Contact with JD

I've recently heard from JD, and he says that he might have a project for me to do. He says he wants to first measure the temperatures of three stars, and then confirm the temperature measurement of a supernova. I'm hoping to talk with him in person soon.

Still No Progress

I haven't received any emails from J.D. I've tried calling him, but when he didn't answer I had to leave a message. I think the original email may have been incorrect, so I found a different one and emailed him there. Still hoping for a response.

Found a Possible Internship Contact

I recently obtained the email and phone number of Astronomer J.D. Armstrong. I've emailed him, but I haven't gotten a reply yet. I hope to get one soon.

Introduction to Plankton

Introduction: Plankton, from the Greek planktos, means "wanderer," or "drifter," is any organism which cannot fight the current. Plankton is classified in various different ways, such as energy source, color, lifestyle, and size. Some plankton photosynthesizes, while other types are heterotrophic. Plankton can be green, blue-green, brown, or gold. Plankton may remain plankton its entire life, or it may be plankton only for one stage in its life. Finally, plankton can be small (on the order of .005 mm), like algae, or large like jellyfish. Plankton produces 90% of all the breathable air on Earth.

Question: How diverse is the plankton population in South Maui?

Hypothesis: I think that there will be over 100 species of plankton in the water around South Maui.

Materials:

• collection net
• vial
• microscope
• slide
• coverslip
• paper
• pencil

Procedure:

Salinity Test:

1. Set water tester to measure salinity
2. Dip in sample water
3. Record results

Temperature Test:

1. Dip thermometer into water
2. Wait until the red marker stops moving
3. Record results

Disolved Oxygen Test:

1. Take sample of water
2. Drop in Oxygen Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

Phosphates Test:

1. Take water sample
2. Drop in Phosphate Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

Nitrates Test:

1. Take water sample
2. Drop in Nitrate Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

pH Test:

1. Set water tester to measure pH
2. Dip into water
3. Wait until results appear on screen
4. Record results

Turbidity Test:

1. Pour water into graduated cylinder to the correct height
2. Place over symbol and compare visual results to chart
3. Record results

Data:

• Sailinity: 26 ppt
• Temperature: 20.46
• Disolved Oxygen: 0
• Phosphates: 4
• Nitrates: 2
• Current: Motionless
• pH: 8.09
• Turbidity: 0
• Plankton species identified: approx. 5, many more still in sample though

Conclusion: We began this experiment wondering how many species of plankton there were in Maui waters. I suspected they would be numerous, over 100. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm or deny that number today because we only had the time and resources to ID 5 species. There were still many more in the sample. This was our main source of error, but others may include improper tool use, incorrect identification, incorrect use of Detain, and improper imaging methods.

Beach Profiling

Profiling the beach: The path goes over the dune.

Teammates checking out the area we observed.

Beach profiling is the process of measuring the height of a beach at different points so you can see what the beach would look like in profile. It allows us to look at the beach from the side, which is a perspective we could only actually achieve by going underground. The main factors affecting the profile of beaches are wind, waves, and human activity.

If you wanted to profile a beach, follow these instructions:

1. 
   
   Locate the beginning marker on the beach. Find its GPS coodinates.


2. 
   
   Locate the direction perpendicular to the ocean and find its direction in degrees. Measure out the length with a transect line.


3. 
   
   Place the Rise measuring stick on the beginning point. Place the Run measuring stick so it just contats the Rise stick (in the direction of the transect line). Make sure both are level and take measurements from both (upward movements are negative where downward ones are positive).


4. 
   
   Move the Rise stick to the current location of the Run stick and place the Run stick so it just contacts the Rise stick. Level and measure.


5. 
   
   Repeat 3-4 until the Run stick reaches the foot of the beach. Place the Run stick in the center of the foot (this may mean that the Run stick goes past the Rise stick). Level and measure.


6. 
   
   Analyze your data.

Sand Analysis Lab

Original images of the Cove have been lost. This beach is the best representation.

Charley Young

The Cove

Charley Young

Introduction: A beach is a location where a sediment is actively being exchanged through tidal movements. This sediment can be any number of types of sediment, but it is usually called sand. Sand can be classified as either biogenic (produced by living creatures) or detrital (produced by nonliving objects eroded down (detritus)). The purpose of this lab is to select several Maui beaches and determine whether the sand there is biogenic or detrital. Most of the biogenic material comes from coral. Coral is built from calcium carbonate. When calcium carbonate comes into contact with acetic acid (vinegar), it produces calcium acetate, water, and carbon dioxide. You can hear the carbon dioxide being produced; it creates a crackling noise.

