Spanish Flu, and Asiatic Clams

The Spanish Flue Epidemic of 1918 was a widespread and deadly influenza pandemic that spread across the world and affected many people. What was different from other epidemics is that the flu affected people who were young adults, and not the typical infants and elderly that most epidemics would affect for most epidemics in history. The pandemic lasted from 1/1918 to 12/1920. The Flu reached the far corners of the world. Even to some parts of the Artic and even to remote Pacific Islands. This is a video that shows the horrors of the Influenza panic. 

Here is a map that shows where the Spanish Flue started from and moved to. Many people have different theories on to where the virus began, some say the far east, and multiple sources have said  different things so it could be many different locations. One being the Far East, and others say that it could be Africa. 


For the other lab that we went on was to see the Asiatic Clams in the Ocmulgee River. The following video is one that shows how these clams can filter the water in these fresh water systems. As a group we did not find many clams that were alive, but the few that we did were quite interesting to see. According to an article in Wikipedia the Chinise call these clams the gold luck clams. The scientific name for these clams is Corbicula fluminea. This clam is one that we could have found in the Ocmulgee. 

Tree Hugging picture, Southern Pine Beetle, and Wild Ginger

This is my tree hugging picture, although it is not one where im hugging the tree, but I think it still is one that counts haha

We talked about the Southern Pine Beetle and the way that they would destroy huge chunks of land in the Forest, So here is a link to the video that shows the areas in the South that have had the worst outbreak of the Southern Pine Beetle for each particular year. Also while in Hitchiti we saw Wild Ginger. Wild Ginger would be desc lustrous leaves that cover the ground so well that one can barely see an inch of soil ribbed as heart shaped glossy. The following is a picture of Wild Ginger:

Wild Ginger can be grown either from seeds, or from slender rhizomes. It needs full sun, but can tolerate partial shade. This all is according to www.buzzle.com. 

ONM Wildlife

The wildlife around the Ocmulgee National Monument varies, but due to the swampy conditions that border the monument then the wildlife in the area follow that same trend. Herons, turkeys, fish, and many more make up the dense wildlife population in the swamp. The bird life consists mainly of blue and white herons as well as wood ducks. These are shown below.

there are some sources that I have found that claimed that Wild Turkeys will roam the area as well. This is according to wikipedia.org though. These are mainly the only bird species that may be hunted in the area, but hunting is prohibited on the monument land itself. 

Within the water of the swamp the fish life is mainly consistent of largemouth bass, crappies, and catfish. These are shown below.

The one mammal that has been disputed on whether or not it habitats within the area around the swamp is the Black Bear. These are animals that have been said to be coming back in the middle Georgia area.

All of these animals are kept in good habitats because of them living so close to the monument that is well maintained by the government.

Burgess Shale

The Burgess shale is a fossil field that is located in the Canadian Rockies that has a massive deposit of fossil formations that have been found to have many fossils that were from pre-historic age. These fossils which have been found are from many different groups of Animals. It has taken scientists by surprise, and they have not been able to answer how or what these animals were there. These are just a few images of the fossils that have been found, and what scientists have recreated them to look like.

This is a video of the recreation of the Burgess shale animals.

Undertow/ Rip tide

A rip tide or a rip current is a strong channel of water that runs from the shoreline and then back out to sea. When wind and waves push water towards the shore, that water is often forced sideways by the oncoming waves. This water streams along the shoreline until it finds an exit back to the sea or open lake water. The resulting rip current is usually narrow and located in a trench between sandbars, under piers or along jetties. A common misconception is that ordinary undertow or even rip currents are strong enough to pull someone under the surface of the water,in reality the current is strongest at the surface. This strong surface flow tends to dampen incoming waves, leading to the illusion of a particularly calm part of the sea, which may possibly lure some swimmers into the area. The off-shore path taken by a rip current can be demonstrated by placing colored dye at the start of a current at the shoreline. Rip currents are a source of danger for people in ocean and lake surf. They can be extremely dangerous, dragging swimmers away from the beach. Death by drowning comes following exhaustion while fighting the river or ocean current. This video shows how dangerous it could be if someone is caught in a rip tide, and how they would be rescued. 

Deep Sea, Deep secrets

Extremophiles: an extremophile is an organism that lives in an extreme environment, so at the bottom of the hydrothermal vents, or within the walls of Volcano. This is a picture of one of those organisms.

They live in many of these extreme environments such as these:

Geology Lab

Igneous: This is a picture of an Igneous rock that has come from molten lava flowing out of the Earth and it has solidified in this form which it has stayed today. These are the rocks that have been changed over time from when they first solidified from the rocks which they came from.

Metamorphic:The following are pictures of metamorphic rocks that have been metamorphosed throughout time. Which means they have been subjected to a lot of high temperatures, and high degrees of pressure over time. This will change the way that the rock looks, and it shows with the way that they appear now.

Sedimentary: These are the rocks that have been changed over time by the wind, sun, and many other happenings on Earth. The many particles, and minerals that make up these rocks come together and change the way that these rocks appear.