CLAMMING
This weekend, my friend and I decided that we wanted to experience something that is distinctly "Maine". We headed out at 10:30 am to Thomas Point Beach, located on the New Meadows River in Brunswick. We arrived at the beach just as the tide was at its lowest. This was the perfect situation. There were families playing in the sand, couples sunbathing, and adults reading...but we were most interested in the men wading in the mud a couple hundred yards from the beach face. They were knelt over, digging ferociously in the sandy mud, straightening periodically to throw something into the bucket standing next to them. We had come to the beach to do exactly what they were doing--clam digging. Clamming is the act of 'harvesting clams from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live.' We came lacking any knowledge of how to go about finding clams. All we knew is that our dinner was centered around all the clams that we would be finding! Before I explain the clamming process, here's a 
little bit about clams: clams are animals that burrow under the seafloor. They have two hard shells that protect the soft inner body (the part that we eat!) They have a large 'foot' that is used to burrow into the mud, and when threatened, clam retract into their shells, and close the shell so as to protect themselves.
Clamming is quite the science. What is the most important thing one needs in order to have a successful clamming trip? Low tide or the earlier stages of the incoming tide. We need to be able to walk to the where the clams are located! Secondly, we look for holes in the mud. These holes should be approximately the circumference of your pointer finger. Everywhere you see a hole, there's a clam in the mud below! When we found an area that had a lot of holes, we'd kneel, and dig until we couldn't dig any deeper! At the beginning, we were finding a lot of baby clams, ones of an inadequate size. But as we dug deeper, we found more appropriately sized clams. One recommendation: use more than bare hands to dig in the mud. The tips of my fingers are very beaten up as a result of the sharp shells and rocks in the mud in which we were digging. Many clammers use 'clam hoes', which look like no more than the end of a pitchfork. I'm sure that's more successful than our bare hands were!
MAINE'S BOLD COAST
Maine's bold coast is one of its distinctive qualities. When I first arrived in Maine, I was surprised, for I had never before seen sedimentary rocks with vertical orientation, as are many rocks along the Maine coast. It is amazing that a quick examination of a site can give you a complex geologic history of the area. For me, this meant exploring the area, and researching how each specific characteristic is formed.
Recently, I explored the Giant Stairs, an 'unusual geologic feature of the eastern side of Bailey Island.' The Giant Stairs are a rock formation that resemble a staircase, but there's nothing man-made about it. The stairs actually formed as a result of seafloor spreading. Over a long period of time, sediments had been building up, forming a crust on the ocean floor. When the seafloor spread, huge cracks were torn in the sedimentary rocks. When these breaks were made, hot magma from the earth's core rose into that crack, leaving the igneous rock we see today. Giant Stairs is a really cool feature of Maine--one that everyone should check out. It's amazing to realize that rocks and geologic features like this one are millions of years old. That is incredibly old!
Have you ever noticed the interesting orientation of the rocks along Maine's coast? To many, this looks unnatural. Sedimentary rocks originally form in the ocean as thin layers of sand or mud. Over time, these layer solidify, leaving the ocean floor as layered rock. The layers alternate between the lighter sandstone, and darker mudstone. As it lays on the ocean floor, the rocks are horizontal. The vertical orientation of the rocks are actually formed as a combined result of the sedimentation and the buckling of the ocean's crust with the formation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge (the Mid-Atlantic ridge is an undersea mountain range in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean). With the uplifting of the tectonic plates, a buckling motion occurred, forcing the sedimentary rock onto its side.
Want to know more about Maine's history? Look at the rocks and fossils around you--they'll tell you everything!
FOUR LEAF CLOVERS
When I was younger, I'd spend hours outside, scanning the ground for that icon of luck--a four leaf clover. I'd sit in the clover patch that grows in my front yard, analyzing each and every clover, hoping, wishing that I'd happen to find luck.
