This picture is a screenshot of the coast in Spring Lake New Jersey. Along the shore you can see multiple jetties along the beach. These jetties are used to limit the effects of long shore transport of beach sediment. Jetties are extremely common throughout New Jersey beaches to limit coastal erosion and are very effective.

This article discuses a recent turbidity current that scientists were able to record. The scientists used boulder shaped sensors to monitor the turbidity current by rolling with the flow. The smart sensors clocked the flow at 18 miles per hour. The article also talks about a previous turbidity current in 1929 that traveled at about […]

This article discusses a recent swirl of sediment in lake Michigan that is the result of recent storms and high winds. Wind gusts reached up to 61 mph which stirs up the sediment and recent rainstorms have filled rivers with above average amounts of sediment being carried to the lake.     http://woodtv.com/blog/2017/04/08/sediment-swirl-in-lake-michigan/

This picture shows the border of Texas and Oklahoma. Since the border was established the Red River has meandered this leads to a strange looking border. The border does not match the River; at some points the border even covers oxbow lakes that were once part of the border. The meandering of the river leads […]

This article discusses how ancient DNA of extinct human relatives has been found in a cave in Croatia. Tiny DNA fragments were found in sediments in the cave. These sediments date back from 14000 to 550000 years ago. The discovery of DNA in sediments can be seen as a new way to learn about the […]

This article discusses the controversial Belo Monte Dam located in Brazil on the Xingu River. The Dam is supposed to bring a large amount of hydroelectric energy to the country, as Brazil has a growing economy and is in desperate need for more power. What makes this dam so controversial is that with its construction […]

This is a time lapse from Google earth engine that shows long shore drift of sediment at the bottom of cape cod. Due to the long shore current and lack of support structures the sediment is carried down the beach. This leads to erosion of the coast and creation and growth of spits.   https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/#v=41.62334,-70.03734,10.167,latLng&t=3.23

This Google earth engine time lapse shows the growth of the wax lake delta. The time lapse begins in 1984, the delta begins to grow slowly until the 1990s when the delta begins to grow at a faster rate, this growth continues in the early 2000’s and the deltas modern shape and size can be […]

This article discusses how with recent rains in California, which has been in a drought for years, has had rivers carrying lots of sediment. This sediment helps build up the marshes, this is important for the local wildlife that use the marsh as a home, or stopping ground for migratory birds.   http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/San-Francisco-Bay-turns-brown-after-nonstop-storms-10932444.php

This Summer, I will likely have a crew position on an oceanographic research vessel of Alpine Ocean, a division of Gardline group, a company which specializes in Geophysical surveys, vibracore and geotechnical services, Hydrographic survey services, as well as oceanographic survey services and enviornmental, biological and marine wildlife survey services. Sediment transport studies are involved […]

Last summer, my parents visited a lot of national parks, including Badlands National Park in South Dakota. They showed me all the fossils they saw, which were really cool, but they also showed me photos of the iconic red banding in some of the rock formations there. These bands are part of the Brule Formation, […]

A few weeks ago, we went down to the lab and played with the flume to simulate a hyperpycnal flow. This was cool on its own to watch, but I was struck by the how some of the water we poured in sat in one of the basins. When the water was originally added, it […]

While in the field this past Saturday, we had the opportunity to observe how sediment is dispersed along the Connecticut coast and talk about the origin of the sediment. From glacial lake Hitchcock, several subaqueous fans (deltas) were created. As the glacier retreated, the delta morphosequences were deposited further and further north. These deposits are […]

A 2,300 year old aqueduct was just uncovered in Rome while working on a new Metro line.  The aqueduct was found 17 to 18 meters below the Earth’s surface.  The use of concrete bulkheads allowed them to be working that far below the ground.  At this depth in the Earth, archaeologists have uncovered a sequence of […]

I saw this article talking about how the town Jackson MI was going to flush the water mains for iron and sediment. The water is still safe to drink, but could be discolored, and people are recommended to not wash their clothes with it. Since I study water, I was interested in the need to […]

  The other day I came across an article about a herd of elephants stuck in a mud hole in Cambodia. They were all rescued, thankfully. I didn’t save the article, though, and when I went to search for it again, I discovered something: there are a lot of news stories about elephants getting stuck in the mud. There’s […]

Inspired by my upcoming trip to Italy, my discussion this week looks at sediment in a lagoon in Venice. Venice is a city in Northern Italy that is made of many different islands that are connected by canals and bridges. The Venetian Lagoon is the overall term for the area encompassing Venice. Humans have had […]

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Galveston-puts-last-of-1-million-cubic-yards-of-11031401.php#photo-12200804 In this article from the Houston Chronicle, the restoration of beaches on Galveston Island, a barrier island in Texas, is discussed.  This project, coming after a failed proposal to use tax money to raise the sea walls, attempts to help counter storm surge while also maintaining economic benefit due to tourism by widening the […]

http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/investigation-into-coastal-erosion-around-the-isle-of-wight-98121.aspx Politicians in the community of the Isle of Wight in Britain have organized a pair of studies to determine the risk of and put in place preventative measures to deal with sea level rise.  This risk assessment, while viewed as a precaution at this point due to a lack of imminent danger, will allow […]

While canoeing down the Hockanum River, my dad and I got to navigate the Beacon Falls rapids. These rapids are formed due to lithologic knickpoints. Most likely these knickpoints are migrating due a combination of glacial rebound and erosion.  Below is a picture of my Dad and I during the Hockanum River Race.

This video shows a turbidity current 400 meters deep in the Mendocino canyon off the coast of California.  An underwater ROV captured the event.  In the video you can see the different stages/layers of the turbidity current pass by the ROV (dilute flow, dense basal layer) .

Yesterday I visited the Old Croton Aqueduct with my club (Soil and Water Conservation Society).  We were able to walk into the 41 mile aqueduct built in the 1800’s, and see how it worked, and learn some of the history behind it. It was New York Cities first clean source of water (after they polluted […]