Question: Which beaches on Maui have detrital sand, and which ones are biogenic?

Hypothesis: I believe that the Cove and Charley Younge both have mostly biogenic sand. If the sand is biogenic, it will chemically react with vinegar.

Materials:

• Cups


• Some form of transportation


• Tape


• Markers


• Two beaches (The Cove and Charley Younge in this case)


• Beakers


• Pipettes


• Vinegar

Procedure:

1. Collect samples. Place in labled cups.


2. Place sand in beakers. The sand should just cover the bottom of the beaker.


3. Using a pipette, drop one milliliter of vinegar into the beaker with the sand.


4. Check for a reaction. Sometimes the reaction will be visible but if not, place ear over the opennig of the beaker to hear for the crakling.


5. Record results.

Data: The Cove had a large amount of rock availible, but most was placed by people, and thus had little time to erode. I suspect that very little sand will be detrital. Charley Young may have some natural rock formations, but the sand is still a pale color which indicates that much of it is ground coral and thus biogenic. Both sand samples reacted when they came into contact with the acetic acid.

Conclusion: During this lab, we asked ourselves which beaches were biogenic and which were detrital. I suspected that the Cove and Charley Young were both mostly biogenic, and that if this were the case, they would react with acetic acid. Because both samples reacted with the acetic acid, both samples must have contained biogenic material.

Sources of Error: The sand may not have been representative of the beach, though this is unlikely. Variations in the amount of acetic acid introduced to the sand, and the sand itself may have altered the reaction. Our test was not specific enough to tell how much of the sand was biogenic, so even the mostly detrital beaches reacted because they still contained some of the calcium carbonate.

Whale Conclusions

A graph showing the disance of several whale pods from shore. This is only from the first trip.

Recently, we went whale watching for the second time to complete our data. From this, I was supposed to formulate my conclusion. The question I attempted to answer was whether whales like to be closer to shore or farther away, earlier or later in the season. I expected that they would like to be closer to shore earlier in the season, because the calves would be younger at that time and would require the protection from predators that the shore provides. I was unable to conclude because I could not measure my distance from shore during the second whale watch.

I thought that this whole trip was kind of fun. I enjoyed going on our whale watches. It wasn't my area of expertise, but it was fun.

Whale Observation

In science class, we are doing a humpback whale observation lab. The idea is to collect data on the whales early and later on in the whale season here to test multiple hypotheses regarding the whales. We measure distance and direction of the whales, we count the whales, and we record their behaviors.

My personal research question is "Are humpback whales closer to the shore earlier in the season or later?" I hypothesize that they are closer to shore earlier in the season, where the younger calves can be sheltered from predators by local coves.

To observe the whales, we went to MacGregor's point, on the road to Lahaina. I had fun observinig the whales, but we only saw two pods.


To measure the distance of the whales from shore, we used clinometers. A clinometer is a protractor with a weight on a string. It is used to measure angles relative to the Earth. Using this device, along with a GPS, we were able to find our distanc from the whales, by taking our angle relative to the whales, and then multiplying the tangent of that angle by our altitude.

Tide pools

There are many different invertebrates living in the tide pools on Maui's shores, but most are classified under nine phyla. Porifera refers to sponges. Cnidarians are jellyfish and corals. Platyhelminthes are flatworms. Nemotoda refers to roundworms. Mollusks are shelled animals like snails and bivalves. Annelids are segmented worms. Arthropods have jointed limbs, like crabs. Echinoderm (meaning spiny skin) refers to star fish and sea urchins. Chordata refers to fish.

For a recent lab in science class, it was our job to go to some tide pools and see how many of these types of invertebrates we could find. We wanted to know which phyla were most diverse and abundant. I expected Arthropods to be the most diverse and Mollusks to be the most abundant. It turns out, that Mollusks overwhelmed all other phyla in both areas.

I thought learning about these animals was the best part of the lab. I found that many of the phyla and species we learned about I had never seen. I still haven't seen many of them.