Deep Sea Deep Secrets

This movie followed Holger Jannasch and the Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory and their research with deep sea hydro-thermal vents. To learn more about Jannasch and the laboratory, check out this link: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=10934&tid=3622&cid=817

Organisms

There are several kinds of organisms found in the deep sea hydrothermal vents. 

• Octopods are the top predator of the feeding web. They are also the most intelligent.

• Spaghetti worms can grow up to 8 feet long, and they drape around rocks.

Alvin

Alvin is a submarine-like machine with a pressurized cabin that holds three people. Alvin is able to operate at 13,000 feet below sea level. Scientists use Alvin to travel to the deep sea hydro-thermal vents around 9,000 feet below sea level. It takes about 2 hours for Alvin to reach the destination. Once there, Alvin is able to take pictures and collect samples of plants and animals. 

Cemetery Project

Age	Female	Male	DX	dx	Ix	Qx
20-29	1	1	2	0.1	1	0.1
30-39	1	0	1	0.05	0.9	0.056
40-49	0	1	1	0.05	0.85	0.059
50-59	0	1	1	0.05	0.8	0.062
60-69	0	4	4	0.2	0.75	0.266
70-79	3	4	7	0.35	0.55	0.636
80-89	2	2	4	0.2	0.2	1

Solar Trajectory Diagram

     For my solar trajectory project I found a wooden post that measured 3ft. 31/2in. tall.  I stuck the post in the ground in a field behind my building that allowed the sun to cast a shadow without being blocked by any trees or other objects.  On March 6th, I measured the shadows cast by the sun at three different times: 8:00 A.M., 10:45 A.M., and 5:00 P.M.  Also at each of these times, I used a compass to measure the direction that the sun was shining.  I then used special graphing paper to plot my measured points and measure the solar trajectory for that day.  After taking a closer look, my professor and I realized that the graphing paper I used had been printed wrong and was actually a mirror image of what it should be. I have included a picture of my trajectory below.

Topographical Map

      I created a topographical map of Mount Fuji, which is located on Honshu Island in Japan.  It is the highest mountain in Japan.  I created lines surrounding the mountain at 7,000, 9,000, and 10,000 feet.

Mystery of the Megaflood

About 200 miles east of Seattle, there is a large terrain called the “scablands”.  This area is filled with valleys and hills that appear as if they were made by water. It had been a mystery how these scablands came about, because there was no evidence of any flowing or still water that could have produced these large rocky masses.  J Harlen Bretz was a geologist who thought the scablands had come about by a massive flood engulfing the area.  Others thought his idea was ridiculous, but Joseph Thomas Pardee helped Bretz in his search for the answer. Pardee found an area in Montana where a large lake had once been.  He believed that if the dam to the lake (which was a glacier) had been broken, the lake water would flow to the area where the scablands are, and create the massive hills and valleys.  The only problem with this idea was that something would have had to break the massive glacier of a dam.  However, this was later discovered when a similar dam in Iceland broke.

Lab #5

Flood of '94

     By the Ocomolgee River in Macon, Georgia, there is a man-made levee.  This seems to be a good thing, as it is a place people can walk on, and it provides a clear bank to the river.  Yet in 1994, this levee caused a great flood.  The flood was a result of the tropical storm Alberto.  Georgia received at least ten inches of rainfall, and this caused the Ocomolgee River to rise very high.  The water pressure was great, and the levee broke.  Water flooded past the levee and into the community.  The river rose so high that there was a great fear of the Otis Redding Bridge breaking.  The bridge survived, but Interstate 16 and Interstate 75 were blocked due to the flooding, and portions of them were completely underwater.  Governor Zell Miller declared Bibb County to be in a state of emergency, and millions of dollars in damage were done. 

Click on the link to see a video of the flood: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEOCfrOP5G4

This picture shows an overhead view of the flooding in Macon, GA. 

Lab #4

Up the Yangze

Up the Yangze is a movie about the hydroelectric dam built on the Yangze River in China.  The movie takes an interesting approach to the situation by following two teenagers who are affected by the building of the dam.  The two teenagers both take up jobs working on a cruise ship as a way to earn money during this time of change.  One of these teenagers is a girl named Yu Shui.  She is given the English name of Cindy by her employer, and she works as a dishwasher on the cruise ship.  Cindy is 16 years old and comes from a very poor family that lives in a small home on the edge of the Yangze River.  Although Cindy’s family is poor, they are able to have enough food to eat by farming off of the land they live on.  When the dam is built, Cindy’s family is forced to move to the city where they can no longer farm for their food.  The movie shows the water rising once the dam is built, and it eventually covers the lot where Cindy’s family once lived.  The other teenager is a boy named Chen Bo Yu.  He is named Jerry by the cruise line, and he works as a performance singer and carries passengers’ bags to make tips.  Jerry is 19 years old and comes from a better off family.  Jerry has a rather arrogant attitude, and believes he is better than Cindy.  This attitude results in Jerry getting fired from the cruise line.  Unlike Cindy, however, Jerry has other options in life.  His family can afford to send him to school if he does not work.  By following these two teenagers, the movie shows the different effects that the dam has on families.  Although Jerry has other option, Cindy needs to work to help her family survive in the city.  The building of the dam shows that China is changing.  The dam is progress for China, and it will help industrialize the country.  Yet this industrialization results in the rural areas, and the people that live there, being forced out.  Although the dam is good for the country, it is not necessarily good for all individual families.

