Richard : Sediment Sampling and Artificial Reefs

2nd Sample

1st Sample

As you can probably surmise from these pictures, I took my sediment samples from the beach. After taking my first sample I walked forward in between this building (Breakers Restaurant) and the dunes and took my second sample. The surface of the sediment seemed to be for the most part dry. I took my sample from the top! There was a little condensation forming inside the bag when I got home, so I open up the bags and allowed the air conditioned house absorb the moisture. The exact location is hidden behind this dune. The 2nd sampling (with 60% coverage of plants) area was four meters north of this building. The third picture is a view facing the dunes at New Smyrna Beach at the end of Flagler Avenue.  Longitude Latitude 29.04 N Latitude Longitude 80.90 W.

I spoke with Chad from the Marine Science Center and he shared with me that concerning artificial reefs, the important factor is whether the reef are a "High Profile" or "Low Profile". This will determine what kind of species will be attracted to the reef and how commercial fisherman can benefit from this. His suggestion was that I pick two different sites and gather some data showing the different fish habitation. I am attending the next meeting with the Volusia County research team (artificial reefs), which is this Thursday night!







Angela - Water Sampling and Testing

My parents have a house in Deltona but currently live overseas, so my dad and I converted their pool into a pond full of different kinds of fish, water lilies, and elodea.  I retrieved my water sample from said pool-pond, and what I found interesting is that looking down on the water (as you will see in the video) the water looks green and murky, but in the clear bottle I used, to ensure no fish were harmed, the water was almost colorless. If I understood/remember correctly, the difference in color has to do with how light hits the water column in the pond versus the water in the bottle. 

Rinsing the Millipore funnel

I will be unable to attend lab on Friday, thus Dr. Woodall was so kind to take the time and teach me how to use a 2100N Turbidimeter, which according to The Free Dictionary measures " the loss in intensity of a light beam through a solution that contains suspended particulate matter", and a Fisher Scientific MaximaDry, which creates suction and pulls down the water from the Millipore funnel through the filter into a flask. In addition to learning about lab procedures and a desiccator, an apparatus that sucks the moisture out of the air inside the unit, I also made quite a few mistakes that hopefully some of you can learn from before tomorrow's lab:

- Lab is going to be really exciting so try to do what you are told, like PUTTING ON GLOVES, before you get distracted by all the cool stuff you get to use.

- DO NOT TOUCH the aluminum pan, use tweezers to move it.

- Don't forget to resuspend, resuspend, resuspend...I'm probably going to have dreams about resuspending.

- If your filter is clogging up, don't put too much distilled water into your brown water container, which you will be doing in order to get particles off of the inside, because the additional liquid may not end up getting through the filter

- When cleaning your brown bottles, take your label off before you put it in the acid bath. 

Wonder if I'll win the "Darkest Filter Contest"?

GRACE CURTIN Lionfish and their impact on blue green algae & Water Sampling

I attended a lecture on lionfish at the University of Florida's Whitney Lab near Marineland last week. Through the information gained at this lecture and further research on lionfish and the toxic blue-green algae that is in the water in the Indian River lagoon, my theory is:

Lionfish eat fish who eat blue-green algae, so blue green algae is not being harvested (eaten) as quick as it did before the lionfish invasion in 2008, the blue-green algae is becoming toxic.

Not only are lionfish a factor in the problem of the algae, but run-off from resident's yards by the lagoon add phosphorous and nitrogen to the algae which contributes to its toxicity.

My project idea is to have pictures taken of lionfish in the areas surrounding Florida either by myself or by other scuba-divers that will be able to take pictures for me. The pictures will serve as proof that the lionfish population is a problem.

Pictures will be taken as well as an experimental growth of the blue-green algae be done in order to further research its growth.

I will also be taking a water sample from a pond in Wadsworth Park in Flagler Beach, FL.

