Sinkholes: Dean's Blue Hole

Dean's Blue Hole is located in the Bahamas. It is the deepest saltwater blue hole known in the world. A blue hole is a sinkhole filled with water that is entered below sea level. The hole is 663 feet deep. There are some freshwater holes even deeper than Dean's Blue Hole. The Hole is a popular diving destination.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole#Notable_examples

http://school.verticalblue.net/deans-blue-hole/

Community Gardens

I am absolutely obsessed with Oprah Winfrey. She is giving, positive, and example of female strength and independence. I watch her series Super Soul Sunday religiously, and she once aired a short clip about a woman named Riet Schumack who has done wonderful things to improve her Detroit community. Riet moved from an affluent suburb to one of Detroit's poorest areas and started Brightmoor Youth Garden. The garden takes up three vacant city lots, and children from the community help care for the plants and animals living there. When Riet arrived in Brightmoor, it was riddled with crime and was unsafe for children. The garden is helping to improve the community by teaching young people important values like hard work, patience, and commitment, and it has encouraged many other locals to start their own gardens. Since the garden was founded, residents describe the community as safer and more peaceful, and they also note that it is no longer comprised of only one race. I love Riet's story because she encourages these children to lead better lives in multiple ways. I am majoring in English and Secondary Education, and when I teach I hope to be an inspiring and caring role model like Riet. This story is inspiring, and Brightmoor is just one example of the multitude of benefits that come from community gardens.

Revitalizing Detroit One Garden at a Time

Rock Identification

I collected these rocks while I was home for spring break, home being Augusta, Georgia. I searched for them in a variety of locations around my house, but they still ended up being mostly granite. The entire top row is granite, and most of them are lighter-colored and higher in feldspar content except for the one on the far right. The first rock in the second column is also granite. The second rock is a white or yellowish color and is rounded and smooth, and I am unsure as to what it is. The next one is quartz. The final rock seems to composed of the same materials as the other granites, but it is very porous, so I am uncertain as to what it is because it is very different from the others.

Table of Change in Elevation over Time

 

I did my assignment on the port city of Kusadasi, Turkey, because it is my favorite place that I have ever been. It is on the coast of the Mediterranean, and the terrain around the sea is very mountainous. My graph shows the changes in elevation as one moves from the port further inland. My graph demonstrates how dramatic the elevation changes can be in this area.

Lab 4: Hydrothermal Vents

Hydrothermal vents are most common at spreading plate boundaries and underwater volcanic sites. The heated substances released are kept from boiling because of the intense pressure in such deep ocean. The vents release hot particles and minerals from beneath the earth, which makes them centers of ecosystems where inhabitants can live in extreme temperatures and devoid of sunlight. There are over 300 types of organisms that can live in these conditions, some of the most common being tubeworms, mussels, fish, crabs, shrimp, clams, anemones, and various types of bacteria. Bacteria convert sulfur from the vents into energy, which takes the place of photosynthesis because no plants can survive in this dark environment.

Office of Naval Research

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

 

Lab 3: Mineral Identification

Peridot is in the Olivine group, and I selected it because August is my birth month. It streaks are colorless, and its hardness ranges from 6.5 to 7. The tenacity is brittle. Peridot is the transparent green variety of Olivine and is popular in jewelry.

http://www.minerals.net/mineral/olivine.aspx

 

I selected Gypsum because it sounds like "gypsy," which reminds me of Stevie Nicks, with whom I am obsessed. Gypsum is commonly found in layered sedimentary rocks, and it is the most common sulfate mineral. The streak is white and the cleavage is perfect. It is used in the manufacturing of wallboard, cement, and plaster. It is a weak stone, which makes a lot of other uses difficult.

 

http://geology.com/minerals/gypsum.shtml

 



Lab 2: Maps and Topography

Chloropleth maps are shaded to show the density or prevalence of the variable measured. This map shows the estimated median household income in the U.S. as of 2008.

 

Isarithmic maps have colors or  contour lines that cross state lines. This map shows average annual temperatures in the U.S.

 

 

Dot density maps indicate the prevalence of something using varying numbers of dots. This map shows harvested cropland in the U.S. in 1949.

 

 

A proportional symbol map uses the scale of a symbol to demonstrate the proportional data value in the location indicated. This map shows the number of Walmarts in different U.S. states.

 

 

I made this topographical map showing the different elevations of Georgia, starting at 0 and increasing by increments of 200 until reaching an elevation of 2000. This map also shows routes of flowing water starting in various locations throughout the state.