Category Archives: PC Students at Race Rocks

Tidepool Studies at Race Rocks Pool #4 Peg6

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A general view of the pool.It is perched on a shelf which easily gets flooded when there is a slight swell in the ocean. Polymorphism in the Snails of Pool # 4, Extended essay in Environmental Systems,
A student examines the life of pool 4 Amphipods collected with a suction bottle from pool#4.
A microscopic picture of the diatoms that grow as a fuzz in the pool in the early spring. They remain a few months until they are grazed off.
 Roberto and the Biology Class measure salinity in pool 4.. May 2004
Enteromorpha growing in the pool. May 2004. Bay mussels, Mytilus trossulus in the brackish water of Pool#4
In May 2004,it is clear where the grazers, Littorina snails and amphipods) have trimmed off the diatoms on the bottom. Arunas measures the depth of pool 4 while watching for swells
In February, 2007, the diatoms cover almost the entire bottom of the pool. This is the winter pattern. Grazing as shown above gradually removes the covering of diatoms.

 

 January, 2007. The tide is at its peak today, showing pool 4 being entirely submerged.
On February 11, 2008 a beast is photographed in the tidepool. Close up of the Filamentous golden algae filling the tidepools in early spring.
Weird form shades a covering of diatom fuzz!

 

Some ideas to consider:

Invitations to Inquiry:

This pool is unique in a number of ways. The white substrate in the bottom of the pool is the result of a quartz intrusion that has flooded while molten, through the cracks of the basalt.
What is the effect of this white reflective surface on the temperature of the pool and the organisms that live in the pool?

In 1997 while doing a detailed analysis of the organisms in the pool, we noticed for the first time that there were white periwinkles. At that time 26 were counted by Nadia and Catherine. Speculate on the evolutionary implications here.

The mussels in pool #4 are Mytilus trossulus, the bay mussel. Mussels that you can see on the surrounding intertidal areas are the Mytilus californianis. Why the species difference?

The pattern of diatom distribution changes in the bottom of the pool. In the winter, it covers the pool with a thick felt-like appearance, as spring approaches, the cover of diatoms starts to disappear, starting along the cracks where the mussels are anchored.. could one measure the rate of grazing from the amphipods in the cracks?

Temperature and Salinity in the pool fluctuate widely and at times form stratified layers. How does this affect organism distribution.?

The biotic and abiotic features of this pool vary considerably from other pools in the near vicinity. Quantify and explain the differences or similarities.

The only other pool that resembles this one is found over on the north-east corner of the island, at location peg15-pool #14. Compare the biotic and abiotic factors of these two pools, and explain the differences.

The following lab on tidepool abiotic factor measurement was done by Chiara Ravetti in September,2005.
Biology Laboratory

Analysis of the Abiotic Factors in Race Rocks Tidepools

The measurements of salinity, ph, and temperatures of different tidepools at Race Rocks was done September19, after 11.30 a.m., with high tide. For this reason the pools selected were only five, two (pool 7 and 8) several meters away from the sea at that time of the day, the other three (pool 1, 2 and 4) closer to the water and larger.
Data analysis and further note

pool 1 pool 2 pool 4 pool 7 pool 8 Ocean water
Salinity 62.1 32.8 21.9 45.3 45 30
Temperature 14.4 C 14.4 14.2 15.4 15.2 10
ph 8 6.8 6.9 7 8 —


The measurement of salinity is expressed in parts per thousand; the instrument utilizes electricity, that passing through salt ions determines its quantity.
The pools were contaminated by sealions excrement, which reduced the visibility inside the pool and probably altered the pH of the water.
Other factors which might affect these values in a tidepool are: evaporation, precipitation, and in general pollution, scarce precipitation at that time of the year, the presence of the estuary, (The Strait of Juan de Fuca) with the influence of fresh water. The salinity in a tidepool is higher than the sea, for the evaporation and the little exchange of water, therefore the organisms living in it must tolerate high salinity, as well as variations in temperature. The smaller tidepools further from the sea present even more significant changes.

