Cathy UR, Last Week

The dunes we surveyed

Last week was a very exciting week for me, in last weeks lab we went out to Ponce Inlet Beach and measured the height and movement of the sand dunes. We also took  1/2 cup samples of the dunes and sieved them. The purpose of us sieving the samples of sand was to analyze the sands partial sizes. We determined that the particle sizes our sieve measured were 6.3mm pebble size, 236mm gravel size, 425um medium sand size, 150um fine sand size and the last sieved we called <150um silt and clay size. As we were examining the different sieves from our west site 3 sample, we notice something that was unnatural to the sand formation process. We found a tiny plastic bead as you can see in the picture below.

This is the plastic bead.

 I was quit shocked about this find, because site west 3 is located on the back side of a sand dune that is proctored and we humans are not supposed to go in this area unless given permission. So this implies that the bead had to travel with the sand in part of the natural dune movement. Who really knows were this bead started its journey and how far it traveled.



On another note, I have been studying up on the methods for using the copper ampules for my research project. I will be using the Hach 890 which will be able to tell me how much copper is in the sample with the range of 0.00-5.00mg/L. Its great that it has such a wide range because the EPA says that there should not be more than 1.3mg/L in our water. I can not wait to get out in the field and take my samples to see what the copper levels in the Tomoka river are!

Valerie Valentine, U.R. Off Shore Dredging and Beach Renourishment

                                 

     After speaking to Project Engineer for the Army Corp of Engineers, Paul Cotter, my angle for my project has slightly changed. He informed me that the current dredging in progress in Brevard County is off shore dredging. The sand and sediments are being dredged and then transferred from 5 miles off shore by a tube that runs along the sea floor. The amount of sediment being placed on shore is 312 truck loads an hour. This process is called beach re-nourishment. I would like to compare the beach sediments. I will collect the sediments from before the re-nourishment and then after the deep water sediment has been replaced onshore. Some questions I am posing are how do theses sediments differ? How could this impact the shore as well as the ocean floor? Once I travel to the site just south of the Port of Canaveral, I will assess the magnitude of this operation. Mr. Cotter and I spoke for a long time about the costs and restrictions that may make the operation difficult to proceed at times; such as machine maintenance, environmental protest, and limited time as turtle season approaches. But the cost of this production is $24 million per day. The crew works 24/7 and will complete a little over 20 miles of Brevards Beach re-nourishment. How many truck loads would that be? Mr. Cotter's argument is that we are avoiding the harmful effects of thousands of truck loads, which was the old way of bringing the sand in for the beach. I am excited to get to the site this week and assess this for myself.


On a side note, below is a link to the info about the St. Johns River Clean up....

http://www.flvec.com/volusia-flagler/content/UrlView.aspx?id=68

St. Johns River Cleanup

April 12, 2014
8 to 11:00 a.m.

Kristen Ghaffarian U.R. Week in Review

This past week was pretty fun, we got to get into a different kind of research.  We surveyed the sand dunes in Ponce Inlet, got to know some new instruments and methods.  It was challenging with the wind, but the weather was perfect and we had a good time.
As far as my research project is concerned, I am getting my outline for what I will need, procedures and making sure I have everything I need to secure a day with Dr. Woodall to come and help me with the expensive instruments.  I have been practicing with my mac excel and powerpoint so that I am familiar with the programs.  The graphs are easy to comprehend, you know which one you want to use and how it should look, it is the process of telling the computer how to do it.  This week was pretty quiet for me, planning for the research project and getting ready for the seining this coming Friday.

Bryton Wolfe U.R. Week In review

Swell Height chart for March 20th

      Continuing upon my research as to how frontal boundaries affect swells in the region I followed this week quite in detail. With the massive front that drove through our region the passed few days I have noticed a distinct correlation with how a front really affects the ocean around it. At the leading edge of the front in which it becomes quite rainy I noticed that there wasn't much of a swell to begin with. Ranging in the 2-3 foot range with extremely short periods of approximately 8 seconds. It wasn't until after the rain subsided and the wind picked up to about the 15-20mph range was when I noticed a distinct build in the surf. For instance, Today, Thursday March 20th, there is a swell height of 3-5 feet at a period of 12 seconds! One piece of evidence that I found fascinating was that it is actually after primary frontal boundary (where all the rain is) that the swell is affected rather than the boundary itself. I will continue research into this with the next front expected to hit Tuesday of next week.

Wind Speed March 20th

Swell Period March 20th

Attached are a couple of pictures that show satellite images of swell period, height, and wind speed. Using the equations in class I am able to determine wave speed and wavelength Which could be used to predict how good the surf is expected to be as well as an the height at which the wave will break.

Valerie Valentine, U.R. - Dredging, turbidity and seagrass

      http://www.unc.edu/ims/paerllab/research/seagrass/Biberetal_Seagrass.pdf

The above research states that seagrass needs 15-25% surface irradiance (energy from the sun) which is noted to be a high light requirement compared to the needs of other marine growth. The effects of human activities within the Indian River Lagoon affected the seagrass growth. The most significant of these are the fluctuation of salinity, water runoff, dredging and chemical pollutants. Sea grass is used as an indicator to the estuary's health condition. If the sea grass is diminishing then the water is unwell.

