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Wachapreague, VA Field Trip Guide. By: Jessica DeLosa. Getting Started…. When: September 13-15 (all data collected on 9/14) Where: Wachapreague, VA What: Our class collected data for various aspects of the marine environment from several sites, such as
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Wachapreague, VA Field Trip Guide By: Jessica DeLosa
Getting Started… When: September 13-15 (all data collected on 9/14) Where: Wachapreague, VA What: Our class collected data for various aspects of the marine environment from several sites, such as Temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, etc Types of marine life Water depth
Methods of Data Collection… • We went out on two boats early in the morning (at high tide) • We went to several sites, and at each site used several instruments to collect data • YSI Probe- measured temperature of the water, salinity of the water, and dissolved oxygen • Secchi Disk- measured the turbidity of the water and how deep the photic zone was • Trawl, Dredge, and Plankton Net- to collect various organisms from the water • Two poles and 10 m of string to profile Cedar Island.
Methods of Data Collection Dredge YSI Probe Sediment Collector Secchi Disk Trawl
Methods of Data Collection Click the box This video shows the various methods that we used to collect data throughout the day.
Site 1- Inlet (General Information) • Time- 9:35 am • GPS Location- N 37˚ 34.848” W 75˚ 37.81” • Geographic Description/Location- Inlet between Paramore Island and Cedar Island • Moon Phase- Waxing Crescent 11% of Full
Site 1- Inlet (Physical and Chemical Water Data) • Total Water Depth- 80 ft • Photic Zone Depth- 1 m 3.5 cm • Tidal Stage- High Tide, going inland • Drift- 1.3 miles in 25 minutes
Site 2- Clubhouse Point (General Information) • Time- 2:26 pm • GPS Location- N 37º 35.35” W75º 37.80” • Moon Phase- Waxing Crescent 11% of Full • Other- Tide is starting to fall
Site 2- Clubhouse Point (Meteorological Data) • Wind Speed- wind speed has picked up from first site • Cloud Coverage- very cloudy • General Weather Conditions- overcast • Relative Humidity- none
Site 2- Clubhouse Point (Physical and Chemical Water Data) • Total Water Depth- 12 ft • Photic Zone- 1 meter • Current Speed- 1 knot
Site 2- Clubhouse Point (Geological Data) • How was sediment collected? Ponar Grab • Color- gray, black, brown • General Description of Texture- shelly bottom • Compaction- hard shells
Site 3- Hummocks Channel (General Information) • Time- 3:15 pm • GPS Location- N 37 º 36.472” W 75 º 38.671” • Moon Phase- Waxing Crescent 11% full
Site 3- Hummocks Channel (Meteorological Data) • Wind Speed- very windy • General Weather Conditions- overcast • Relative Humidity- none
Site 3- Hummocks Channel (Physical and Chemical Water Data) • Total Water Depth- 15 ft • Photic Zone- 1.5 meters • Current Speed- 1 knott
Site 3- Hummocks Channel (Geological Data) • How was sediment collected? Ponar Grab • Color- green, gray, black • General Description of Texture- more mud than shells • Compaction- muddy, soupy
Site 4- Nicawampus Creek (General Information) • Time- 3:44 pm • GPS Location- N 37º 37.648” W 75º 40.813” • Geographic Description/Location- mudflat • Moon Phase- waxing Crescent 11% full
Site 4- Nicawampus Creek (Meteorological Data) • Wind Speed- windy • Cloud Coverage- very cloudy • General Weather Conditions- overcast • Relative Humidity- none • Surface Water Temperature- warmer than at previous sites
Site 4- Nicawampus Creek (Physical and Chemical Water Data) • Total Water Depth- 5.2 ft • Photic Zone Depth- 25 cm • Current Speed- 0.4 knotts
Site 4- Nicawampus Creek (Geological Data) • How was sediment collected? Ponar Grab • Color- black • General Description of Texture- mud • Compaction- soft and soupy
Site Data Summary • At the beginning of the day, the tide was coming in, and at the end of the day, it was going out. The tide coming in and going out can make a huge difference when collecting marine animal samples and sediment samples. A flooding tide can bring marine life and sediments from the open ocean into an estuary, while an ebbing tide can drag these things right back into the ocean.
Site Data Summary • The salinity of the water at the different sites was actually slightly higher at the end of the day. The salinity of the estuary is actually higher than the salinity of the ocean because the water is more concentrated and because it hadn’t rained in a while. • The types of marine life we found from site to site was very diverse. We found a large amount of benthic organisms at sites 1 and 2, while we found a lot of nektonic organisms at site 4.
Site Data Summary • The temperature of the water was actually pretty constant throughout the day from site to site. While there was some slight changes, it was never anything drastic.
What type of data would we find at a deep marine site at 36˚N and 60˚W? • The salinity at this site would probably be lower than at the sites where we tested, because we were testing in an estuary. Being in an estuary, the salinity is usually higher because the water is more concentrated. • We would probably find more nektonic organisms than anything else in more open water. • The water temperature would probably be about the same, as water temperature does not change as much as land or air temperature. Sea Surface Temperature Sea Surface Salinity
Paramore Island vs. Cedar Island Paramore Cedar
Paramore Island • Maritime Forest • Marshy side • Parts of the island were very dried up • Both muddy ground and sand • There was once a lake towards the center of the island- has now dried up • Italian Ridge (ancient dune) • Island shaped like a drum stick • A lot of vegetation, high grass, and bugs • Very short shoreline, not flat (eroding further back every year)
Cedar Island • Smaller of the two barrier islands • Full of sand dunes • Not much plant life (mostly dune grass and sea grass, found in center of the island) • Large number of shells on both the ocean side and inlet side • Many dead horseshoe crabs • Very large, wide, and round • Many birds (seagulls, pelicans) • Flat beach
Cedar Island- Profiling • While on Cedar Island, we profiled the island from one side to the other. • We did this by taking to large poles with a string tying the two together. • One person had one pole, and another person had the other pole. • You would put one pole in the sand and the other person would move with the other pole until there was a change in topography. • This was repeated across the entire beach.
The Mudflat Click the box At the end of the day, we visited a mud flat to dig for worms. This video shows us digging for worms and shows a close up of one of the worms that was found.