 

Distance Education and Environmental Stewardship

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Garry Fletcher and students in the racerocks.com activity 2003

A. PROGRAMME/ MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Lester Pearson College is a non-profit educational institution with students on scholarship from 85 countries. It operates and manages the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and Marine Protected Area as a community outreach program. Students involved in our science and activities programs get the opportunity to participate in the building and operating a website devoted to providing an educational resource for this unique environment.

Racerocks.com ( now racerocks.ca)  was conceived as a project to utilize technology and the internet to bring to the educational community access to a sensitive ecosystem. Our goal was to do that without being part of a negative human environmental impact. Through the generous support of sponsors and partners, in March 2000, the website http://www.racerocks.com/went live on the internet. Since that time three cameras have sent live images continuously and the students and faculty of Lester Pearson College as part of the ongoing stewardship of this area, have produced a large resource of supportive background materials and archived video. In addition, a portable video camera and webcast channel is available for special event programming both from Pearson College and Race Rocks. From the outset we have maintained a commitment to present a non-commercialized site.
This year we are doing an expansion of the live webcasts, which is dedicated to providing regular live webcasts to schools and museums. Trial live webcasts to the Museum of Nature in Ottawa have shown the effectiveness of this approach. The media for this program is entirely Internet based so consequently this entry will use that media to present the project. We have highlighted 9 components of the website which are particularly well-suited to demonstrate the value of the resource to education at a number of levels. Some are specifically targeted at the Middle School level, and some are appropriate for high school and even introductory level ecology classes at the university level. It goes without saying that the site is available to everyone with an internet connection and we also get positive feedback from interested viewers in general. The following represents some of the curriculum links provided by racerocks.ca

(THE FOLLOWING LINKS ARE BEING REDONE)

1. The Jason Program activity files on Race Rocks:
These files are designed for the Middle School Level. They provide a detailed set of objectives and a teacher information file, as well as assessment methods.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/jason/index.html
a. Scavenger Hunt (An introduction to the racerocks.com website)
b. Geology and Geography (Abiotic Characteristics at Race Rocks),
c. Preserving the Past and Present Culture of Race Rocks (The Thirteen Moons),
d. Maintaining our Coastal Ecosystems (An Ethology),
e. The Northern Abalone,
f. Pinnipeds,
g. Conservation,
h. Seascape – Art

2. The Apple Learning Interchange Files:
The Apple Learning Interchange provided the distribution network on the internet making it possible for thousands of student connections per week. This exhibit provided one with a glimpse of the educational programs, the technology that makes it possible, as well as ideas to help use our resources in the classroom. (Link discontinued)

3. The Race Rocks Taxonomy:
This class assignment allows students in environmental systems and biology to prepare a taxonomy of a species from the Race Rocks area and link to it educational videos and pictures of the species in their habitats at Race Rocks. This provides a useful activity where students can accomplish a number of objectives while contributing a permanent “digital legacy” to help in making this site an enriched educational resource.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/taxonomy.htm
We have also linked to this exercise a template to encourage other schools to use a similar approach for recognition and conservation of biodiversity in their own local ecosystems. http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/newecosystem/genusfolder/studentemplate.html

4. The “Adopt an Ecosystem” project:
Environmental Education involving science students at undergraduate levels in direct action is the goal of our program at Pearson College. We have found that the production by students of internet materials on environmental issues is a vehicle for doing this effectively. This is a tool, which provides incentive for environmental understanding and encouragement of an “adopting an ecosystem” attitude that can have important consequences in education. The emphasis is on “action” and seeking methods to enable collaboration with others to help solve environmental problems. Students at Lester B. Pearson College have been learning about environmental issues by producing materials for the internet, a “Digital Legacy”. In this way, their education has the added advantage of serving as a resource for others in the educational system in British Columbia and around the world. It also allows them to participate in facilitating collaborative efforts in environmental research.
https://www.racerocks.ca/educational-resources/adopt-an-ecosystem/

5. Race Rocks as a Resource for a Statistics exercise.
The purpose of this file is to enable a student to transfer Environmental Data being recorded at Race Rocks from an EXCEL spread sheet presented on the internet to their own computer in order to be able to graph trends and analyze relationships. Long-term databases are very important for monitoring change in ecosystems. Patterns of cyclic activity and even events such as Climate Change can be detected from the Race Rocks Data.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/ibbiology/labairseatemp.htm

