Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ocmulgee River


This is where we went at the Ocmulgee River in Macon, GA. 



While we were at the Ocmulgee River, we learned how to measure different elevations along the river transect. To do this you have two poles and first measure the initial height of the riverbank. Then you move the pole to a different spot along the river and if the string moves, you have to count how many levels the string rose or fell. You do this all the way across the river to the other riverbank.



We also counted clams while at the river. To do this we shoveled sand from different depths of the river sand and then sifted the sand away in some water. After the sand is sifted out of the sifter, you count the number of clams. There were more clams in the shallow to mid portion of the sand. Here it tends to be wet and also not too shallow. I think that there are not as many really deep because it is hard to live that deep in the sand. Also, if they are too shallow they will get too hot and dry out from the sun.  Unfortunately, there were not too many clams during the sifting, but it was still cool to see. 

Another thing we measured while at the river was the flow rate. To measure flow rate you take the distance divided by the time it took for the bottle to float down the river. The river is split up into three different channels. The middle channel had the quickest flow rate, whereas the other two channels had little to no flow at all. 


Thursday, September 6, 2012

Different Maps

Isopleth Map:

This map shows the amount of people who died in California from the H1N1 virus, which is also known as Swine Flu. The majority of deaths that occurred were in Southern California towards the Los Angeles area which is heavily populated. 


Population Density Map: 
This population density map shows the growth in population of each county in the United States. From the map, you can see that New York's population is projected to decrease. The blue shows a decrease whereas the orange shows increases in population. 


Chloropleth Map 

This chloropleth map shows how much purchasing power each country has in relation to US dollars. From the map you can see that US, Europe, and Asia hold the majority of purchasing power in the world. 




Dot Density Map: 
This dot density map shows where the majority of people in China live by the use of dots. As you can see, many of the people live on the coast, which is interesting. 


Topographic Map:
This map shows the Floridian Aquifer system. The topographic lines show the thickness in feet of how deep the aquifers are in Florida. The blue shows the thicker aquifer and the lighter colors shows where the aquifer isn't as thick or deep. 


Proportional Symbol Map: 
This map shows the amount of people killed in traffic accidents in the United States in 2009. The bigger the scull, the more fatalities. California and Texas had the most fatalities, but that could also be due to their large populations. 


Hurricane Leslie: 
This is the projected path for Hurricane Leslie, which is in the Atlantic Ocean right now.