2023年8月7日

不管时间的流逝, 人类对环境的影响是难以消除的, 是否发生了几十年, 几个世纪或几千年前. 如果你想鸟瞰萨斯奎哈纳河, 你可能会看到一种叫做鱼堰的东西. The long V-shaped walls were built of stacked rocks by Native Americans and early European settlers to trap fish.

詹妮弗Elick，副教授 地球与环境科学 在浩博体育app, and two of her students are studying how these weirs contributed to the formation of islands within the river.

“在大流行期间, I began mapping fish weirs using Google Earth Pro and noticed large gravel bedforms that appeared to have formed after major flood events,埃利克说. “我还注意到三角形的沙砾和岛屿. 当我回顾1938-39年的历史图片时, 我注意到有些地方有鱼塘, 但随着时间的推移，它们变成了沙洲或植被覆盖的岛屿.”

在岛屿地基内发现煤矸石

埃利克和她的学生, 奥利维亚·韦弗25岁, 森伯里大学地球与环境科学专业的学生, 宾西法尼亚, 还有26岁的西尔维娅·尼斯, 肯普顿大学地球与环境科学专业的学生, 宾西法尼亚, have focused their attention on one island in particular: an unnamed island near Beach Haven, 宾西法尼亚, 在卢塞恩县. They analyzed sediment samples and determined that a large percentage of the soil composition is anthracite coal and waste produced from coal-burning — magnetic glass, 赤铁矿, 页岩芯片, 焦炭和金属. They have also found evidence that suggests 1972’s Hurricane Agnes flood is responsible for a large deposition of sediment at the Beach Haven island.

“This also would apply to other islands and tells us that high-energy events like floods can be a contributor to the formation of these islands,Kniss说。.

正常情况下, 他们正在研究的岛屿将被称为冲积沙洲岛, 似由洪水形成的. 但研究人员的发现表明情况并非如此.

“Their formation is due to a manmade structure blocking or catching sediment in the river, 这些沉积物中含有很高比例的人造废物,韦弗说. “这将使遗留岛屿无意中成为人为的, 所以我们才给它们起了个新名字.”

“遗产岛”这个名字来自于人类活动, 或人造, 这些小岛的性质和人类活动留下的遗产.

大多数树木可以追溯到20世纪70年代

One of the final things 埃利克和她的学生 did during their summer research was to core trees to establish the dendrochronology – approximate age – of the forest. 埃利克说，所有取样的树木年龄都不到46岁.

“We interpreted this to indicate that the 1972 flood cleared the island out – removed all the sediment and left gravel. 1975年的洪水可能也影响了恢复，”她解释说. 最古老的树在1977年的某个时候开始生长, 随着它和其他植物的生长, 岛屿稳定了下来, 更多的沉积物和树木可能会形成.”

Kniss and Weaver said their summer research experience will support them in their future career endeavors, in Kniss’ case to give her a foundation from which to determine her postgraduate journey.

“This experience has showed me what research is like and allowed me to learn new technologies and processes,Kniss说。.

韦弗希望在一家环境咨询公司工作.

“This experience has given me a peek into what the research process is like and the kinds of questions and responsibilities that accompany taking on a new project that hasn’t been heavily studied,韦弗说. “我很感激Dr. 感谢他在整个过程中一直是我的良师益友. 她让我和西尔维娅参与研究的每一步.”

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