6. Links to Race Rocks Resources for the BC Grade 11 Curriculum:
Selected Biology Prescribed Learning Outcomes are taken from the B.C.Ministry of Education K-12 Curriculum and Learning . The Outcomes which are related to Race Rocks are presented on this page with racerocks.com links
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/bc11bio/bc11bio.htm

7. IB Biology and Environmental Systems Ecology Resource.
The objectives of the IB program for secondary students are linked to appropriate activities and resources in this file.
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/education/curricula/ibbiology/bioecol.htm
8. The Animal Behaviour studies:
This file is intended for Secondary school students. It provides ideas for taking the live images on the cameras and doing a scientific study of the complexities of animal behaviour.
https://www.racerocks.ca/the-ethology-assignment/
9. The Ecological Niche and The Transect File:
These two files demonstrate useful ecological quantification techniques and allow an interactive format for the students to study this aspect of ecology. They further provide a model for doing similar studies in one’s own ecosystem.
and https://www.racerocks.ca/ecological-niche-the-empirical-model/
http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/transect/transrrk.htm

B. FURTHER DETAILS ON PROGRAMME/MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCT

1. Fitness for Need and Purpose:
The main aim of the program is to provide a virtual website which presents as many aspects as possible of an environmentally sensitive area, allowing investigators to use the resources of the area without contributing to a negative environmental impact. The target audience is wide ranging, from elementary school to university and the general public. Some of the materials presented are interactive, some present curriculum ideas which can be pursed in the classroom, and some challenge others to use the model of this area to instill the values of environmental stewardship in others so that more areas can be protected yet made available virtually to the public. Since we at Pearson College have benefited for so many years from the resources of this special ecosystem, we feel that by making it available to all, we can contribute a great amount to environmental education. We are continually seeking feedback from groups and individuals who use our resources.

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2. Design and presentation to suit distance learning:

The materials of racerocks.com are available to anyone with an internet connection. Although the live streaming video is a highlight of the site, it was appreciated early on that for the next few years, not everyone would be able to receive it on high speed cable. As a result, a wide range of materials have been added to the site to reduce dependency on the speed of the network. Many of the archived video have been provided in a 56K format for downloading where only modem access is available. The part of the website designed for Middle School learners in particular has been designed to facilitate easy implementation by the teacher, complete with specific Learner outcomes and assessment procedures. The level of difficulty varies greatly, with an Ecological Niche modeling lab at one end of the spectrum and directions for downloading video and images to use in your own presentation at the other. Copyright release has been provided to anyone using the materials for educational purposes. The provision of two robotic cameras provide a level of interactivity unsurpassed in most educational media. If students are given an assignment where they have to quantify behaviours of an animal, and they can do that remotely by manipulating the controls of a camera, then this is a great motivational device for learning.

3. Use of a systematic course/multi-media product development process
When in the fall of 1999 we received the Canada Millennium Partners Fund grant to start this project, we enlisted the voluntary help of an internet consulting company, LGS of Victoria to assist us in project management and web site design. Our administrator Angus Matthews directed the technical progress of the project, and our Biology and Environmental systems faculty member Garry Fletcher directed the educational content development of the site. Members of the B.C. Department of Education PLNet were asked to comment on the site as were a number of graduates, and local elementary teachers. Feedback has been received since the inception from a wide range of our audience, and most of it has been positive. The only problems identified are usually those related to the need to install the free QuickTime software onto computers in order to see the archived and live video. The request from the Jason Foundation and the B.C. Department of Education to produce special materials for the middle school last year to serve as the Canadian component for coastal resources for the Jason Project was definitely a benefit to the upgrading of our middle school curriculum materials.

