Sullivan's Crew

Abstract

Our class took a trip to Sullivan's Island to explore the sea and the sea life. We tested the sand, water currents, different creatures there, and seined. Each person in our groups had a different task to take care of. At the end we put all the information together and shared what we experienced that day. The reason we went to that location is because it is near where the dredging is going to happen. It was a great experience and I would say as a class we learned s lot and enjoyed ourselves.

T able of contents
Abstract Table of Contents Introduction Methods and Materials Currents Seining Cast net 2 3 4-5 GPS/ mapping 6-7 Sand 8 Biodiversity 9 10 Currents Discussion and Conclusion 25 26-27 16-24 14-15 13 Results Chemistry 11-25 12

Introduction
Dredging is the process of deepening or enlarging a harbor or waterway. We have dredged the Charleston harbor before. We are dredging once again so that we can make the harbor deeper so larger ships can come through the harbor. However some of the concerns for dredging are both economical and environmental. The environmental concerns are of course for the animals and the sea life that could be affected by the dredging. The economic concerns are that it costs a good heap of money ($300,000,000). But is it worth it when we could gain more shipping companies business for South Carolina. The reason we went to Sullivans island was to test the different aspects of the beach that dredging could affect. When we went there we did tests on sand, water, currents, GPS locations, and biodiversity.

Dredging
Dredging is one element of a larger process. Keeping ships moving through harbors, building residential waterfront developments, upgrading marina facilities, and keeping industrial process water canals open each have many interdependent tasks.

Methods
We completed tests to study biodiversity, water chemistry, sand composition, GPS and island morphology and currents. Seining and cast nets were used to study biodiversity. We used LaMotte test kits to study dissolved oxygen phosphate, ammonia, nitrate. Tablet tests where used for the last three and a titration was used for oxygen. Standard thermometers, refractometers, and ph paper where used to test temperature, salinity and ph level. To track changes in island shape we mapped the island using GPS points taken from iPhone. For sand composition we dug a 1 meter by .25 by 0.25 meter trench to see the historical sediment net line of the beach. And we also took a sand sample to Analyze by microscope and complete a sieve analysis. We threw watermellons and grapefruits in the water to measure currents. We videoed them with iPads and used video physics to analyze the data.

Materials
- Lunch -Money drinks/snacks

-Proper clothing

-Sunscreen

-iPad - Test equipment

Currents
Methods: To measure the currents we used a watermelon and recorded the watermelon oating in the water on an iPad. We then used an app called Video Physics to measure how far the watermelon moved. Results: We found a rip current and a longshore current. The rip current moved out and to the left while the longshore current moved to the right.

Seining
Seining is using a net with weights and oats to capture the creatures in the sea to bring on land. There is a stick on either side of the net that you use to bring the net out and around. Once the creatures are on the shore we can look and learn about the creatures that we caught.

Cast Net
To throw the cast net you want to get a grip with both hands and your mouth if you want to, but you want to get a equal spread around the net and try to throw it and make it circular like a "pancake". Once the net lands you let it fall to the bottom and pull in very firmly so the net will capture organisms if it landed on any. After you pull in you lift up the plastic circle and pull whatever organisms you have out of the net. Luckily we landed a sheeps head about ten feet from land. (Picture to the left).

Results
What did we find?

Chemistry

The phosphate levels in the water tests we took were very low, measured in ppm ( parts per million). The nitrates were also very low possibly because of the area we took the samples in. Ms. VK is testing for nitrates again to check calculations. For saturation in area A, we got around 87%. That is a pretty normal number for the ocean. Since the saturation is at 41% the dissolved oxygen (DO) is going to be a little lower considering sample B is taken past the jetties in different water conditions. The temperature was also a little low, but this can be explained because of the time of year. The results we got for ammonia levels were showing that the area was not as healthy as it should be. To state this you could also say the area was stressed. The turbidity test also showed that the water was not very clear which considering the amount of waves makes sense.

GPS/ Mapping

We used different points with our iPhones and iPads to get the exact location of where we were at Sullivan's. The reason we did this was so next year the class can go to the exact location to take samples to compare to ours from the year before.

Sand Samples. The way we tested the sand samples by digging into the ground and looking at the layers. We would take a shovel and dig a meter by half meter hole and collecting the sand. We then sifted through the sand. We also took pictures of the layers The striation is the representation of how the sand changes throughout time. Thee coordinates you see on the picture are the coordinates in relation to the areas of where we found the sand samples. When we went through our sand samples we found a few organisms, mostly bivalves and shells.

Biodiv ersity
We found a variety if organisms on the beach as you can see in the next few pages...

A tri-color sea anemone attached to a moon snail shell that is inhabited by a broad claw hermit crab.

This is a stargazer.

Mushroom Jellyfish

A knobbed whelk with the animal still inside.

This is an Anchovy

This is a Cow nose Stingray.

This is a Speckled Swimming Crab.

This is a pipe fish

This is a mullet.

This is a Atlantic Giant Cockle.

These are Striped Grey Star fish.

A horseshoe crab with a acorn barnacle stuck on the crabs shell.

This is a baby eel.

This is a fragment of a Sanddollar.

This is a lady Crab.

This is a Shingle Tube Worm.

Currents
We used VideoPhysics to analyze the currents at Sullivan's. There is evidence of a longshore current and a rip current moving along the jetties out to sea.

Discussion

The process of dredging is simply taking sediments on the bottom of the water and removing them to make the waterway or area deeper, and then placing the obtained sediments somewhere else. This is exactly whats happening in the Charleston harbor right now. Recently however, there has been a dilemma surrounding the issue, considering that Sullivans island is directly in the path of the dredging process. The Obama administration has stated that they are aware of the issue and plan to speed up productivity. As a result, the shipping industry has taken a slight blow with delayed deliveries caused from ships maneuvering around the dredge area. Benets from the dredging are that once completed, the waterways wont need re-dredging for another 10 years. It will also make the harbor mouth wider, allowing for more ship trafc at one time. One the other hand, the dredging will prove harmful to local underwater life. All dredged materials will later be transported to the isle of Palms to restore the section of beach shore being washed away by constant currents.

Recommendations and conclusions

I highly recommend you bring sunscreen with a towel, and proper clothing for heat. I also recommend that your group should have back ups for every position because you will probably change your mind once you get there and you may think other things are funnier than you expected. Overall we all had a fantastic time seining, seeing the beautiful diversity, teaching others to cast net, and learning the differences in the currents and sand composition. So I highly advise you to make the best of your day when you go.