Loggerhead Island

1. What special considerations did you have to make for the nesting sea turtle sites located on the barrier island?

We made sure that there was no resorts or a ton of human interaction with the nests of the sea turtles. Also, due to the closeness of the homes, we made a rule stating that there must be dark hours once the sun sets so the turtles aren't drawn to the light of the buildings. The people inside the homes must shut the shades if they're going to have lights on. We also built a tall wall blocking the highway so the turtles aren't drawn to the lights of the cars. 

2. What special considerations had to be made when determining a good site for the proposed fishing pier?

We made sure it wasn't located near the turtles, worms, or other sea creatures that could be affected by the fishing. We also made sure that there was no boating allowed, only kayaking and canoeing. 

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.

One of the concerns was the golf balls getting hit into the highway or the ocean and the sea creatures trying to eat it. To stop the golf balls from going into the highway we built another decently sized wall to prevent the balls from going into the highway. Also, we made sure that the golf course was far enough from the water so there wouldn't be a chance that it impacts the sea creatures.

4. What are the economic benefits to the community of Loggerhead County if the development was done with the least amount of environmental impact?

The Loggerhead County would be an ecosystem in its self. It would be very peaceful and how the world should truly be treated. The reproduction of the animals wouldn't be altered with nor would our presence create an issue to the island. The island would be a great example for the world to follow. 

5. Describe three ways in which humans negatively impact coastal ecosystems such as the one you are working on with Loggerhead Barrier Island.

Humans often litter their trash outside of their windows, meaning that the animals may attempt to eat it and die. Also, it's not the cleanest way for us to live. Another negative impact is how we don't protect the animals. Such as the sea turtles, we don't make sure that they're safe from people walking over the nests and even drawing them to the cars by the lights instead of being drawn to the ocean. One final negative impact is boating. Boating can kill the sea creatures in the ocean from their propellers.

6. How can maintaining natural vegetation help us to reduce the damage caused by oceanic events such as hurricanes, tsunami and continued beach erosion?

We can keep the shoreline in place making sure we do not disrupt the oceans ways of life.

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. 

I did not see any other ideas that were better unfortunately, but I was able to come up with better ideas on my own. We could create an rule of absolutely NO LITTERING on the island. We could make the fine very large and threatening. Also, we could use solar panels to be more environmentally friendly. One final idea is to use compost to help the island grow.

What can a grain of sand tell you about the Earth?

You are to describe and discuss the eight sands you examined this week. Start with the table of data you assembled on the eight sands you looked at, and continue by making an interpretation of the environment of two of the sands, how far each traveled, and their ultimate source areas.

Maui: The Maui sand had a mixed color of yellows to blacks. This collection of sand was indeed magnetite and it had a size of 1.5mm a grain. The texture of the sand was subrounded and was sand on the Wentworth Scale. It had well sorting of it's size and was composed entirely of rocks. I believe the environment of the rock was very calm. I think the waves were strong enough to mix around the colors of the rocks, but not that strong to make the shape of the rocks sharp and jagged.

Klamath California: This selection of sand was entirely black. It was very dark. But, when you put a magnet up to the sand, it didn't lift it up, meaning it was not magentic. The size of one grain was 1.5mm and it had an angular texture. Which, I believed was caused from the rough current of the waves crashing the grains on each other making the shape jagged and sharp. Klamath California was sand on the wenworth schale and the size was moderately sorted. The composition consisted of rocks.

Hampton NH: Hampton NH had very light colored grains. Some looked clear and some were pale. It was not magnetic and a grain had the size of 1.0mm. The shape of the grains were angular due to the strong waves lifting the sand and crashing them against one another. It was sand on the Wentworth Scale and was moderately sorted in size. But, of course the composition was made up of rocks.

Salinas: The Salinas consisted of a very light color. It was angular due to the smashing of the waves lifting up the rocks and them grinding against one another. The size of one grain was .33mm, making them very tiny grains composed of rocks. The sorting of the sizes was very well and they all seemed to be the same size. The salinas were not magentic at all.

Edgartown: The Edgartown sands were light in color and subrounded from the soft waves that lifted the rocks and smashed them together smoothly. The sand was not magnetic and was composed of rocks. On the Wentworth scale it was sand. As for the size, a grain was measured to 1.00mm! The sorting all though was okay and there were large, yet tiny pieces of sand.

Virgin: The Virgin sand has really cool colors. Some were light (pale, yellow) and some were dark (Black, brown). It was not magnetic, but it was very angular due to the strong waves making the sands crash hard against each other. It had a measurement of .1mm and it was poorly sorted because some grains were very large in size and some were quite tiny. The compostion of the grains was of rock and on the Wentworth Scale it was considered sand.

Saint Martin: Saint Martin sand was very light in color. It was not magnetic and it was indeed angular from the currents of the waves. It varied in size and the sorting was poor. It was composed of rocks and was sand on the Wentworth scale.

Pine Island: The color of the sand was very clear and beautiful. It was not magenetic and it was subrounded in shape. It was well sorted and it hade a size of .1mm. It was composed of rocks and was sand in the Wentworth Scale.