YIPEE!!!!! Field Trip

In a meeting, about a month or so ago, the people involved in project I'm working on, referred to from now on as the NOAA project for simplicity, gathered to discuss possible sites along the study the area, the Neuse Estuary.

During the meeting it was agreed to try and have a meeting with the other 2 groups; there are 3 groups total working on this NOAA project. NOAA funded three research projects looking at different aspects of sea-level rise effects on estuarine shorelines. The purpose of the meeting is to see if the three groups want to try and have a common site so that when all the data is collected and the models merged, there will be one commonality within the three.

Ok, everyone set aside two sets of dates to try and coordinate with the other groups. After one of the dates was set, it was proposed to use the other dates to have a field trip to check out the proposed areas. Once the date of the meeting was set, this seemed to fall by the waste side, but I did not forget and brought it up a few weeks ago. Upon inquiring about a possible field excursion, I was told if I wanted to organize it, it could happen.

Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive.. organizing an excursion and trying to coordinate something involving people I have yet to meet was a bit intimidating. However, I was able to get a grip and everything ended up working out well. In the beginning, it seemed that a few of the small group were not going to be able to make it; however, everyone ended up being able to go.

It was great to finally get to see the areas up close. Looking at them on a computer screen is nothing compared to being there in person. Though many people do not like marsh and think they are worthless, they are very beautiful. I had never taken so many pix of marsh in my life.

Here are my two advisors. JP on the left, he is the GIS guy and has done a lot of sediment movement research. Reide is my main advisor, on the right. He is a chemical oceanographer and had to go out on a cruise that morning and joined us later in the afternoon.

Ah,the synthesis of biology and geology... who would have thought?

It was amazing to see the difference between the bulkheaded areas and those that have naturally been able to recede. Whoever said marshes were not beautiful? They didn't know what they were talking about.

What is weird for me, is that this area is protected by the barrier islands and therefore is only worked and reworked by large storms. The pocket sediment bank beaches is not from erosion of the land, but from deposition by storms carrying sand inward from the barrier islands. It's hard to not think of the area, so close to the ocean, not having tidal fluctuations.

The perfect ending to a hard days work!