Natalia Morata (46) is a speleologist. Speleology is the science that studies the morphology and geological formations of natural underground cavities; as both a scientific discipline and a sport, it’s a field where Morata stands out as a devoted example of this passion.
Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the French foundation Centre Terre and was the co-coordinator in Chile for the 2014 and 2017 expeditions in Patagonia. She is Spaniard and was academically trained in Switzerland as a translator and interpreter. She arrived in Chile in 2009, and it was there that her relationship with the French organization began. Next, within the context of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the speleologist Natalia Morata shares this inspiring interview with us about her work and role as a woman in the scientific community.
Photos by Natalia Morata from the 2019 Ultima Patagonia Expedition with Centre Terre / © Lionel Ruiz.
Natalia is part of the team of Centre Terre, a French association founded in 1992, which has been traveling to the outmost reaches of Chilean Patagonia since the mid-1990s. When reading about Centre Terre association on its official website, the strong emphasis on scientific exploration in remote and physically demanding locations is evident; but above all, it highlights the commitment to communicating the knowledge acquired in these places to diverse audiences. Tell us how you got involved in this job until you became the Vice President of the foundation—and, it should be noted, it’s unpaid or volunteer work. How has this experience formed your journey in science, the mountain, and science communication?
I was born in Barcelona in 1974. I started in speleology in the early 90s with the speleology section of the mountain club I belonged to. It was love at first sight. After the initiation course, there wasn’t a weekend that went by without me going caving with my club (to visit explored and surveyed caves) or participating in exploration campaigns in Aragón and Cantabria, two zones of Spain with large zones of limestone and with such speleological potential. But not long after, I decided to study in Switzerland. There I trained as a translator and interpreter, and during those years, I set caving aside for a while. I returned to the activity years later, upon my return to Calalunya.
In that time (early 2000’s), I read many articles about expeditions to Madre de Dios in speleology magazines. Those expedition travels and discoveries fascinated me; it was like the El Dorado of speleology, where sports, science, culture, art, human experience, and countless other things went hand-in-hand. For years, I read about the work of the French association Centre Terre in Patagonia, and I dreamed of being part of something like that, but it never occurred to me to get in touch with them.
In 2009, life brought me to Chile, even though I knew that limestone areas are scarce in this country. I thought that, because it’s so extraordinary, people here would know about the Madre de Dios archipelago—that they would have seen images or could at least place it on the map. Nothing could be further from the truth. Time passed, and with it, days, weeks, months, and years without smelling the damp rock or feeling the darkness of the limestone depths. When life on the surface became unbearable, I gathered the courage to contact Centre Terre, just after they had announced that their 2010 expedition to Patagonia would be their last. Luckily, they changed their minds.
My first expedition with them was in 2014 to Diego de Almagro Island, a treasure of limestone and marble located in what’s now the Kawésqar National Park. I loved the two-month expedition with an extraordinary group of people who have fully embraced teamwork and dedication—each contributing their own expertise and know-how, driven by the passion that unites us. I learned so much thanks to their outstanding outreach efforts, and I fell in love with the educational program that Centre Terre implements on every expedition.
On the way back from the expedition, my role almost naturally began to take shape as the liaison between Centre Terre and Chilean public agencies, especially with the Ministry of National Property and CONAF Magallanes (National Forest Corporation). Despite being a foreign association, since its first expeditions in Patagonia, Centre Terre has always maintained a respectful and cooperative relationship with the Chilean authorities. In fact, Madre de Dios has been a Protected National Property since 2007, thanks to the discoveries of Centre Terre.
These relationships were strengthened and expanded, particularly from 2014 onwards, leading us to sign a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of National Property in 2016. This collaboration agreement was subsequently updated in 2019 under the current government team.
It was in recognition of this job that Centre Terre decided to designate me Vice President at its 2015 General Assembly. And with that designation came additional tasks and related responsibilities, mainly related to the organization of expeditions and an increasingly close collaboration with the Ministry of National Property to improve the process of nominating the Madre de Dios archipelago as a World Heritage Site.
Moreover, in 2017 we decided to create the Speleological Association of Patagonia, a non-profit corporation, whose goals include promoting speleology in Chile.
For me, spending my free time on this multifaceted project is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. One of my biggest motivations is shaping an educational project in Chile, inspired by the one at Centre Terre. That’s how, in 2019, we carried out the “Cuerdas y Más” activity with the Miguel Montecinos de Puerto Edén School. While 2020 didn’t let us continue, we hope to resume our work with them in 2021 and lay the groundwork for a project to explore their surroundings—which will resonate with this and many future generations of children.
Natalia, you’re a speleologist. Could you tell us what speleology is? Did somebody inspire or encourage you to follow that path?
Speleology is a sport-scientific discipline that focuses on the exploration of the underground world. In different European countries, for example, speleology is considered a sport, and its national federations are structured similarly to those of other activities such as mountaineering, climbing, etc. But there are also countries like Russia, for example, where speleology is an activity overseen by the Ministry of Culture.
