Day 6: Elan Valley

Today Dr. Middlekauff, the professor from Plymouth, had to go to the hospital for emergency eye surgery. Our thoughts are with him. This caused a slight change to the schedule. Our bus driver was considerate enough to drop us off at the Elan Dam with one of our professors and our CIS coordinator. The driver then took Dr. Middlekauff and Dr. Collins to the hospital.

We began the day at the dam with a student presentation, which the presenters generously agreed to move forward a day. Chelsea Welden and John Correa spoke about the history of the environmental movement in the UK. They traced the development of environmental legislation beginning in 1273 to the present. Early legislation focused on coal use, which will be further discussed in a student presentation on air pollution. Other legislation is grouped into categories, such as energy, atmosphere, agriculture, water and wetlands, and wildlife. Although there have been several pieces of particularly successful legislation, such as the Forestry Act, UK policy is generally more species specific and reactive than in the US. Despite a similar transcendental movement in the UK and the US in the 1800's, disasters, such as the 1952 London smog, and EU directives are strong drivers of policy, whereas non-governmental agencies are less influential. This discussion provided background for touring the only non-profit owned dam in the UK.

After the presentation, we were lucky enough to have the ranger, Max, drive us to the dam. It took two trips, but once the group was reunited, Max was kind enough to take several group photos for us.

Entering the dam was a bit intimidating. Once we walked through the initial gated entrance and down the stairs, we were greeted by another locked gate. Once through, we walked down a thin, damp, barely lit tunnel. At the top of the dam, and after a few more photos, we jumped into the lesson.

The dam was built for the city of Birmingham and was put into use in 1903. It has a 15 day reserve and produces 810 kilowatts of power. It is considered a direct water supply, meaning the water does not get treated before use. This is due to the control of land surrounding the watershed which lacks industry and other polluting sources. Whenever there is a water shortage, the need for a super dam is discussed; however, the geology and laws are quite restrictive for such a massive project.

Initial water infrastructure in Britain was started by the Romans but was unable to keep pace with industrialization, as evident in cholera outbreaks between 1830 and 1870. Water resources have since been located outside of cities, as of 1880, and privatized under Margaret Thatcher. Now, the Welsh sell some of their water supply to England. One contentious fact is that London loses 30% of their water due to broken pipes.

Another welcome schedule change was the added option of hiking back from the dam or going on a nature trail. When preparing for a study abroad, advisers emphasize adaptability; today was a prime example of why.
Upon our return to the Elan Valley tourist center, we awaited the arrival of our bus over a snack. Our new hotel has a fantastic beach view. We are excited to call this home base for the next four days.



Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 5: Dartmoor National Park

You alright? That means “how are you doing?” over here in the UK.

Welcome back to the blog. Today we had another long day in the van and took a couple of stops in Dartmoor National Park after starting very early in the morning.

The Duo strikes again!

Don't work too hard there, Charlie!

Our journey began at 6:30 this morning and we drove an hour and a half to our first site. Immediately everyone could tell when we arrived at Dartmoor; the land turned in to rolling hills and wide open green fields that seemed to never end. There were animals including sheep, ponies and cows roaming free. It was quite amazing to see animals in the wild like this. Although we all really wanted to go and pet the ponies, we were advised not to. Next we hiked up one of the hills. As we walked along we stopped frequently to look at different stone patterns. We saw geometric features composed of sub-rounded boulders. These features ranged in size from 3 to 4 meters long to 10 to 12 meters long.  We saw stone nets, which are oval in form with a depression in the center.  These form along a steeper gradient slope.  We also saw stone stripes on even steeper slopes formed in a similar way to the nets. One can observe a pattern with lines of  stones broken up by a continuous vegetation cover that runs down a slope. Finally we noticed sorted stone circles with the long axis or A axis aligned in a circular pattern on the gentlest slopes. All of these landscape features stem from periglacial processes dominated by freeze-thaw action operating on the tor above.  We discussed the joints in the bedrock which create avenues for water to migrate laterally and downwardly. Upon freezing, expansion of the ice wedges the rocks apart into smaller ones. Periglacial processes move these rocks down the hill and form all the stone patterns on the slope. All the stones were made up of Dartmoor granite. This is a rock that has three different minerals in it: quartz, mica, and feldspar. It forms from when magma slow cools resulting in the large crystals.

Our rocky classroom. The seats weren't the most comfortable, but you can't beat the view!

