Humboldt's Donkey: Transport, Transport Networks, and Infrastructures as a Factors in Field Research

Abstract

Transport, transport networks, and infrastructures are considered in this article as factors that influence the course and results of scientific field research, the work of field stations, and the scientists themselves. To determine the nature and mechanism of such an influence, the author turns to a wide range of cases from different historical, geographical, and disciplinary contexts associated with the use of water, rail, road, and air transport in the process of fieldwork or for moving to the field. Time in motion is contemplated as a process structured with various practices and impressions that have a direct impact on the knowledge gained in the field and on the experience of fieldwork in general. The article highlights the role of vehicles as a "scientific instrument" since they mediate the relationship between an observer and a space as an object of observation. Based on an analysis of several cases, the author concluded that transport in the context of field science influences the system of scientific hierarchies, serves as a place for communication between scientists, and proposes changing roles for participants during scientific travel. Transport and its relevance for a particular landscape or field could be an important factor for the success of the research and the safety of its participants. The use of transport might involve certain risks that researchers try to anticipate and, if possible, avoid.