Michelle LaComb - Sampling and Project Progress

I collected my water samples from a lake in Central Park in Ormond Beach. It rained quite a bit before I collected my samples so they may have gotten diluted a bit. In addition, there is a lot of ongoing construction happening on the street adjacent to the lake. Materials and debris from this have probably gotten swept into the lake and could have an effect on the amount of suspended solids in the sample as well.

As for my project, I'm still in the process of tweaking my scientific question. It's definitely going to involve manatees and the sounds they emit but I'm still working out the details. As far as materials go, the things that I can think of that I would need would be a hydrophone and the computer software to analyze the sound recordings. Oh and some manatees of course! 

Raven

Ishmael

I downloaded the software ISHMAEL (Integrated System for Holistic Multi-channel Acoustic Exploration and Localization), and played around with it a bit. I downloaded some of the audio samples from the online library and opened them in the program. I couldn't figure out how to get the sounds to play but I did get the waveform (curve showing the shape of the sound wave) and spectrogram (visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in a sound) to appear. I'm definitely going to have to consult the software manual! I also came across and downloaded a sound analysis software called Raven. On this software I was able to get the sounds to play. I thought this software was cool in that it allowed me to view two sound samples side by side to compare them. 

Ryan Darcy- Water  Sampling







Me with my Samples!!!

            I took my samples from Riverfront Veterans Memorial Park in South Daytona.  The setting is basically a fishing dock on the Halifax River.  There is also a boat ramp right by where I got the samples although I dont believe this would effect the sampling.  It had rained just a few hours earlier and the weather was still rather stormlike.  The water was a bit rough due to the constant winds comeing from offshore.  This provided a rather large fetch for the waves.  Due to all this action the water was rather murky and im curious to see what the lab results will show. 

The water at the time of sampling

 

 

 

Shannon-Project Materials

Hi everyone!
    I've been thinking about my project a lot lately. I have been attempting to get a  hold of Mr. Truxall at the Marine Discovery Center but haven't had much luck.  I am trying to meet with him and take a look at his facility and see if this is an appropriate location for my Magic Mangrove System (MMS). I am hoping to hear back from him soon.
   Below are some pictures of the Magic Mangrove System. I am going to need this for my project in order to test my scientific question. I am looking forward to seeing how organisms in the inter coastal  way interact with this artificial mangrove.

Magic Mangrove above water

Magic Mangrove submerged

Another main material I am going to need is a GoPro camera. A GoPro camera is a weather/water proof camera. Many people in action sports use these. It will be ideal for me to have access to a GoPro in order to monitor the activity a couple of hours a week at the location of the Magic Mangrove System. Having a GoPro will allow me to get a fish eye view of what is going on and if there are any marine organisms seeking shelter inside the artificial mangrove. This camera will also allow me to monitor but not disturb any organisms below the surface. I will also be monitoring some natural mangrove sites as well to compare and contrast the organisms at both sites.

Go Pro Hero Camera in water proof case

One more instrument I think will come in handy is a water thermometer. I would like to record the temperature of the water at the times I am monitoring the MMS site and the natural mangrove sites.
I was also thinking of taking some water samples from each site to test the turbidity of each location to see if there is a drastic difference of sediments and TSS in the water at both sites. I know I will need some kind of collection bottle for this task. Possible the same ones we are using for our water sampling this week.

Houston - Water sampling New Symrna

The school work being outside is my kind of situation to be in.  So taking some water samples was not a drag so to speak like other class work..  I took my samples out on Dog Beach, which is part of Smyrna Dunes Park, past the jetties.  This is a good place to take some water sample to test light attenuation for TSS, seeing it is a high traffic area and were the IRL(Indian river Lagoon) or otherwise know as the Halifax River meet the Atlantic Ocean.  I walked just out over a sand bar so that I didn't get the currently forming tide pool water, which was much calmer than the water further out in the inlet.  I took my sample while the tide was receding in early after noon.

