The Loa River, the longest river in Chile, crosses the Atacama Desert, and is the only exorheic basin in 1,000 kilometers of Pacific coast. Its 508-hectare mouth is a Protected National Asset that harbors wildlife and plants listed as endangered or threatened and is part of the network of coastal wetlands in northern Chile. The high density of archaeological sites suggests that it is a nodal territory that served different periods throughout history. In 1989, El Loa Customs was established, through which hundreds of people pass. However, this area of high patrimonial significance is abandoned, litter predominates and the archeological sites are affected by intense looting. In 2021, the Ministry of National Assets granted the concession of this site to UC for research, conservation and dissemination. Archaeological and socio-environmental data will be collected here, as well as the creation of a heritage route, displays and a scientific station. The LOA UC scientific station requires an interdisciplinary approach and institutional and regional collaboration. Its mission is transdisciplinary, recognizing that the processes affecting this area reflect a global crisis, where pollution, climate change, migration and/or abandonment of heritage is a cross-cutting and urgent challenge.