Author: cjm13026

Protection against long shore drift

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.

Turbidity currents

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 […]

Sediment swirl in Lake Michigan

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/

Border issues along the Red River

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 […]

DNA discovered in sediment

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 […]

The Belo Monte Dam controversy

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 […]

Cape Cod Timelapse

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

Wax Lake Delta

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 […]

Sediment in the San Francisco Bay

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

Sediment in Rivers

Below are two different articles about different rivers located in very different parts of the country, both bodies of water have issues with sediment in the flow of the river. The south river located in Maryland will have less sediment in the water, as the current load of sediment has clouded up the water, and […]

A New Way to Protect Salt Marshes

This article discusses a new way people are determining if salt marshes are vulnerable to erosion. The system that they used creates estimates with large margins of error, meaning that this ratio can only truly be used to predict whether a marsh has enough incoming sediment to thrive or disappear. Perhaps this ratio can be […]