Androscoggin!

This week, I made my way over to the foot bridge on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. The Androscoggin River is 178 miles long, starting in Errol, New Hampshire.

Because of the many paper mills and textile mills along its shores, the Androscoggin was once heavily polluted. Since the closing of these mills, and the initiation of the Clean Water Act, the river has become significantly less polluted. However, some mills continue dumped water products into the river, therefore the river is still considered one of the more polluted rivers in the country.

During this trip to the Androscoggin, I didn't notice the pollutants in the water. Instead, I noticed some ordinary aspects of nature that, prior to this trip, I had never before questioned.




EROSION

First of all, I noticed the severe erosion that is happening in points along the shore of the Androscoggin. I have seen similar erosion happening all over the place. There are two questions we can ask about this erosion. Firstly, what causes erosion? Secondly, what impact does it have on its surroundings?

What is erosion? Erosion is a primarily natural process. It is the weathering of soils and sediments over time. Erosion refers to the breaking down of a larger object into many smaller objects--for example, if we were to throw a rock onto the ground, and it breaks into many smaller rocks. Once the soil is eroded, there is a mass movement of this soil from an area of higher elevation to an area of lower elevation. The land, therefore, becomes less stable, and therefore vulnerable to more erosion!

What causes erosion? There are (at least) five forces that cause erosion. Water, wind, waves, ice, and humans! We can focus on human's impact on erosion... Humans removal of vegetation in an area causes a great deal of erosion. Also, in areas that are heavily visited by humans (ex. popular hiking trails), erosion is more likely to occur.

What is erosion's impact? Because erosion is, in fact, a natural process, a small amount of erosion is a good thing. However, when there is too much erosion, it can cause an increased amount of sediment in the water, a loss of soil, and a disruption of the ecosystem!

What can we do about it? Areas consisting of natural vegetation are less vulnerable to erosion. Therefore, if we leave more areas untouched, unblemished, we can help to prevent erosion from happening. Also, more intelligent land use can prevent such extreme erosion. One should try to use sustainable agriculture practices, in hopes of preventing our land from eroding substantially.


Okay, now the Androscoggin in particular: the erosion pictured above is located on the shore of the Androscoggin. This erosion is very likely caused by water. When there is a lot of rainfall, there is more water in the river; therefore the river is higher, and the river is running faster. When this water rushes by, it overpowers the soil, causing the land to fall into the river.


We live in a pretty cool world. Let's understand and respect it!