Loggerhead Island

The project our group did on the creation of Loggerhead island was fun and informative. On the side of the island with the sea turtle nesting we needed to consider the precautions of the public being a disturbance, and we also needed relocate the police and fire station on one side of it and the research center on the other for patrol. We placed our fishing dock on the lagoon side of the island because it is calm and peaceful over there and lots of fish will enjoy that location. Our golf course has a very convenient placement on the island, towards the end with lots of space. We placed a large fence around the sides of the water so that the golf balls don't enter the ocean. The economic benefits are the public housing is mostly on the lagoon side away from the economic stuff. Humans negatively impact the coastal ecosystems with there rowdiness, pollution, and the electricity distributed around the streets. With healthy vegetation and economy we can severely prevent the issues of storms starting. I wish that made the gold course larger, had more public attractions, and more security for the nesting turtles.

Which way the wind blows

This week we did four different assignments. One assignment we took a flashlight and we put it on a globe and pretended it was the sun to exemplify the equator and why it gets so hot. Next we did the lab with the globe again, where one person spun the ball and the other person takes the expo marker and makes the line strait in a diagonal line down the ball, to make it look like Coriolis effect. Next we took colored pencils and made the globe mapped out with trade winds, hadley winds, and the ITCZ, and the equator. We did another project where we plotted points on the map to make it show us where the hurricanes are located and developed. These different labs and acitivites helped to learn a lot of different types of wind and how it affects the earth and other things.

Coastal Classification

1. Physical and geological characteristics such as rocks and reefs are used to classify the Earth's dynamic coastlines. 2. Arcadia National Park, Maine: Primary coast, fjord coast Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Diastrophic/sedimentary salt domes Chesapeake Bay, Virginia: Primary drought river valley Atlantic City, New Jersey: SEcondary coasts wave erosion Mississippi Delta, Mississippi: Subaerial deposition, deltaic coasts Kilauea Coast, Hawaii: Volcanic coasts all San Francisco Bay, California: secondary, fault-line coasts Analysis This project showed a lot of different ways of telling what classifications many coasts lay on. We were able to research the location of a coastline, and find out what the causes of its classification are. Whether the coastline was caused by natural or man-made alterations, all have an effect on what classification that specific coastline falls under. I was able to learn how to tell the difference between different coastal classifications while doing this project.

Sand Reflection

The sand lab that we did in oceanography this week was very fun and also very informative. I learned a lot while doing this lab.It was fun to be able to look through the microscope and study each different sand sample. I liked looking at the different sand samples from different places in the world. There was an obvious difference in each sample of sand from different places and it was a fun challenge to try and match each sample to its correct location.

Bathymetric Mapping

Field Trip

Yesterday during the Oceanography field trip, I learned a lot with my group. While we were on the boat, I learned how to use a compass to navigate a map and draw latitude and longitude lines. I learned how to catch plankton, and to view their activity through a microscope. I learned how to hold a crab, which was fun. I watched a lobster crush a water bottle with its strong claws. While we were at the beach, I learned more about erosion and the formation of how beaches came to be. I looked at sand through a magnifying glass and saw how it is made up of thousands of tiny rocks. I learned a lot more about sand dunes and how they are formed. Sand dunes have beach grass on top and their roots go all the way down through the dunes which help to keep the dunes standing. I had a really fun time on this field trip, while learning a great deal as well.

Pangea

In class this week we did an activity called "Dancing of the Continents". During this activity we cut out each continent with their mountain ranges and rock formations. Then we put each seperate continent back together, forming pangea. The "Dancing of the Continents" activity was really fun and also informative. I learned how the formation of Pangea was originally mapped and how it split apart. The theorys shown in the paper are exemplified in the maps that we drew. Each mountain valley and rock formation that was split apart from pangea, fits together perfectly when you form the continents back together. Scientists share their theories with each other and come to different conclusions of what they think the solutions are. They use their information to help each other come to a common conclusion.

Ocean Literacy

Why study science?

I am taking this class because I like the ocean, and learning about it will be fun. I like to surf and to sail, and I've grown up a mile from the ocean my entire life. Learning more about the ocean greeatly interests me and I think this will be a really fun class. There is a lot to this course that is unknown to me, and I am interested in learning all about each aspect of oceanography.