This is the welcome sign at the Center. A converted
military instillation, the Gerace Research Center (GRC) has been
welcoming researchers since 1971.
Gary, Aaron, and alumnus Amy (now pursuing an MS at
New Mexico State) journeyed to
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to begin our adventure.
The SUU students joined a group from the College of
St. Benedict/St. John's University (CSB/SJU). There were a total
of 18 students and four faculty members.
One important aspect of life at the GRC is feeding
time. Here students are lined up and waiting for the opportunity
to get a meal.
Most of our "work" on San Salvador involved
the use of snorkeling equipment. Here Gary and Aaron are learning
about calcareous algae from Dr. Davis.
Happy to be an island boy, Arron strolls along the
Cockburn Town fossil reef seeing above sea level what lies just
beneath in the background.
An image of exposed coral in the fossil reef.
Gary models his Walgreen's-orange swim trunks.
During the get acquainted days, we toured a small
pit cave, excavated in the late Pleistocene, and ornamented sometime
after 71,000 years BP.
Our research project, origin and distribution of sediments
in the main lagoon of Pigeon Creek, was part of a larger environmental
assessment that was conducted by the rest of the group. Here,
a triumphant Aaron holds a core sample of bioturbated lagoonal
sediments. Gary is just trying to get the salt and sunscreen
out of his eyes!
Dr. Davis and the crew extrude the core sample onto
the dock for examination.
The happy group is about to take a closer look at
the content of the core. Note the huge pile of Bahamian conch
shells in the background.
Amy and Kelly sift through the core to see what is
there.
The fruits of their labors are on display. Starting
at one o'clock, forams, gastropod shells, Halimeda plates,
and bivalve debris.
The majority of the sediment matrix was the product
of calcareous algae, examples of which include, Halimeda,
Penicillus, Udotea, and Acetabularia.
Of course, late afternoons left plenty of time to
enjoy the fantastic beaches of San Salvador.
One close up photo of the beautiful Bahamian conch
shells. This is a dietary staple, so the harvested shells were
everywhere.
A tired, sun-burned, but satisfied group is seen here,
waiting for transportation in Ft. Lauderdale. We are already
planning a return trip in November of 2004. Come and go with
us!
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