Which Way the Wind Blows

The Earth's structure is that it is a sphere, and is tilted about 23.5 degrees, which explains the uneven heating. When it's warm and sunny here in Massachusetts, Japan could be in the middle of winter. This is the effect of the rays from the sun; some parts of the Earth they are always directly on there.

The movement of the wind and water is effected by the Earth's rotation. The Coriolis effect changes the Earth's wind patterns. This was demonstrated in an activity done in class, in which one person spun a circular piece of paper on a nail, and another person dropped a bit of water on the paper, and the water moved everywhere, making this symbol.

There are differences within the global wind patterns.  In 60-90 there are the Polar Easterlies, blowing from east to north.  From north to west are the Westerlies in 30-60 degrees.

Loggerhead

1. We had to remember to leave them space on the beach docks and to block off walking in those areas. Which is why we built a huge dock around the whole beach instead of small ones.

2. We had to make sure it was not interfering with any other beach activities and it was off on its own.

3. It might take up too much space on the island. Its possible we could shorten it.

4. Leaves space for potential development down the road for things to grow.

5. Possibly putting the turtles in danger with the golf course close to the beach. As well as the boating docks. Also the houses are close to the forest and people could endanger wildlife.

6. Not entirely sure but keeping the island healthy is a good option.

7. One group had a smaller golf clubhouse than we had. Taking up less electricity. Another thing we could improve on would be making the lab bigger to possibly get better ideas. Lastly, our island was too awesome to have a third fault.

Dont know how to get a picture on here.

A beach by its name

Primary and Secondary coasts are very different by there natural formation. A primary coast is formed by the erosion of land.Secondary coasts are shaped mainly by marine erosion or deposition due to wave action, sediment transport by currents, or building activities of certain organisms and generally these coasts are older. The five major groups known as,salt wedge, flood,slightly stratified, vertically mixed, and fresh water.  The first stage in the formation of a tectonic estuary is when the rapid movement of the Earth’s crust causes a large piece of land to sink, or subside, producing a depression or basin.The economy of many coastal areas relies on the natural beauty of estuaries. When those natural resources are imperiled, so are the livelihoods of the many people who live and work along the coast. As our population grows, the demands imposed on our natural resources increase and protecting these resources for all their natural, economic, and aesthetic values becomes even more important.I thought the assignment was very interesting seeing so many different sands from different places and seeing how similar some of them were. 


http://bgfons.com/download/1023

Sand

All the sand i examined throughout the week was from all different places in the world. Some sands looked like little crystals while others were just sand. We can discover a sediment's origin by studying its size, color, texture and rounding. These aspects all tell us something about where the sediment came from. Sorting also expends upon the distance the sediment has been transported. One of the beaches i chose was Marthas Vineyard, and the sand under the microscope was very glossy/white and large. It was also well sorted. Each particle was different. That shows that the waves, climate, and location are all aspects.

Bathymetric Mapping

1.       Based on your seafloor model provide a description of the topography of your surveyed area.

mainly flat with minor depressions and raised areas.

2.  Using the sonar stick is actually simulating what is known as remote sensing technology. What are the advantages of using remote sensing technology for your survey instead of direct observation?

We can record exact measurements

3. When graphing the ocean floor features we stretched the Y-axis. This is known as vertical exaggeration. What is the advantage of using vertical exaggeration in constructing your profiles of the seafloor?

We can get perfect details

Two new research questions based on what you have learned from this activity:

Why did scientists not use this technique? Why are all the sands so different in different areas?

The value and importance of this activity to your study of science: 

Shows how real scientists can map the ocean floor and gives us a better understanding. 

FYI, im doing this without my sheet so i dont remember anything i wrote.  

Blog

The continents will constantly be moving and will look different 1000 years from now. Continental Drift will cause the continents to move which is just one of the things i learned. The oceans will also continue to get larger and wider as the continents shift. Plate tectonics is when the earths crust is broken into six larger pieces. Many scientists will continue to theorize about what the continents will eventually shift into but no one really knows for sure, it remains to be a mystery.

Experiment

For this experiment we will need scuba equipment first and foremost. Then we will need air tanks, enough food to last and correct bed supplies for the week long stay. We would also need safety equipment as this is a long trip. We will probably leave on a Sunday to then return before the next week starts. We also will need working showers to stay clean. Lastly we will need an underwater camera to see the clams correctly, and night vision goggles to work at night.

Why Explore the Oceans

I have learned many things in Oceanography so far. I learned that Egyptians were the first to build ships and use them for trade. The Polynesians boyaged across the Pacific Ocean out of sight from land from 2000-50 B.C. I learned that the Phoenicians traded from the Mediterranean to England from 1100-850 B.C. In 450 B.C. Pytheas made the moon/tide connection in about 325 B.C. Those are just some of the things I have learned so far.

 I also thought the presentations were pretty good. I thought everyone did a good job getting the main points across and some of the videos were cool. Some things I learned that I had no idea about was the compass. I did not know the compass was invented by China so long ago, and started out so simplistic. Its amazing to see what kind of things can be thought of so early on in societal times. Nobody ever thought the world was flat as well.

I wanted to take this class because knowing about the ocean is important. I also am interested in facts about the Ocean, how large it is and how many animals we have not discovered. This class is unique to other classes because i have never learned about the ocean extensively before.