That little dot is my cooler.  I was just past the sand bar and into the current.

  

Across From ponce Inlet light house.

 

                 I am still currently thinking of a project idea.  I have one in mind that could benefit fish and the fisherman alike in the IRL/ Halifax River.  As a fisherman my project Idea would to first get permission from a few people who own docks in the IRL, preferably ones in water no deeper than 10 ft on high tide and no shallower than 4ft on low tide.  My goal would to build structures out of PVC pipe or other flexible material that can hold a shape and could withstand the harsh environment of salt water.  Or simply build the structure from simple concrete cinder blocks, which provide a good home ore shelter for most fish.  The cinder block would also be a good base for most oysters as well.  The whole point of building a structure as such is to see if it could possibly make a good fishing spot of dock owners who don't have a boat  to g out fishing on and to help bring in or sustain marine wildlife.

Seaira- Water sampling and Project supplies

For my project I would need a plant press to collect my plant samples, and refractometer to test water salinity. This weekend I had the ability to use a refractometer to test water salinity in the Gulf of Mexico. I will continue to take samples from various locations as I also collect plant samples. The area where I took my salinity records and water samples from class was a very interesting ecosystem. This location on the gulf is located in Sarasota Bay adjacent to the Sapphire Shores, a site of Native American settlements and mounds. I took samples from the bay, which had a salinity of 35ppt which is standard for ocean water. I also took samples with the refractometer from a stream that was flowing into the bay, the water here was brackish with a salinity of 7ppt. The plants I could identify in the area included: Sea Grapes, Sea Purslane, Sea (manatee) grasses, and Red Mangrove trees. The area was abundant with coral and shell remains, so the sediment consisted of biogenous and lithogenous substances. The actual water samples I took to use in lab this week came from the area where the stream met the bay, the salinity there was also about 7ppt. The sample area was abundant with fish, flora, and organisms of all kinds because of the brackish water. My samples were taken in the evening when the tide was low and the weather was agreeable. I immediately put the samples in a cooler for my three hour drive home, however overall these samples will provide me with interesting salinity comparisons for the future of my research project.

Rebecca - Sanchez Park and Sand Fleas

 My helpers and I were able to make it to Sanchez Park in Ormond Beach to do some water sampling. The Sanchez Park website says it abuts the Tomoka River. After some internet research, it seems that the body of water I sampled is actually Strickland Creek, a distributary of the Tomoka River. My helpers took turns being the photographer and filling the sampling bottles. They did great filling the bottles and even reminded me to shake it before we dumped it. They could use some photography lessons though (not a single picture of me!). I did make a mistake in my field journal but I just drew a line through it and continued with the sampling.

Emerita talpoida

For my project, I've been doing some research on Sand Fleas. At least, I've always called them Sand Fleas. It turns out that they're really called Mole Crabs. The scientific name for them is Emerita talpoida. Mole Crabs are harmless crabs that burrow in the sand and can be up to an inch in length. They come up to the beach in the warmer months of the year. Once it gets cooler our they return to deeper waters. Since it's still quite warm here in Florida I should be able to find a decent number of these little guys. I've already established that I will need a sand flea rake to collect and count them. I'll also need something to collect sand in so I can sieve it and collect data on the sediment size. When we did the dune surveying in geography, we used ziploc bags to store sediment samples. That seems like a cheap and efficient way to transport sand and would probably work for me.

Jeffrey_Design stages

This week I took a look at some other styles of helical turbines. The helical design is the most efficient design for our purposes as it requires the least amount of energy to run. I have found some designs that only require 1 m/s of current; however, they are cost prohibitive.

This model requires 1.5 m/s of  current and will produce 120A-h/day.  

 This is a hydrocoil and I will be gathering specs this week and sharing them.








Below is the first design for our current flow measuring device. (cfmd) Next step: hardware store. Prototype to follow!