In Chile, this activity is practically unknown. It hasn’t been structured in any way yet, which might allow us in the future—as the number of practitioners grows—to determine the best way to organize ourselves within the institutional framework. Speleological expeditions in Chile, mainly carried out by foreign groups, have a strong scientific research component; thus, establishing a link through the Ministry of Culture or the Ministry of Science could be a viable path forward.
I first got the speleology bug almost by chance, out of simple curiosity. At home, my parents tried to talk me out of it—telling me “it’s not for girls” or “it’s too dangerous”, etc—but it was in vain. One day, I saw a flyer from the speleology section of my mountain club announcing an initiation course… As soon as I turned 18, I signed up… and here I am!
I was never professionally involved in speleology, and that’s one of the things in my life I’d change if I had the chance.
Photos from the 2019 Ultima Patagonia Expedition, in which Natalia Morata participated with Centre Terre /© Bernard Tourte.
In commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, do you think it’s a good idea to promote the participation of girls, young people, and women in science? How does it help encourage involvement in this field and related areas, such as mountaineering and science communication, among others?
Any initiative that fosters an interest in knowing, learning, investigating, understanding, and sharing knowledge about our environment is a good one—regardless of gender. Luckily, the way children and young people experience science is moving further away from the traditional laboratory image. Science is about understanding our environment so that we can appreciate and protect it with judgment and a broad perspective. Out in the field, disciplines quickly intertwine and, in this modern view of science, sports—viewed as a physical activity requiring specific techniques—play a fundamental role. The same applies to photography, cinema, writing, and mastering the language of social media to effectively communicate what we learn from nature.
Women in science account for only 30% of researchers worldwide, according to figures from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). In addition, various studies guarantee that gender stereotypes, among other factors, are one of the main reasons why so few women are involved in science (Blickenstaff (2006); Goulden et al. (2011); Moss-Racusin et al. (2012)). In Chile, it’s almost the same. Even though Latin America has been recognized as a region where the women’s representation in science has increased compared to other regions of the world, figures still show that Chile (33.1%) ranks as one of the countries with the lowest women’s representativeness in science, along with other South American countries, such as Ecuador and Peru (UNESCO, 2015, 2019). What is your opinion? Did you face any kind of resistance because you’re a woman in your career as a speleologist and explorer?
Definitely, women must continue to break down taboos and limits. The fact that the great women of science weren’t granted the visibility they deserved in the past doesn’t mean this will not change. In fact, I sometimes believe that in fields typically considered male-dominated, we are beginning to benefit from a certain degree of positive discrimination. While this is an anomaly in itself, it presents a great opportunity to continue highlighting the work of so many women in science and exploration. As for speleology and expedition members, I must say that I never felt any type of discrimination. I have always felt a deep respect from my colleagues—the same respect that I have for them.
Natalia, you have participated in different expeditions in Chilean Patagonia, exploring karst¹ environments, and, most recently, naturally formed ice caves. In these challenging environments, facing intense gusts of wind and rain, walking on glaciers, or exploring the interior of a glacial cave, how did you prepare to understand, assess, and deal with the dangers involved in being in places like those?
Centre Terre’s expeditions to Patagonia are prepared about two years in advance. These are two-month missions where we operate with full autonomy on the ground; this means we must anticipate a base camp, all safety-related aspects, and everything necessary to explore a challenging environment with harsh weather—while maintaining as much comfort as possible. The team’s field knowledge is an invaluable asset, but in hostile zones, we never leave anything to chance. All potential movements in the field are studied and anticipated as much as possible. In addition to scientists, our team includes cavers who are also carpenters, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and doctors; in other words, we have a great deal of maneuverability to carry out complex projects. Our strength lies in the team.
Personally, my main contribution is translation. I’m in charge of translating into Spanish the communications we generate before, during, and after the expedition.
On a physical level, I prepare myself by exercising, trekking, and doing yoga, as I try to compensate for the lack of underground practice. On a technical level, I have spent years participating in the international cave rescue course organized by Spéléo Secours Français. This commission, under the French Federation of Speleology, is part of France’s Civil Protection and is responsible for underground rescues in coordination with firefighters and the Gendarmerie; all of its members are volunteers.
What advice would you give to girls and young people to encourage them to become scientists or natural environment explorers like you?
Fundamentally, education should foster scientific curiosity and a passion for exploration in children, regardless of gender. Until this becomes a reality in our societies, the only thing I can say to my future fellow adventurers is that exploring and discovering the world doesn’t depend on their fathers, brothers, cousins, or boyfriends. If they are motivated, they already have everything they need to learn and become self-sufficient in any environment.
Natalia Morata carrying out the “Cuerdas y Más” activity with the Miguel Montecinos School in Puerto Edén, 2019/ © Centre Terre.
¹Karst environments: Derived from the word or term Karst, which originated in the region of former Yugoslavia. It describes a type of landscape relief formed by limestone. Limestone is a type of sedimentary rock used extensively as a building material, for example, in the manufacturing of cement.
Source: Velozo Figueroa, L. y Sánchez Martínez, M. (2007). Vocabulary of Geomorphology and Related Terms. Santiago, Chile: Institute of Geography, Pontifical Catholic University.
Featured Image: Ultima Patagonia Expedition, Madre de Dios Archipelago, Puerto Natales, Chile, 2019 / © Serge Caillault. Location link