 

4. Coherence and Integration of media and technology in the study materials
The technology was chosen because it was recognized to be the most dynamic for a changing world where the updating of the information and the rejuvenation of curricular materials can be done on an ongoing basis. This would not be possible with static media such as a CD or a DVD. Furthermore, since our materials are developed on a voluntary basis, we were determined that equal access to all of a non-commercial site should be possible. It can be appreciated that with declining school budgets, funds are often available for infrastructure and hardware but not often for updating materials. The media of the internet makes possible the most current and in this case “in real time” resources to be made available. Our efforts are valued by the Educational Branch of Apple to the extent that they are currently providing us with a generous updating of hardware for our webcasting computers and continue to provide free of charge access to their Akamai network for serving of the live streaming video on the four cameras.

5. Evidence of Impacts and benefits derived from Evaluation

1. We frequently get feedback from schools and individuals thanking us for the materials and the approach used on racerocks.com. Appreciative comments have come from parents doing home schooling and two of our South American students have been able to do a live presentation in Spanish for an inner city elementary school in California. This got rave reviews from the children, and they were very appreciative of the two students who presented it. Each year we also bring out several small groups of school children from local middle schools. These children serve as proxies for those back in the classroom and in this way provide a first hand link with the environment. See an example of one of these trips on http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/vidwestmont2a.htm Teachers, students and parents frequently express their gratitude for this opportunity to visit the site virtually, with their own guides on the scene as well.

2. In recognition of the educational value of our program, we have been acknowledged in the indexing of the GEM , Gateway to Educational Materials of the US Dept of Education (http://www.thegateway.org/) and the National Library of Canada (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/caninfo/ecaninfo.htm)
3. The racerocks.com program has been recognized by a number of media sources linked from our file: http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/news/oct00news.htm In particular, in the journal Education Canada in the edition on Education and Technology. Vol. 41, No 3. http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/news/2001/edcan/rrcomeduc.htm

4. Since part of our goals relate to the involvement of our own students in providing the programming live via the internet, the following account describes how one of the three students expressed his satisfaction with the process last June in bringing a set of live programs to the internet:

“I am one of three Pearson College students currently spending 11 project days at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area. We are all year 29 students of Pearson College who decided to stay for this project after our first year, and we’ll soon be going home to different countries of the world.Oceans have always had a great fascination on me. Coming to Pearson College and living on the Pacific Ocean was the realization of an old dream. Through my IB biology class as well as waterfront activities at the college I’ve learned to value marine life in all its beauty and diversity. During the year, I spent one project week at Race Rocks, studying marine mammal behaviour in relation to the DND’s weapons testing. Numerous trips led me out to the island, some for biology classes (and related fieldwork), and some for helping with tasks necessary for the island, such as bringing fuel for the generators. Every time I come to Race Rocks, it allows me to discover something new, to explore a new aspect of this gorgeous place. This has been an amazing time for all of us. Diving, learning more about the reserve and species living on it, contributing to research projects, producing live webcasts daily, and helping the lighthouse keepers in maintaining the station have just been some of the tasks we pursued during the last days”
Jeremias Prassl, June 2003

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Although so many people get to use the wonderful educational resources of the Race Rocks area by going there virtually on the internet, the wildlife is not harmed and the environment remains pristine. If we can say this after another 20 years and if other places have taken this technique and applied it in a similar way, then the experiment will have been worth every bit of the volunteer time and effort to make it successful. The program takes advantage of new media and new technology in a original and creative way which will hopefully form a model for education in conservation ecology in many parts of the world. When young people are given ownership of an idea they tend to internalize the values and end up with their own real commitment. Perhaps this is the aspect which we are most proud of in this project. From the examples we have seen of what our own students have gained and contributed in this venture, we know how effective this process can be and how powerful it is an educational tool. Because the project involves a creative approach to conservation education never tried before on this scale, and because it gives the confidence to our own international students knowing that their efforts can have a wider effect, influencing conservation practices beyond our local example, we feel this program has a major value in Distance Education.

 

The Commonwealth of Learning selects the racerocks.com website for its Excellence in Education Award 2004.

 

LINK TO DISTANCE EDUCATION FEATURES OF RACEROCKS.COM

Contact information:
Garry Fletcher, Educational Director, racerocks.com
Victoria, BC.email: garryf (use the at sign ) gmail.com

Race Rocks Digital Herbarium–Archival reference

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Race Rocks Digital Herbarium

This Digital Herbarium was created by Ryan M.J. Murphy after his stay at the Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, in British Columbia.  This digital collection features images of over 40 species of marine algae found within the MPA, links to online Quicktime movies, a glossary, and classification information.  Not all species are identified. For these and other Macroalgae species, now see the Race Rocks Taxonomy.

