University of West Florida
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
Week 5
I'm not sure if it's luck or fate, but we have been having some incredible weather, especially this week in the Florida panhandle:
Day 1 was spent at Blackwater River Forest State Park, led by Head Forester Ian Stone, who taught us about the characteristics of an upland forest and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
Day 2 was led by Dr. Schwartz of UWF who let us help with his investigation of submerged groundwater discharge into Pensacola Bay. You can detect the amount of freshwater seepage by testing the water for radon-220 (below).
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
Later that day, we were able to take a tour through some of the labs of the EPA Gulf Ecology Division. What a cool place to work!
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
Day 3 was led by Dr. Schmutz of UWF who taught us how to map the contours of the beach from the dune to the swash zone. We did this using cool surveying tools such as an engineer's level (left) and a stadia rod.
This was one of my favorite activities of the week! This activity alone makes me excited to learn more about this process during my upcoming GIS course this Fall!
Day 4 started off with what seemed like all too familiar territory in a seagrass bed, monitoring and familiarizing ourselves with its importance in an estuarine habitat such as the Pensacola Bay.
I found a seahorse! (We temporarily put it in a red bucket for pictures -->)
After our assessment Thursday evening, Day 5 was much more relaxing while venturing around Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Here, we discovered the dune lakes, the closest freshwater can meet saltwater (below).
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| Credit: Corey Corrick |
Now its back home, where it all started, for the final, fifth week!
Thanks to Dr. Eble and Dr. Jeffrey for a
fun-tastic week!
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