Lizzy - Class Sampling

 
     Around 3pm today, I was able to head to Ormond Beach and get my two samples from the ocean water. I arrived just after a rainstorm and you can see from the pictures the sky was still very dark and it ended up being during a lower tide time.
     I believe the rain and weather conditions may have caused a change in my samples. I am very interested to analyze these samples in the lab! I am interested to see how the rainy, windy, and chilly weather, as well as the heavy cloud coverage can affect sampling results and data.

Project Advancements - Deanna

Project News

This week on our project, we have decided on a design that we are going to try. We may have to add a little more frame to the accelerometer support, but for now, this is it.

Now to determine the dimensions so we can make a parts list. We will have to find a place (e.g. lazy river) to test and calibrate our design.

Here is a drawing (however sad it may be) of what we've decided on:

Current Flow Measurement Device (CFMD)

We will go and seek out physics help with this design, as we have a spring to contend with and this may create a problem.

The next item to think about is where our actual placement will be. Hmmm...

Ryan Dail - Water Sampling/Project

Today I went scuba diving at Alexander Springs. I thought this would be a great opportunity to collect my water sample. I brought the bottles with me in my side pocket and started my swim to the springs. I collected my samples from directly above the springs and measured the temperature at 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I then put the samples on ice and started to write in my field notebook.

As far as my project goes, I don't think I will be needing any extra materials. My research topic I planned on (commercial fishing seasons and how they effect fish and fishermen) seemed interesting to me, but I chose a different one. How NOAA ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ) gains information by extracting ear bones from different fish species. I have a possible opportunity to experience this process first hand.

Brittnie-Sampling and Materials

    Today I went to the Port Orange Causeway Park, at low tide, where I took my water samples; it was pretty cloudy out and it rained a little bit, so I’m thinking that the rain diluted my water samples. I chose to sample the Halifax River because I've always noticed how much more turbid the river is compared to the ocean (as you can see by the picture below).

    When I am in Nassau and Freeport Bahamas I will collect multiple pieces of coral that have washed up on the beach, separating them by different types, and then putting them in separate containers. I’ll bring them back to the DSC lab where I will make sure that the coral pieces are all the same size by using a caliper, which is an instrument used to measure external or internal dimensions, and I’ll need an instrument to cut the pieces of coral, to make them all the same size. I will also need something to make the pH (acidity or alkalinity) higher and an instrument to measure the pH of water, like a pH meter. The water will need to be in a set of containers, like test tubes or something a little bigger. Over time, as the coral pieces sit in the different amounts of pH, I will measure the pieces with the caliber and determine which kind of corals will dissolve the fastest, and how fast each coral dissolves in different amounts of pH.

List of Materials Needed:

• Caliper
• pH Meter
• Containers / test tubes?
• Instrument to cut coral pieces
• Something to increase pH

Richard, Class Sampling and Personal Project :

   Well, I found out that taking a samples demands much cooperation with my wife! She took about 15 pictures because she was trying to get the right position out of the sun. The samples were taken from  her uncle's pond in Samsula which is next to several farms off of route 44. It is a natural spring pond. The land has belong to her family for over a hundred years. I have to admit I had everything planned out but I forgot to label my bottles before sampling! I put the bottles on ice and it was difficult to write on the tape afterwards. I think someone warned me about that ! Under the circumstances it turned out excellent ! I first rinsed gently, then waited and reached over to opposite side of dock. I personally felt it was better to get away from the shoreline, however whatever way you decide to approach the sampling, it is best to document when in doubt.