Lately, I've been walking through a lot of clover patches. No longer do I spend entire afternoons scanning these patches, but I still browse. And now, as a questioner of science, I wonder what actually makes these clovers have four leaves, not three?
After some research (instead of looking at the clover patch all afternoon, I've been looking at the books and articles), I discovered that the extra leaf is actually a genetic mutation. Many believe that there is a mythical explanation behind it, but as a scientific explorer, I'd rather understand the real reason for the anomaly.
The clover we see is a trifolium clover plant. Originally, it sports 3 leaves. However, a mutation happens in the gene, allowing the plant to instead have 4 leaves (or more). Four leaf clover masters find that patches in which they have found one, they often find more. What is the reason for this, you ask? This is because in a small area, the plants are more likely to be genetically similar. The seeds of the parent plant often land very close, and, as the four leaf clover is a genetic mutation, it can be passed from one generation to the next. Therefore, every four leaf clover that is formed increases the likelihood that there will be more four leaf clovers in that patch.
The likelihood of finding a four (or more) leaf clover is approximately 1:10,000. That means that for every 10,000 three leaf clovers we scan, there is one four leaf clover. Some businesses, however, have encouraged the mutation by feeding the plants a genetically engineered ingredient. They're actually producing close to 10,000 four leaf clovers a day, and then selling them as a lucky charm! I'd say that's no longer lucky...it's the chance of coming across it that makes finding a four leaf clover so lucky!
Also, interestingly, the record for the most four leaf clovers found by one person: 72,927 clovers! If I want to catch up, I'd better be spending more time than an afternoon every once in a while!
Good luck today! Go looking for a four leaf clover!
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!
I am a sophomore at Bowdoin College, and I am working with Cornerstones of Science this summer. Even after a mere two weeks of working with Jocelyn and Sandy, I've learned an incredible amount, and I am eager to continue this learning process for the rest of the summer (and for the rest of my life!)
My goal for the summer of 2010 is to explore, question, and appreciate Maine's natural beauty, with the help of Cornerstones of Science!
It is so easy to go through life accepting those things that we see every day. We see the river over which we drive to school, we see the grasses growing on our front yard, we see the pristine ocean that we play in with friends... My goal, though, is to question why these things are the way they are. This summer, I will be exploring Midcoast Maine. Through this blog, I will be learning, discussing, and teaching!
Look forward to frequent updates as you accompany me on my explorations!
This weekend, my friend and I decided that we wanted to experience something that is distinctly "Maine". We headed out at 10:30 am to Thomas Point Beach, located on the New Meadows River in Brunswick. We arrived at the beach just as the tide was at its lowest. This was the perfect situation. There were families playing in the sand, couples sunbathing, and adults reading...but we were most interested in the men wading in the mud a couple hundred yards from the beach face. They were knelt over, digging ferociously in the sandy mud, straightening periodically to throw something into the bucket standing next to them. We had come to the beach to do exactly what they were doing--clam digging. Clamming is the act of 'harvesting clams from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live.' We came lacking any knowledge of how to go about finding clams. All we knew is that our dinner was centered around all the clams that we would be finding! 
Clamming is quite the science. What is the most important thing one needs in order to have a successful clamming trip? Low tide or the earlier stages of the incoming tide. We need to be able to walk to the where the clams are located! Secondly, we look for holes in the mud. These holes should be approximately the circumference of your pointer finger. Everywhere you see a hole, there's a clam in the mud below! When we found an area that had a lot of holes, we'd kneel, and dig until we couldn't dig any deeper! At the beginning, we were finding a lot of baby clams, ones of an inadequate size. But as we dug deeper, we found more appropriately sized clams. One recommendation: use more than bare hands to dig in the mud. The tips of my fingers are very beaten up as a result of the sharp shells and rocks in the mud in which we were digging. Many clammers use 'clam hoes', which look like no more than the end of a pitchfork. I'm sure that's more successful than our bare hands were!