 

    The movie cover shown above illistrates       The picture above shows the hydroelectric dam

    Cindy staring out over the Yangtze River          built in China that resulted in flooding that

  before the flooding resulted from the dam          displaced many families, including Cindy's

Lab #3: Rocks and Construction

Quartz

     Quartz is a mineral that is clear or slightly white in color.  Its chemical formulas is SiO₂. There are many different varieties of quartz, including the rather well known purple amethyst.  The picture below shows pure quarts, which is a transparent and white color.  

Granite

     Granite is a type of rock made up of quartz, feldspare, and hornblende.  Although granite may have different amounts of each mineral, it must have at least 20% of quartz to be classified as granite.  Smaller amounts of quartz would mean the rock was a diorite.  Granite is often polished and used for counter tops.  The picture below shows an unpolished granite rock.

Sandstone

     Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of sand and other rocks and minerals of the same size.  Sandstone can be almost any color, but it is most commonly tan, brown, red, yellow, pink, white or black.  The picture below shows a red block of sandstone. 

Gneiss

     Gneiss is a rock that is formed from igneous or sedimentary rocks.  A defining feature of Gneiss is its layers.  The picture below shows a gneiss rock with various gray and white layers.

Cruz Plaza

     Cruz plaza is the latest improvement to Mercer University's Macon campus.  The plaza will replace the current porter patch and stretch from the historic quad and Greek village past the Tarver library.  The plaza is named after the Cruz family from Puerto Rico.  Although the construction is not pleasant for the students, the end results will be well worth the hassle.  The picture below shows a computer generated image of what the finished Cruz plaza will look like.  

     There are some considerations that the construction workers must keep in mind while working on the plaza. 1) The construction site could be a safety issue to students who frequently walk near or through the areas where heavy machinery and equipment is being used.  The construction workers must be very careful not to bring any harm to the students. 2) The workers must be aware of any previously exciting infrastructures.  Earlier in the year, a gas line was broken by the construction and buildings had to be evacuated.  This is something that the workers will most definitely want to avoid.  There are several other items to consider when doing a large construction project such as this, but the workers are doing a great job so far, and hopefully the construction of Cruz plaza will continue without any major issues. 

My Sunflower blog 

Day 1: 1/22/13 I planted the sunflower seed in a cup with some soil. when I got back to my dorm, I watered it and put it on my windowsill so it could emjoy the sunlight

Day 2: 1/23/13 I watered my sunflower today, and I let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 3: 1/24/13 Today, my sunflower did not get much sunlight. It was a gloomy day, and although it was on the windowsill, there was not much sunlight coming through. I also watered my sunflower today.

Day 4: 1/25/13 Today, I found a sprout in the cup. It is curled over into the dirt, so all I can see is the side of the stem.  I watered the sunflower sprout and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 4: 1/25/13 Today, I watered the sunflower sprout and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 5: 1/26/13 Today, the sprout grew up a little bit so that the plant is growing straight up and no longer bent over.  The sprout is not very tall, and the sunflower seed shell is still on the plant.  I watered the plant today and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 6: 1/27/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  It seems to have grown a little bit taller, but other than that it looks the same.

Day 7: 1/28/13 Today, I did not have to water my sunflower. The dirt was still moist, so i left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 8: 1/29/13 Today, my sunflower looks significantly taller.  It seems to have had a growth spurt, yet the sunflower seed shell is still on the plant.  I watered it and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 9: 1/30/13 Today, my plant looks great!  The shell came off of the plant and two large leaves are showing.  It has grown even taller. I watered it and put it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet it is very cloudy outside and no sun is coming through.

Day 10: 1/31/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. It seems to still be growing taller each day.

Day 11: 2/1/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. It is several inches tall and growing more every day.

Day 12: 2/2/13 Today, when I went to water my sunflower I saw that it had grown two new leaves! They are growing out of the center of the original two leaves.

Day 13: 2/3/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. The new leaves have grown significantly bigger since yesterday. 

Day 14: 2/4/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The leaves have gotten much bigger, and they are catching up to the size of the original two leaves.

Day 15: 2/5/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The plant has started to grow taller at the top so that the two new leaves are raised above the two original leaves.

Day 16: 2/6/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The two new leaves have grown almost as large as the original leaves, yet they are not as wide.

Day 17: 2/7/13 Today, I did not have to water my sunflower.  I left it on the windowsill, but it was a very rainy day, and it did not get much sunlight.  The plant continues to grow, and the newer leaves are raised very high above the original leaves.

