limit deforestation and to evaluate land use for better management of protected areas. Research results were then presented in public workshops in Belize and in workshops for Belize scientists at UT.
LIDAR and the Environment
In 1997 coastal scientists from the Bureau and Center for Space Research began experimenting with new airborne laser altimetry technology called LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). This technology enables the collection of high-precision data from an airplane to produce digital topographic maps called DEMs (Digital Elevation Models). It is a unique tool for investigating a broad range of scientific and engineering research problems: shoreline change and wetlands loss; surface hydrology and flooding; earth surface dynamics and landslides; forest structure and ecology; and city planning and urban infrastructure mapping. The Bureau's use of LIDAR includes the mapping of active geologic environments, such as the Texas coast, where shoreline change is an important issue. Bureau scientists involved in LIDAR studies include John R. Andrews, Jerome A. Bellian, Edward W. Collins, James C. Gibeaut, Roberto Gutierrez, Tiffany L. Hepner, and Rebecca C. Smyth.
Costa Rica
In 1997, Bureau and University representatives traveled to Costa Rica to meet with officials of the Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía (Ministry of Environment and Energy) and sign a cooperative agreement. The cooperative agreement calls for cooperation in identifying and providing opportunities "for participation in educational and research programs that are of mutual benefit and interest." The first of these cooperative projects involved the preservation of seismic data wherein magnetic tape-based data were transferred to compact discs. This project was necessary for the construction of a comprehensive database that will provide information for improved assessment of Costa Rica's energy resource potential. Future studies involve coastal research, GIS, and research into Costa Rican environmental and natural resources.
Using LIDAR in Honduras: Hurricane Mitch
Soon after the Bureau purchased its own LIDAR unit in 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) asked the Bureau to participate in an investigation of the impacts of Hurricane Mitch, which struck Central America in November 1998. Honduras was especially hard-hit, and flooding, high winds, and landslides destroyed much of the country's infrastructure. Honduras is currently rebuilding the housing and infrastructure destroyed by the hurricane. To minimize the effects of future storm disasters, the Honduran government needs maps that clearly define areas prone to flooding and landslides.
The joint Bureau-USGS team surveyed 15 municipal areas of Honduras. Maps and surveys that would have been nearly impossible using ground-based methods were accomplished in a few weeks. Although the data are currently being processed, initial results have exceeded expectations. The Bureau feels proud to be playing a small, but critical, role in helping Honduras recover from one of the worst natural disasters in Latin American history.
Texas Archeological Research Laboratory
The Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory (MARL)
The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Belize, Central America. The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) is directed by Dr. Fred Valdez of the Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin. Since 1992, with the permission of the Department of Archaeology, Government of Belize, the PfBAP has conducted original research concerning ancient Maya civilization.
The project area of the PfBAP is in northwestern Belize on land owned by the Programme for Belize, a Belizean controlled non-profit organization established in 1988. PfBAP research focuses on the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, a nature reserve that is over 250,000 acres in size. The PfBAP research area contains over 50 ancient Maya settlements. The research area is home to a great variety of neotropical wildlife, including many birds, cats, and monkeys.
Researchers at PfBAP have authored many research reports and several dissertations and theses have been produced. The field school program involves survey, excavation at several Maya sites, and laboratory experience working directly with excavated Maya artifacts. Field techniques, lectures on Maya culture history and instruction concerning artifact analysis are provided during each session.
The PfBAP offers archaeological fieldwork opportunities for volunteers of any age and experience level as well as opportunities for students to earn college credit. Spring (February - May) opportunities are available for students and volunteers, while Summer (May - July) opportunities are available for students only.
Department of Anthropology
Central American Caribbean Research Council
The Central American and Caribbean Resource Center (CACRC) is an organization dedicated to activist research, scholarship, and education in the Central American / Caribbean area. In recent years CACRC has specialized in assisting Indigenous and Black communities in mapping and documenting their claims for land as part of their ongoing efforts to reclaim them.
Edmund T. Gordon and Charles R. Hale, both professors of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, currently coordinate CACRC activities.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
The El Salvador Initiative
Contact: Rodger M. Dalston
512.471.4119Over the past 15 years, Austin Smiles has supported medical missions to El Salvador. The 3 trips per year provide surgical care to approximately 200 children born with clefts of the lip and/or palate. Unfortunately, there has been no well-trained follow-up care available for these children. Moreover, this lack represents the tip of the iceberg of unmet need in this country of 6.2 million. The government estimates that there are 40 to 50 clinicians who attempt to serve the estimated population of 150,000 communicatively impaired Salvadoran citizens. Their numbers clearly are inadequate to the task. Moreover, this small cadre of dedicated citizens receives no formal training in their chosen profession. They learn, on the job, from mentors who also received no educational preparation. To appreciate the magnitude of this problem, one need only consider the fact that North Carolina has a comparable population (5.6 million), but that population is served by 3,243 speech/language pathologists and audiologists who have at least 2 years of graduate education in the field.