Also, along the way, we found and identified three types of flowers and plant species. First was the Bell Heather, a purple bulb like flower. The color went from dark to light on each individual bulb. Next was a Potentilla. It was a yellow flower that looked very similar to a buttercup and very small. Last was the Bracken, a type of fern. It was all over the hill slope and is an invasive species in many moorlands in upland Britain.  After we made it to the top we sat down to hide from the wind, which was blowing at about 20 knots (about 23 mph) and was just about blowing Brittany over!  

Bell Heather

Potentilla

Bracken Fern

The  focus of our next stop was on human impacts on the land. These are not impacts from modern development, but rather impacts from ancient cultures. Again, we looked for patterns and other unique features and found stone circles.  Unlike the circles found at the tor on our previous stop, these were more obviously placed there with a purpose. They were oriented in a way that would not have occurred naturally.  They were placed on their sides with the widest side oriented inward. 

A circle of stones - mysterious.

Shortly thereafter, we came upon another feature affected by humans which appeared to be some sort of burial site.  It had two large stones over a shallow hole, about the right size for a body. Brittany had fun climbing in! It is important to note that we say it “appeared to be”. One thing that was made very clear during this portion of the trip is that, without concrete evidence, any ideas we have of what a feature could have been used for is just that – an idea. So while we might think, from our current perspective, that it was a burial site, we are basing that on our own modern ideas and cultural norms.

How is it down there, Britt?

Other features encountered included another stone circle; this one more spread out than the previous one and only had 11 stones in total. One theory is that this was used as some sort of calendar by which to track the seasons. Not far from this was a tall pillar. All these ‘field monuments’ are of an architectural style called megalithic.

The class discusses the pillar.

The main point made during this visit was the effect that human interactions with the environment can be long-term. The peat in this area has been analyzed for pollen types to determine the vegetation that would have been present at various times. The pollen present in the layer coinciding with the time during which these features are believed to have been placed suggests that, had that human interaction not occurred, the area would currently be wooded rather than grassy as it is today.

Overall we had a great day and all learned a lot about rocks from Dr. Middlekauff and a lot about archaeological impacts from Dr. Smith. Dr. Collins had a lot of important ideas that put everything the other teachers said into perspective. 

Until next time!
-The Duo

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 4: Alternative Uses of Mining Sites

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“On the fourth day, the light and seasons were created.”

Our fourth was a little different; we visited the Eden Project and the Cornish Poldark Tin Mine. The Eden Project is located near St. Austell, which is in the southwest peninsula of the United Kingdom. The project was built in a former china clay pit in 1999 and opened to the public in 2001. The purpose of this project was to prove that a devastated land can be repurposed into something beautiful, educational, and economical for the town.

Group shot at Eden Project

At the bottom of the former clay pit stood the 6 biomes of the Eden Project. When we arrived we went on a guided tour of the rainforest biome, which is not only the largest of its kind, but also the largest free standing scaffolding in the world. It is 160 meters long and 60 meters tall. Due to the height, a large balloon is sometimes used as a way to trim the taller plants. As you hike up the path inside the biome, the temperature and humidity noticeably increased. The covering of the biomes is made up of 3 layers of a thick plastic which provides insulation and a unique look to the project.

As the elevation within the biome increases, there are differing species of plants. One such plant that was identified to us was the Giant Tarro. This plant has the largest leaves in the world, and has self-cleaning leaves which have evolved such that water beads up and rolls right off.

On our way through the biome, our tour guide told us about something that most of us use every day; palm tree oil. The guide said that virgin forest is being cut down to grow palm trees. Most of the time we use the oil without realizing it since it is labeled as vegetable oil. The lesson here is to know what you're buying and vote with your dollars. Buy products that you know are sustainable and healthy for the environment.

Rainforest biome to left, Mediterranean biome to right

Outside of the biomes, there were several interesting features including a 4.371 ton, 3.75 meter tire to a mining truck, statues and sculptures, and even a hut made with willow. As a student traced the stone labyrinth set in the floor of the willow hut, our tour guide mentioned an interesting side note. Willow is used for charcoal and aspirin. He also told us that in ancient times men would give women willow earlier in the day so that later in the evening that headaches wouldn't be an excuse.:)

The whole tour had no problem engaging us and ended with a revealing mechanical enactment of what the world would be missing without plants, including items that we take for granted such as tables, milk, and clothes.