“A lagoon-wide seagrass monitoring program led by scientists from the St. Johns River Water Management District is responsible for monitoring long-term trends in IRL seagrass population status, health, and coverage trends. Data from this program and associated water quality monitoring programs indicates that the amount of light reaching the benthic habitat is the primary factor limiting seagrass coverage in the lagoon. Water column turbidity, chlorophyll a concentration, and color are the principal determinants of water clarity in the lagoon, with turbidity being by far the most important” (Christian and Shang 2003). and http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/IRL_seagrasstrends.htm Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce.

                                 

My scientific efforts will show how much turbidity and for how long does the increased turbidity linger due to maintenance dredging in the Brevard County section of IRL. Also, noting how much light is needed for the seagrass to survive. In the past week I have contacted the Army Corp of Engineers and was informed of the scheduled maintenance dredging occurring at this time in Brevard. My projected plan is to test the turbidity very near the dredging site. I will then return for samples every two weeks until the water clears or my lab time has ended with a decreased level records. 

Shelby Thomas UR~ Algae project

      After unfortunately forgetting my flash drive I still have yet to give my mid term presentation, which I will present this tuesday prior oceanography class fortunately. I have come to decide to test with four different tanks with four different temperatures. I will need four growth lights of at least 13 watts to grow algae but I choose to have a 60 watt growth light. Certainly a change of light intensity

could change the growth of algae as well which could be its own experiment within itself. I will be measuring the growth with a measuring scale and measure the weight of the algae as well as comparing it visually.  I will be using water heaters set to a specific temperature. I will be using 60, 70, 80, 90 degree fahrenheit increments. Allowing algae to grow for two weeks. I think algae growth will be most productive at 80 degrees. I am eager to start this experiment hopefully within the next week or two. Time to grow some Algae!

Bryton U.R. This Week In Review

This past week has been a disheartening disappointment. As some of you might be well aware, I was in a car accident last Thursday thus resulting in a broken nose and severely bruised knee. However, aside from that set back it led to not having any transportation in order to continue my field work in person. However, with today's technology I was still able to observe what conditions were with the frontal boundary that had just moved in this week. Using this webcam I was able to observe the approximate conditions of the surf at Ponce Inlet. Furthermore using near shore buoys I was able to get an approximate swell height, along with periods and wind speeds. As a result, my accident wasn't a total loss and I was capable of continuing my research in the field. 

Cathy, UR- Copper in our Waterways

This image shows two man applying copper pesticides/fungicides to a canal.

This past week I have spent many hours reading information of the effects of copper in the water on the ecosystem and humans. Most of what I read was about humans, I have learned this week that we need very small amounts of copper for our body's to function. But that anything above 1.3mg/L is consider toxic and can has harmful effects on our bodies. There are natural and human sources of copper but the most common source is copper pesticides. The main way copper pesticides are used in Florida is when they are applied to Florida's waterways to control aquatic plants and algae growth. I am very eager to get out there and test my samples to see what the copper levels are. I am hoping that they are low and there is little to action needed to take place.

Angela, CUR-Driftology

You know that expression "Can't see the forest for the trees"? During my research regarding plastic on Florida's beaches I was so focused on types of plastic and East versus West coast, I didn't seem to notice an obvious detail in my debris map:

At the open house for the new IMES facility, Chad Macfie from the Marine Science Center noted that the majority of my plastic on the East Coast was towards the South. In all honesty, there could be a discrepancy in my data because I had not fully established my research methods and protocol, yet, when I started collecting plastic in the North. Also, if (during my project) I had collected plastic in a touristy area such as Daytona Beach I would've added a northern location with hundreds of pieces of plastic. However, of the hundreds of pieces I've come across on Daytona Beach's shores after the completion of my project, there weren't many I considered to be "ocean plastic" but mainly items left behind by visitors. 

The majority of "ocean plastic" seems to have washed on to the East coast's southern shores and this may be due to, as Chad pointed out, the Gulf Stream's vicinity to the beaches in the south.  To test whether the Gulf Stream and surface currents are washing debris onto Florida's beaches, a long-term drift bottle research project could shed some light on the matter. Just need several hundred bottles and a ship that would take us out to the Gulf Stream somewhere between the Keys and South America. ;)

Shelby Thomas UR- Algae Biofuels

Algae Bioriactor System

I have been researching what type of algae I should use for my experiment. The good thing about algae is it will grow. Algae is among the fastest growing plants, it also can be grown year round unlike

seasonal crops. The worlds fastest growing algae is called Microalgae which is very small. With all the species of algae out there it is tough to pick which will work best. It would also be time consuming to

Algae Pond Harvesting

test them all. Certain strains of algae are more suitable for biofuels. So it important to be very selective on what to test and use for biofuels.  For the most part species such as Meredithia has been used in research. Through studies it has shown that algae grows faster in warm to hot water with sunlight. There are several different ways to extract the oil used for the biofuel from algae as well as ways to grow algae such as vertical growth and compression, closed tank bioreactor, etc. If you are interested on how algae biodiesel is grown, processed, and made check out:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/algae-biodiesel3.htm   I will keep a update when I decide on what spices to use for my project. Also for further exploration and information on algae fuel; also the different species used in research checkout: https://lawofalgae.wiki.zoho.com/Chapter-1----Introduction-to-Algae-Biofuels.html

Algae Fueled Car