Category Archives: Scientists

Highlights of the first third

It’s time for me to write a post, since the students are immersed in writing a paper and preparing for a final in Climate Change and Glacial Geology. Yes, it is very early September and they are faced with a paper and a final.  We’ve been on the road for over 3.5 weeks, which puts us 1/3rd of the way through the ESS.  Quite soon, we will finish here (Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire) and head to Popham Beach, where Prof. Greg Teegarden will start leading the students though Marine Ecology.  But before we wrap up here, let me point out some highlights.

Blueberry fields near Cherryfield, Maine grow on deltas that accumulated in a frigid sea when relative sea level was briefly 60 m higher than today about 15,000 years ago as glaciers receded. Joe O’Reilly joined me and Andrew atop an enormous boulder carried to this site by icebergs.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0246.
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0246.

West Quoddy Head lighthouse is the easternmost point in the US. Everyone seemed amused thinking that there were 320 million Americans to the west of us, and zero to the east!

img_9787

It’s hard to appreciate just how fast the tide can come in. At Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, we studied the 1 km long Point Wolfe inlet.  We were in the flat, middle part of the section when the tide caught up with us.  The water was creeping over the land nearly at walking speed.  Stand still to take a measurement, and the water would rise above our ankles.  Crossing the “little” intertidal stream on the incoming tide got Emma Mills ’19 in water up to her chest.

At Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), we walked along beach cliffs (at low tide!) for about 5 km and through about 5 million years of ancient, really ancient history. These rocks have yielded the oldest reptile fossil in the world at about 310 million years (forgive me if my memory is off by a few million). We were there to look at how climatic and environmental conditions can be reconstructed; these rocks accumulated in a tropical swamp with nearby mountains generating a rich supply of river sediment.  Danielle Martin ’19 found a block with fossilized mud cracks and the toe/claw imprints of a crocodile-sized amphibian; this block was so special the guides added it to the permanent collection in the site’s museum.

fossil rock

In Halifax, the city’s signature historical feature, the Citadel, is built atop a drumlin. The drumlin was formed by glacial ice moving and molding sand and gravel debris into an oval mound.  Several of us enjoyed a nice hour of Frisbee tossing on this late Ice Age feature.

The moonless night sky in the northwoods east of Greenville was absolutely beautiful. Sorry, no nighttime photos, but I’ll include a morning photo.  And nighttime photos wouldn’t do it justice anyways.  The sky (as viewed from boats on the still lake) had so many stars that it felt four-dimensional – I felt the immensity of it as we looked deeper into space to more distant and fainter stars.  Some students saw the Milky Way for the first time in their lives.  Defintely a highlight.

lake-pano

Prof. Emily Lesher led us through an investigation of the chemistry and landscape associated with acid mine drainage. Strictly speaking, this material was part of the Field Methods course, but by now the students are used to switching back and forth between different course content.  Personally, I really enjoyed seeing students engage with new material and another professor.  Many of them will be in Prof. Lesher’s Environmental Chemistry class in the spring, when this real-world example will surely come up.

img_1001

img_1121

We drove up Mount Washington yesterday in order to get a view of several cirques created by alpine glaciers, most notably Tuckerman’s Ravine, Huntington’s Ravine, and the Great Gulf. A short walk to the lip of Huntington’s headwall led to more than one reassessment of what “steep” looks like.  While there in the Alpine Garden, we enjoyed a late summer snack of wild blueberries and mountain cranberries.  Some of us, including Jess Selva ’17 and Tyler Allen ’18, hiked over 4000 vertical feet from Mount Washington’s summit down over the headwall of Tuckerman’s Ravine and out to Pinkham Notch; legs were a bit stiff today!

img_1396

img_1408

img_1421

We’ve endured just over 2000 miles of driving so far. It’s a really long way from Portland to Halifax.  Fortunately, the longest distance to be covered in the remaining 6 weeks will be done on a schooner!

– Prof. Johan Erikson

What An Unbelievable Family!

The Erikson Family

The ESS group has been on the go and away from familiar places for 47 days. No one has made us feel more comfortable than the Erikson family. We arrived on Peaks Island on Friday tired and stressed. We were unsure, once again, of what our next adventure would be. We reached the Erikson’s home and piled out of the van and were greeted by their dog, Pirate. The boys were prompted to bring their belongings inside and the girls repacked the van. After a tour of their lovely house, everyone got settled. Shortly after, Patricia (Dr. Erikson’s wife) returned home from work to eight new people in her house. She graciously welcomed us all and began preparing dinner. She made us feel right at home – the closest thing to home we have had in awhile. With a buffet of steamed mussels, herring, salad, chicken, and bread we all gathered for a family dinner.

I speak for all of us when I say that the last few days have been well needed. Dr. Erikson has taken us on a tour of the island. His daughter, Annika, has accepted her eight new brothers and sisters and played many hours of badminton with us. Patricia has cooked and cleaned for us – a welcomed and much appreciated break. Pirate has helped us all relax with lots of puppy love. The Erikson family has been more than cordial letting us into their home and we all greatly appreciate them putting up with our ridiculousness. How they have done this is hard to imagine. They are truly an amazing, loving, and welcoming family.

