Earth Science is something best experienced in the field. The purpose of this project is to get you outside to see first-hand many of the things that we have discussed in class this year. You will need to find and photograph the following 10 things. (Please note however that in order to receive credit, you must be in each photograph. You can be standing in the background, lying on the ground….just as long as I can tell that you were at the location) You can use a conventional camera or a digital camera, and you can do the project with other people.
1-Frost Action : I would like this picture to be taken in a Cemetery (5 Corners Cemetery is great) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: Why does frost action happen? What else can crack tombstones?
2-Oxidation: I would also like this picture to be taken in a Cemetery. Please be careful not to confuse lichen with rust and do not take a picture of metal rusting. TEACH YOUR PARENTS: What causes oxidation?
3-Solution: Can be seen as white streaks on the outside of brick buildings where the calcite in the limestone (the cement) has been dissolved and then left behind as the rain water drips down the building and evaporates. It also causes the ‘stalactites’ seen on some bridge overpasses such as Southern State Parkway (Sachem South has good examples) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: Why does limestone dissolve? What mineral is it made of? Why do your parents have to put lime on their lawns every couple of years?
4-Glacial Erratic: I want a picture of a big one, bigger than a person (Entrance to Stony Brook College, Nicolls Road) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: What is a glacier? How do we know that the ice age ‘just’ended? What special features are found on glacially transported cobbles and boulders?
5-Soil Profile: Find someplace where someone has dug a deep hole or dig your own hole. I want to see topsoil and subsoil horizons TEACH YOUR PARENTS: Why is soil so important? How come the topsoil is so dark?
6-Breaking Wave: Not the swash or backwash, but the actual breaking wave (Smiths Pt) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: Show them which way the swash and backwash are going. If you can find something on the beach that floats, throw it in and see which way the longshore current is going. Tell them about groins.
7-Fire Island and the Ronkonkoma Outwash Plain (Go to North Ocean Avenue and take it to the top of Bald Hill (parking lot near Vietnam Veterans Memorial). Take a picture looking south. TEACH YOUR PARENTS: What formed the hill you are standing on? Why is the North Shore rocky and the south shore sandy?
8-Harbor Hill Moraine and the Terryville Outwash Plain. Same location as above, just facing North
9-Cumulus cloud (Find a nice big puffy one) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: What are the three types of clouds? How can you used them to forecast the weather?
10- Stream (You can choose the Connetquot, Peconic, Carmans, or Nissequogue. See if you can find a meander bend to see how there is more erosion on the outside of the bend. Look for small pebbles or grains of sand being carried along) TEACH YOUR PARENTS: How could the Colorado River have formed the Grand Canyon?
PART I SITE SELECTION
Select two locations where you can either find an exposed soil profile of at least 20 inches (such as where the foundation for a building is being dug ) or dig a trench of 20 inches in depth. One location must be in a moraine (either the Ronkonkoma Moraine or the Harbor Hill Moraine) and the other location must be in an outwash plain (either the Terryville Outwash Plain or the Hempstead Outwash Plain). Select a location that is undisturbed soil (stay away from lawns and farms for example)
PART II PHOTOGRAPHS
Take a photograph of yourself in the field next to each soil profile. Both you and the soil profile should be clearly visible.
PART III SOIL SAMPLING
Prepare a mounted soil profile at each location following the steps below:
1-Get two pieces of wood, 18 inches long and 4 inches wide. These will be your mounting boards.
2-Mark off the mounting boards in two inch increments. Label the back of the mounting boards, either moraine or outwash plain.
3-Lay the mounting board flat on the ground, and spread white Elmer’s type glue over it.
4-Begin taking soil samples from your profile, in two inch increments from the top down. As you take each sample, place it at the appropriate place on the mounting board. Large particles may require a little additional glue. When finished, you will have taken 9 soil samples and transferred them to the mounting board, resulting in a perfect copy of the soil profile. Let the glue dry completely. At home, you can impregnate the soil profile with a dilute solution of glue (1 part glue to 5 parts water) to keep it together.
5-Collect approximately one quart of sediment from the lower 6 inches of the profile and label the container. LET THE SAMPLE AIR DRY FORA WEEK !!.5- Repeat steps 1-5 for the second location.
6-Identify and label the topsoil, subsoil, and parent material on each mounted profile.
PART IV SIEVE ANALYSIS
Following procedures used in lab, you will perform a sieve analysis of each sample and construct histograms of the particle size distribution. (Sieve analysis will be carried out afterschool on designated days)WARNING: Your samples must be TOTALLY dry before sieving. Spread out and leave in the sun for several days.
PART V ANALYSIS
Using your sieve results and mounted soil profiles, you must compare the two soil samples. What are the differences between morainal and outwash soils. Make conclusions as to why these differences exist.
PART I
Glaciers leave behind many unique erosional and depositional landforms. On Long Island, depositional landforms dominate. Look for and photograph the following five glacial deposits:
A. MORAINES (2 photographs) You must photograph the Harbor Hill Moraine and the Ronkonkoma Moraine.
B. KETTLES, KETTLE HOLE LAKES (2 photographs) You must photograph these at two different locations on Long Island.
C. GLACIAL ERRATICS (Boulder sized) You must photograph these at two different locations on Long Island.
D. UNSORTED SEDIMENTS (Vertical exposure)There must be a significant range in particle size You must photograph one exposure in the Ronkonkoma Moraine and one in the Harbor Hill Moraine.
E. OUTWASH PLAINS (2 photographs) You must photograph the Terryville Outwash Plain and the Hempstead Outwash Plain.
NOTE:
1-EACH PHOTOGRAPH MUST CONTAIN A CAPTION, EXPLAINING WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS AND WHERE IT WAS TAKEN
.2-YOU MUST BE IN THE PHOTOGRAPH TO RECEIVE CREDIT.
PART II
Large sediments that have been transported by a glacier often display unique features that have been caused by their grinding against bedrock. These include striations, grooves, glacial polish, and chattermarks. Look for and collect two cobbles or boulders (no pebbles accepted) that display chattermarks.
PART III
Prepare a hand drawn outline map of Long Island with the following clearly drawn and labeled: Ronkonkoma and Harbor Hill Moraine, Terryville and Hempstead Outwash Plains, and your sample locations.All of the above should be arranged in a typed report, with all rock samples clearly labeled.
PART I PHOTOGRAPHS
You must take photographs around Long Island (large erratics, roads, sidewalks,cemeteries) which illustrate the various types of physical and chemical weathering. You must take two different photographs of each of the following:
A. FROST ACTION
B. ROOT WEDGING
C. SOLUTION (best seen on brick buildings)
D. OXIDATION (be careful, don't confuse lichen with rust)
A WORD OF CAUTION: To receive credit, your photographs must clearly show the effects of the agent of weathering in question. So make sure it’s great ! Each photograph must be clearly labeled, giving the location and explaining what it shows.
PART II EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE
You must visit a cemetary and find at least 5 tombstones which are four sided. Examine each of the tombstones and record your observations about how each side of each one is weathering. Put your observations in a datatable. Which of the sides seems to have weathered the most. Or, are they the same ? Include two pictures which best support your onclusion. Based on your observations, make a conclusion (in essay form) concerning the effect of direction of exposure on the weathering rate and/or type. Be sure to include your observations.
NOTE:YOU MUST BE IN ALL PHOTOGRAPHS TO RECEIVE CREDIT.
All of the above should be arranged in a typed report.