Poldark Mine guide

Whereas the Eden project revitalized a clay mine, the Poldark Mine has not been remediated. Our somewhat intimidated tour guide, who thought we would ask far too difficult questions, since he had just started his job, showed us the remaining lode of tin in the mine. Higher grade tin is darker. Several main tunnels have been widened to accommodate tour groups but still require a hard hat and the wear-with-all to climb a slippery spiral staircase. When the mine was active between 1720 and 1780, the shafts were only about four feet high and the width of a Cornish axe, which are actually shorter than most other axes. After descending a slippery narrow ladder up to 150 feet into the mine, the miners used to free the ore using wedging and explosives. The mine is not deep because the water table is high. Not only were the conditions cramped, but there was the danger of either drowning from an unmanned pump or underestimating the time required for the bird feather fuses to burn. As miners depleted a deposit, they accessed the next vein by mining out the granite parallel to the old tin deposit. Families worked the mine together in shifts up to 12 hours with no breaks. Women crushed mined stone to separate the tin and children of ages as low as nine carried the rock to the surface. Miners typically had lifespans of only 34 years. If you ever saw a woman in the mine, you could safely assume that a member of her family had passed away that day. Cornish miners were the cornerstone of the technology for mining in many parts of the world.

Group shot at Poldark Mine exit

On a more uplifting note, we stopped at one of the area’s most popular fish and chip shops, called a "Chippy" for a group dinner on the way back to the hotel.

It was quite a day, with a range on learning opportunities and even temperatures from 102° F in the rainforest at Eden to 52° F in the mine.

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 3: The Jurassic Coast

Hello everyone, welcome back! We appreciate you all joining us for this adventure.

Today we had a very busy day. We stopped at a couple different sites where we were engaged in discussions about coastal processes and features as well as the environmental management techniques planned to conserve them.

Durdle Door

After waiting for our bus and driving five hours, we finally made it to Durdle Door. It was AMAZING and well worth the drive! Some of us even went swimming under the arch. The water was cold but tolerable (even for the Floridian). One of the main things that popped out as unique was the water clarity.  While most of the waters around coastal Florida have maybe 5 to 10 feet of visibility until you go farther offshore, the water at the Door looked more like a spring, with visibility easily over 50 feet.  The beach itself was also unusual in that it was a pebble beach.

Beach on the south side of Durdle Door.  Notice the new collapse of the cliff...and that vis!

Durdle Door itself is a famous sea arch, formed by wave erosion in a portion of the cliff in which the material was a little weaker. One of the most interesting facts about sea arches is that, if you look closely, there are cracks running in all directions.  Due to this network of cracks, the arch is actually like a stack of blocks rather than a true solid piece.  This makes it very vulnerable to collapse.  If left to nature, Durdle Door will eventually collapse, creating a sea stack. However, due to its popularity, there are plans to help conserve it in the future by placing bolts in those areas most vulnerable to collapse.


Chesil Beach



Chert in Limestone

The beach at Chesil is also formed of pebbles of varying lithologies. This is due to sediment transport from various areas of the landscape via offshore currents and wave action. If you were to study the composition of the various areas of the coast and compare that to a sample of pebbles, you would be able to tell where each one originated. The interesting thing about these pebbles is that there was little variation in the sizes. This suggests that they have gone through some sort of natural sieving process. We also listed the different kinds of clasts that were present by their size. They were gravels, pebbles and cobbles. One pebble in particular caught my eye, so I asked one of the faculty about it. It had a limestone look to it, but the other side was black. He said it was chert within limestone. Chert is partly the result of water infiltrating and breaking down quartz. We later stopped at an overlook which provided a view along the whole length of Chesil Beach, some 27 kilometers.
 

"Rocks are awesooooome!"

"Rocks are pretty neat"

On the way to our next hotel, the first student group gave their presentation which was on coastal features and processes. It was presented by Justin Barthle and none other than our own BJ Quinton, so naturally it was amazing! While it was delivered on the bus rather than on site (due to time restrictions) which was less than ideal, the students seemed to be interested and well informed.

Y'all come back on the blog tomorrow to hear how our day went at The Eden Project and the Tin Mines!
BJ & Brittany (The Duo)

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 2: Mummified Head and the Clock Master

The second day is brought to you by the letter K... No wait....Nicole Hutton and Aaron Cronk.
This morning our group of 14 attempted to organize ourselves into tube friendly groupings. We used numbers, letters, or animals names to identify ourselves. We certainly stood out. Our group photo in front of a tube map certainly confirmed our propensity to block traffic. We made it though all together all day, and our CIS OSP even saved us money on the tube passes!

Our many circles through the UCL campus led us to Dr. Bill McGuire's lecture on Geophysical and Climate Hazards, with no help from mysteriously placed street signs. Although the historic evidence regarding the impact of climate change on natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, flooding and landslides has a significant evidence base, current impacts are still being investigated. Sea level rise and glacial retreat trigger mass movement and magma changes. Supporting research has been completed in the Himalayas, Iceland, and Greenland by Jiang et al., (2010), Hompel et al. (2010), and Sigmundssen et al. (2010) respectively. Dr. McGuire made mention that the recent addition to the USF School of Geosciences, Dr. Steve McNutt, also has research interests in climate forcing of volcanoes. Further research is needed because the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change continues to put off action.