Day 18: 2/8/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 19: 2/9/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.  The plant continues to grow taller both from the bottom and between the two sets of leaves.

Day 20: 2/10/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight. The plant has grown very tall, and the leaves are getting larger as well.

Day 21: 2/11/13 Today, I watered my plant and set in on the windowsill for sunlight, but there was not much sun.

Day 22: 2/12/13 Today, I did not need to water my plant because the soil was still moist. I left it on the windowsill in case any sun came through, but it was cloudy and rainy all day.

Day 23: 2/13/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet once again it is a cloudy and rainy day, so it does not seem that the plant has gotten any sunlight. Regardless of the weather, my plant has grown even taller, and it has sprouted two more leaves at the top.

Day 24: 2/14/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but the sun was not shining today, because it was very cloudy.

Day 25: 2/15/13 Today, I did not have to water my plant because the soil was still moist. I left it on the windowsill, and finally it was sunny today so my plant could have sun.  The two new leaves have grown a little bit, but they are still very small.

Day 26: 2/16/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 27: 2/17/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The new leaves have not grown much bigger yet.

Day 28: 2/18/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 29: 2/19/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was rainy yet again and there was not much sun

Day 30: 2/20/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 31: 2/21/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The newest leaves have grown larger. I noticed that the bottom leaves have started to get lighter than the rest of the plant.

Day 32: 2/22/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 33: 2/23/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 34: 2/24/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The newest leaves continue to grow larger, and the bottom leaves have gotten so light that they barely look green anymore. 

Day 35: 2/25/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet it was a cloudy day, and not much sun came through.

Day 36: 2/26/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 37: 2/27/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaves of my plant have brown areas on them, and they look like they are dying.

Day 38: 2/28/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 39: 3/1/13 Today, I watered m plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the bottom leaves has turned completely brown and died, yet it is still connected to the plant.

Day 40: 3/2/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 41: 3/3/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it by the windowsill for sunlight. The other bottom leaf has turned brown, but it is not dead yet.

Day 42: 3/4/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 43: 3/5/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The leaves on the bottom continue to brown and die, yet they are still attached to the plant.  The plant has grown two new leaves at the very top.

Day 44: 3/6/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 45: 3/7/13 Today, I re-potted my plant.  The roots had grown all the way to the bottom of the styrofoam cup, and they had wrapped around several times.  I then watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  

Day 46: 3/8/13 Today, I brought my plant home with me for spring break.  It survived the car ride and has a new temporary home on my kitchen windowsill.  I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 47: 3/9/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the dead leaves on the bottom has fallen off.

Day 48: 3/10/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The new leaves at the top have grown a little bigger.

Day 49: 3/11/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The other dead leaf on the bottom fell off.

Day 50: 3/12/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 51: 3/13/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The two new leaves have grown, and the plant now has two more new leaves.

Day 52: 3/14/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 53: 3/15/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The new leaves don't seem to be growing much yet. 

Day 54: 3/16/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 55: 3/17/13 Today, my plant traveled back to Mercer with me.  Because of the travel time, my plant did not get much sunlight, and it did not need water today. 

Day 56: 3/18/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  It was an overcast day, and not much sun came through the window.

Day 57: 3/19/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 58: 3/20/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The leaves are growing slightly, but they are still rather small.

Day 59: 3/21/13 Today,  I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 60: 3/22/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 61: 3/23/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was slightly overcast, so not much sun came through. 

Day 62: 3/24/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was overcast yet again, so not much sun came through.

Day 63: 3/25/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The plant is still growing, but it is happening rather slowly, and nothing has drastically changed for awhile.

Day 64: 3/26/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 65: 3/27/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 66: 3/28/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 67: 3/29/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 68: 3/30/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the bottom leaves has started to fade.

Day 69: 3/31/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf is still loosing its color

Day 70: 4/1/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has started to brown

Day 71: 4/2/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 72: 4/3/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf continues to brown

Day 73: 4/4/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has turned completely brown

Day 74: 4/5/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was a very rainy and overcast day, so it did not get much sun.

Day 75: 4/6/13 Today, I did not need to water my plant, but I left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 76: 4/7/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has completely shriveled up and died, but it is still attached to the plant

     Lab #1

       At Mercer University, there is a parking lot behind the Willet Science Center that prevents water from absorbing into the ground when it rains.  The parking lot drains off the water from the rain to another area.  I calculated the number of gallons of water that would be collected on this surface during a hypothetical 0.5 inch rainstorm.  I measured the length and Width of the lot by using Google Earth, then calculated the volume (in gallons of water) that would have been collected.  The total was 16,307 gallons. By comparing that to the average swimming pool of 10,000 gallons, it is easy to see what a great amount of rain water that is.  During a rain storm, this water would be drained into another area of Macon, which could have an impact on that particular area and its surroundings.  The picture below shows a Google Earth map of the parking lot and the data.