Loggerhead Island Report

1. What special considerations did you have to make for the nesting sea turtle sites located on the barrier island?
Our group made it cirtain that all of the activites taken place by humans that can either pollute or harm nature are attracted to the complete other side of the island to ensure the safety of these creatures.

2. What special considerations had to be made when determining a good site for the proposed fishing pier?
A fishing pier attracts a lot of people, because of this, questions were formed as where to put this? we decided to put this pier as far away from the endagered land as possible, while also trying to keep it as close to the road as possible. this way, extra land would not need to be developed for humans to walk on.

3. What could be some of the potential problems that might arise from the proposed golf course? Propose some of the ways in which the impacts can be reduced.
Golf balls hit too hard or in the wrong direction may introduce a fatal flaw toward the endangered species of this island. because of this, we put the golf coarse in a location where most of its perimeter was adjacent to the ocean. we also took into consideration the size. we wanted to ensure maximum space efficiency in order to use as little land as possible.

4. What are the economic benefits to the community of Loggerhead County if the development was done with the least amount of environmental impact?
If this were the case, then little efforts would need to be made later on inlife to preserve or restore what was once a natural habitat. these processes can often be pricy, so it is only right to do it correct int the first place.

5. Describe three ways in which humans negatively impact coastal ecosystems such as the one you are working on with Loggerhead Barrier Island.
a. pollution of the water
b. destruction of ocean banks
c. beastiality (haha)

6. How can maintaining natural vegetation help us to reduce the damage caused by oceanic events such as hurricanes, tsunami and continued beach erosion?
Vegetation plays a huge role in keeping the rigidity of the sand dunes, ocean banks, and even the drainage systems. without these plants and trees, everything would be sand!

7. After listening to the other groups make their presentations, were there any ideas they had you would have used if you had though about it before-hand? You should list at least three different ideas and indicate why their idea is actually better for the environment than yours.
Nobody's ideas are better than mine because i am perfect.

Sand Reflection

There are different types of sand found around the world. Sand is a basic component found in Earth and is naturally occuring granular material. The most common form of sand is silica. Silica usually takes the form of quartz and is found in continental areas as well as non-tropical coastland. This type of sand is very weather resistant being able to withstand the elements.
The composition of sand can vary. Sand can be different sizes and contain varying minerals and rock. Arkrose is another type of sand. It is high in granite and feldspar content. When their is a mix of glauconite, chlorite and basalt green sand is formed.Colors of sand can also vary in a range of colors including yellow sand. 
Yellow sand is found in many areas of Southern Europe.Black sand contains magnatite in it's composition. Other minerals found in sand can include gypsum and volcanic obsidian.Sand can have different texture size. Size can range from very fine, fine, medium and course. Sand particles can range from 0.0625 millimeters to 64 millimeters in size.

Which Way the Winds Blow

Earth, as we scientists know, is heated unevenly.  This is due to the fact that the Earth is a sphere. Also, Earth is tilted about 23 degrees.  Therefore, light rays are hitting different places at different strengths.  Near the equator, the temperature is very warm and humid, but at the poles, the weather is mostly frigid cold.  This is due to light rays. 

 Angled light rays are weaker rays that their paths are changed because of clouds and also being reflected off of Earth.  However, straight light rays are stronger and they make places warmer.  What I learned from the "Global Wind Patterns" activity is that light rays are affected due to clouds and the Earth reflecting light.

Earth's rotation affects the movement of air and water masses.  This happens because of the Coriolis affect.  The Coriolis affect is the deflection of moving objects.  We did an activity where we placed water on a spinner and as it spun, the water spun off the paper and made a spiral design.  It showed me that the Coriolis affect makes the water displace to different locations.

Global wind patterns are divided into several sections.  Polar easterlies are at about 60-90 degrees, and they blow irregularly from the east and the north.  Westerlies are at about 30-60 degrees and they blow from the north and from the west.  Horse Latitudes are where the westerlies meet trade winds at about 30 degrees.  This region has a lot of high pressure and it is extra dry.  Lastly, trade winds are about 30 degrees south and they blow from the northeast towards the equator.

How Science is Important to Me

I am hoping to get a lot out of this coarse this semester. Being someone who has spent years out on the ocean either fishing, diving or surfing, I have always wanted to understand how it all works under and on the surface. One key subject I would like to know more about are the waves. This is simply because I spend a huge portion of my life surfing and I feel as if it will help me become a better surfer in the end. Anyways, I am looking forward to getting a better understanding of the ocean out of this class.