  This week I learned that being a scientist does not make you immune to have bad things happen to you. I was rear ended by a construction vehicle and trailer. Being a scientist demands that you learn to overcome and keep trying. My personal project "Artificial Reefs" did not progress much accept that I made a decision to pursue the study of how do species inhabit the artificial reefs? I have a referral from Mr. Nolin who is the Volusia Country Manager of Artificial Reefs to contact "Spruce Creek Divers" or "Sea Dogs" and do a ride along with them on a boat. There is also a reef research team sponsored by the County of Volusia.(www.volusiareefs.org) that meets once a month in Daytona. I would eventually like to learn how to scuba dive. Chad from the Marine Science Center also returned my phone call and said he would be happy to get together and discuss what he is already doing and what is planned for the future. Another technique I was reminded about, is always find out how the other person likes to be contacted, some people may not check there email, so make it easy on them and they seem to be more than willing to help you. I was not happy about the outcome of my graphing project. I spent the majority of my time working on it this week. I'm working with 2013 version and there alot of changes. I did meet Dawn  Building 200 room 417 who was helpful. The biggest problem is when I transferred the graphs to Word 2013 it did not allow enough room for all of the content.

Angela-Tools and Sampling

The first time I visited Caspersen Beach, FL, was during a visit to the USA in the late summer of 2005. Venice Beach had turned out too busy so we went exploring and after driving on a bumpy dirt road, through what looked like a jungle to me, we came across this wonderful place. The beach was covered in large shells and there was only one other family visiting this remote little area.

Fast forward to 2013, not only have trees and brush been cut down to make the road wider, but concrete has been poured all over it for the myriad of beach-goers that have discovered this not-so-secret place. As I made my way down to the high tide line I found plenty of plastic, but the type that is left behind by lazy people and not the type I'm looking for.

After making it through the maze of visitors, doing my best to not "accidentally" kick a booming stereo, it turned out that people can have different opinions on what a high tide line is. My husband insisted that I had to sample where the tide was hitting the beach at that very moment; I kept explaining that the high tide line was further up on the beach where the moist debris composed of shells and seaweed was resting. We agreed to disagree and do it my way.

There are two parts to my sampling methods:

1. During the visual survey I scan the high tide line area for plastic debris pieces. Once I find a plastic piece I use metal tweezers to pick up the piece and put it in aluminum foil. However, due to the large amount of small shell pieces along the high tide line, I felt like I was looking for a needle in a haystack at Caspersen Beach, FL.

2. The plan was to stop and scoop a sample of sediment every 10 feet along the high tide line; however, due to the vast amount of visitors and large rocks along the beach, I had to adjust the plan and instead walked along the high tide line and when I came across debris that had not been disturbed by visitors I took a scoop and notated the GPS, Global Positioning System, coordinates.

In addition to the GPS device, the metal tweezers, aluminum foil, and a small shovel that has aluminum wrapped around its plastic hilt, I was also carrying around my quart-sized glass jar, field notebook, and a camera. I look forward to inspecting my samples under a microscope in the lab and learning more about the available lab tools. 

On a side note, the place we luckily chose to have lunch at turned out to be right next to the Mote Marine Laboratory, which I had never heard of. It is a bit of a drive but figured I'd share in case someone might be able to use the organization as part of a project.

Angela-Realization: Maybe lab work would suit me best?

On Saturday September 14th, 2013, after around three hours of driving and excited about sampling my first beaches for plastic debris, I quickly remembered why I'm so eager to move northwest. Anything above 80°F feels like scorching heat to me, so at 89°F on a cloudless Caspersen(FL) beach, my excitement quickly vanished and turned into misery. 

I hate to admit this, but after about 3 minutes on the beach I was ready to head back home. I just wanted to collect my quart of sediment as quickly as possible, but my husband talked some sense into me and we spent over an hour going up and down the beach making sure to write down the latitude and longitude of every scoop of sediment I collected.  Needless to say I did not sample any additional beaches as planned but am postponing additional collections until the first week of October.

 

A post explaining my sampling methods and the tools required will follow soon, but I found the situation above important to note since I'm coming to terms with the fact I am not suited for field work at a beach, at least in FL. I also get incredibly sea sick so doing work out on the open water is out of the question unless I want to be taking Dramamine, a motion-sickness preventative, on a continuous basis.