We enjoyed lunch on campus, including an opportune advisee family reunion between Dr. Collins, her former PhD advisor Dr. Mason, and her advisee Charles Paxton, creating a three generation mentor-mentee chain.  After lunch, Dr. Mason introduced us to UCL's longest sitting board member and founder Jeremy Bentham, who has  been mummified in honor of his contribution to education. He still attends meetings of University Council but he is unable to vote at these meetings. We all took inspiration from these traditions as they are a valued aspect of UCL life.

After the University College of London we hiked our way up a seemingly 90 degree cliff. Once we arrived we were greeted with a crowd and the opportunity to stand in 2 hemispheres at once because of the Prime Meridian.

The Prime Meridian was created by Europeans as a central point to determine the line of longitude that separates the east and west hemispheres. Although latitude was found via a sextant that makes measurement based on the sun at its zenith, longitude was more difficult to measure because there is no set point that divides the world by east and west. In 1714, the British Government posted a £20,000 reward (approximately £200 million if adjusted to today's value) for anyone who could determine longitude reliably at sea. John Harrison took up this challenge and built a clock that was able to retain time and work on a constantly moving ship in all weather conditions. Although Harrison was successful in this, he was denied the reward money for many decades. Even after inventing several more versions of the clock, he was only able to collect a portion of the money. Discouraging! It was only after his death that his son was able to collect the rest of the reward. After the museum tour, the group took a wicked photo on the Prime Meridian. 
On the way back to the hotel we came upon a market with all kinds of food ranging from vegan to Chinese. We had a light lunch then went on to trinket shopping. Overall it was a super totally wicked awesome day ya'll.

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 1: Arrival Day

Welcome to the University of South Florida (USF) / Plymouth State University (PSU) wicked awesome UK Field study blog!  Hope all y'all enjoy it.  A little background to get you started.  We are going to be traveling from London to Cornwall, Snowdonia, Barmouth in North Wales, Lancashire, and back to London in a two week long adventure.  We are studying the land from the rolling hills to the open coast.  Our group consists of 10 students who are a mix of graduates and undergraduates, 3 faculty members, and an event coordinator.


The Fabulous Family

Your adventure begins with Day 1 brought to you by BJ Quinton and Brittany Angelo.  We are the perfect dynamic duo to get you started as BJ is a graduate student from USF and Brittany is an undergrad from PSU.

(The wicked awesome dynamic duo...all y'all can't touch us - BJ&Britt)

Our first task was to find each other at the airport.  After a couple hours of some serious struggle including delayed flights and lost luggage, 8 of the 10 students finally made it together.  The other two students would arrive at the hotel later that evening.

In the meantime, the rest of us went to an orientation lunch where we met with the Center for International Studies (CIS) and discussed what to expect during our trip and what to expect culturally as well (what on earth is a pence?).  After lunch, we high-tailed it to Westminster Pier to catch our boat for the tour on the Thames River.  Throughout the tour we learned about many historic buildings and structures along the river as well as environmental features (tides, etc.).

London Bridge

The London Eye

One of the most notable structures was Tower Bridge which is often mistaken for London Bridge, which was rebuilt in 1973 to prevent it from falling down as the song suggests.  By the way, the original London Bridge is currently sitting quite happily in Havasu County, Arizona.  We also passed by the well-known London Eye, a very large ferris wheel that was built for the Millennium but was so popular that it has been in place ever since.  Other structures included many historic buildings, most of which have unfortunately become luxury apartments.

Tower Bridge

One thing that is very different compared to Florida is the magnitude of the tide. Differences between high and low tides range from 18 to 26 feet.  The typical time is about 12 hours and 15 minutes from high tide to high tide.  Tides can be affected by many factors including atmospheric pressures and storm surges.

The "Defensive Position"

Thames Barrier Project

High tides and storm surges have, in the past, had devastating effects around the North Sea coast.  In order to counteract the  effects on London, the Thames Barrier Project was established and finished in 1982.  This barrier prevents extreme tides and storm surges from flooding London.  Large rotating cylinders called gates block the tides when they are in the "defensive position", meaning the portion of the cylinder which is usually under water is rotated upward.

After the tour was over, we succumbed to our jet lag, most of us having been awake for 35 hours.  We checked into the hotel and relaxed for a bit, preparing ourselves for the next journey... 


Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.