We cannot thank them enough but I will try – THANK YOU Johan, Patricia, Annika, and Pirate! We admire and applaud everything you have done for us!

Authors: Alana and MIke

The Magnificent Struggles of the Mudflat

Matt
Matt after a few hours on the mudflat

We arrived at Lowe’s Cove just as the tide was beginning to flush away the mudflat. We left the Darling Marine Center a few minutes ago and all of the students had begun to feel the stresses of research.

Matt asked Dr. Greg Teegarden, “What should we bring to the cove?”

“This is a learning exercise and I want everyone to follow their proposals and bring what they think they need. If I tell you what to bring and what to do, this becomes a cookbook experiment, which has less value than struggling to figure it out,” replied Dr. Teegarden.

By the looks on all of the students’ faces I could tell they were not impressed, because sometimes it is easier to be given information than to figure it out yourself. Nonetheless here we were just about to step onto the mudflat. Greg had just delivered suggestions about the rambunctious technique required to travel efficiently on a mudflat. At this moment everyone made haste and took their first steps on to the deceivingly stable, stinking, gait-hindering mudflat.

At this time I was scurrying around the upper rocks trying to find the perfect placement for cameras to capture all of the activities. It all happened so quickly. I watched carefully as everyone took his or her first few steps onto the mudflat. I watched Dr. Teegarden race onto the mudflat with grace and proficiency, while Matt slumbered onto the mud, finding it nearly impossible to move. When I compared the techniques of the inexperienced students to the experienced waddle of Dr. Teegarden I was fascinated.

 

I wonder how long it will take before someone falls?

The thought had just passed my mind when I looked out and saw Erin screeching as her center of gravity went back, but her feet stayed deep within the grasp of the malicious mud. I watched as Erin’s automatic balance correction mechanism attempted to correct the fatal misalignment of her body. We often take for granted the amazing mechanisms that are involved in keeping humans upright. From my vantage point I could clearly see Erin’s body struggling to stay standing. As she realized her feet could not shuffle to keep herself from falling her arms flailed out and began to create concentric circles in the air, as though she were attempting to fly like an eagle in the sky. Unfortunately, the end was the same for many of the ESS students, a butt covered in mudflat mud.

Just as this scene ended another began, this time it was Nhu. Nhu always has a fantastic reaction to new situations. This day was no exception. As Nhu took her first steps onto the mudflat you could hear her squealing at the new experience. As she attempted to adjust her gait and take the advice of Dr. Teegarden, I could see her mind begin to wonder if Dr.

Nhu experiencing the mudflat
Nhu experiencing the mudflat

Teegarden was giving true advice, or if he was simply bring everyone onto the mudflat for his own mischievous experiment. As Nhu scrambled across the mud, I watched almost as in slow motion. She took a step and went to lift her back right foot, but the mud grasped it like a mother holding her child’s hand while they crossed the road. Nhu attempted a correction, but the laws of nature had already made the decision, she was going to fall into the mud. As her knees made contact into the mud, I later found out that her expression was one of disgust, anxiety, and amusement.

I could continue with the many accounts of the struggles of the mudflat, but I want to keep some stories for people to share when they return. I will leave you with some advice for when you go onto the mudflat. Some of this advice is from Dr. Teegarden, and some of the advice is from my own accounts and experience from this day.

  1. When you walk on a mudflat, keep your center of gravity low and walk with pep in your step.
  2. When you are walking on a mudflat, know your destination and don’t stop, otherwise you will feel the hands of mud come upon you.
  3. If you do stop, do not forget you are on a mudflat when you get ready to start moving again, otherwise you could fall flat on your face. Instead when your foot is stuck, simply twist your heel out and up. This will help break the grasp of the mud.
  4. Never travel alone. If there was one revelation I noticed with the group traveling on the mud was how everyone relied on the help of friends to pull each other out of the mud (see video of Erin for an example)
  5. Do not forget to have fun. The mudflat is a place to study and gather information, but from my brief experience yesterday, it is also a place to have fun.

-Robert Michaud

The Clown Car

On Saturday morning we arrived at the Maine State Pier to finally begin the trip that we have been planning for the past several months (well probably last minute, like this week).  As more students arrived, as did the amount of bags. With our two Thule boxes, one cargo rack, and a very minute amount of extra van space, we began to speculate if we would EVER fit in at all! After Mother Bobby cooked up some breakfast sandwiches on our camping stove on the pavement, so began the stuffing bonanza.

SJC_ESS

We watched as our parents and professors struggled to fit more than three bags into each Thule. It was clear that we were all bringing just about a year’s worth of supplies. Parents began to place “bets” of how far we would make it before losing a wheel. Even some saying, “well, if you guys flip the van, at least we know you’re not moving too far,” poking fun at the tightly packed van.

SJC_ESS_053

Regardless of comfort, all faculty and students have made it to The Schoodic Education & Research Center safe and sound. Now we are all much closer figuratively and literally. Now let’s start off this amazing adventure!

– Erin Wright-Little