The contents of this project have now been moved to the Race Rocks Taxonomy

Site Information

Race Rocks

Race Rocks in an archipelago situated at 48o17’45”N, 123o31’50”W, south of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  A tidal range that exceeds 3m yields a large intertidal community that is constantly battered by large waves and subject to currents up to 6 knots.  The islands are surrounded by forests of Nereocystis luetkeana in the summer months, under which a highly developed subtidal community exists.

Study Features

Ryan Murphy used digital video equipment from Lester B. Pearson College and an hp digital camera to record the materials presented in this herbarium.  As Race Rocks is a Marine Protected Area, no live samples could be taken, thus necessitating this digital collection.  The author hopes that the benefits of this collection far outweigh the benefits of having brittle preserved samples stored away from public use.

Images and video were collected in the summer of 2002 with the help of Pearson College student Joe Downham.  Identification was completed by Ryan, Anne K. Salomon of the University of Washington, and Garry Fletcher of L.B. Pearson College.

Funding was provided to this project by the Leadership Mount Allison Academic Initiative.

Management

Race Rocks was declared a Marine Protected Area designate in October 2000.  It has been managed by Lester B. Pearson College since 1997.

Favourite Links

   https://www.racerocks.ca

   http://www.mta.ca/~iehrman/jalgaeholics/volume1number1.htm ( now not available)

   http://www.mbari.org

   http://www.algaebase.org

Contact Information

Ryan Murphy:

Garry Fletcher:

Project Supported By

   Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific

Leadership Mount Allison

Dr. Irena Kaczmarska-Ehrmann

Anne K. Salomon

Garry Fletcher

 Joe Downham

Bibliography

Scagel, Robert F. (1972)  Guide to Common Seaweeds of British Columbia.  K.M. MacDonald Printing, British Columbia.

Students produce Video of work at Race Rocks in three languages

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In the first week of November, 2002, three first year students from Pearson College stayed at Race Rocks for their project week. Rosie, from Great Britain, Jeremias from Austria and Ahmad from Egypt were successful in producing several videos while on the island. One of the projects was to produce a video that introduced virtual guests to the island. They have produced this video in three languages :

Arabic version

German version

English version

 

OTHER VIDEOS DONE IN THIS PROJECT WEEK:

Sea pen: Ptilosarcus gurneyi-The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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(Ed Note: The scientific name at the start of the video is not correct.) The sea pen, Ptilosarcus gurneyi, is a colonial cnidarian in the same class as the anemone, the anthozoa. One polyp has been modified to form the body,  while the fringes of the “feather” contain numerous small feeding polyps. Typically we find it living in a mud/sand substrate. It is rare around Race Rocks. The only population we have found is this one with a few individuals occurring at 15 metres on the North-West corner of Great Race Island. Note the small burrowing tubeworms in the mud around the organism. This specimen was videoed by Wynne Lawrence and Jean-Olivier Dalphond, both students at the Lester B. Pearson College.

General Description:

The sea pen, Ptilosarcus gurneyi, is a colonial cnidaria in the same class as the anemone, the anthozoa. One polyp has been modified to form the body while the fringes of the “feather” contain numerous small feeding polyps.

Habital:

Sea pens are marine organisms: typically they are found living in a mud/sand substrate at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) deep. It is rare around Race Rocks, with a few individuals occuring on the North-West corner of Great Race Island. Note the small burrowing tubeworms in the mud around the organism.

Feeding:

The polyps feed on detritus, zooplankton (baby artemia), and possibly (according to The Reef Aquarium Vol. Two) phytoplankton.You should offer your Sea Pen Artemia nauplii, Daphnia, pulverized flake food, and detritus stirred up from the bottom of the tank.

Predator:

Predators of the sea pen are two nudibranchs, one the very large 3 inches(7cm) nudibranch, Armina californica and the other Mediaster aequalis, Rose Star Crossaster papposus and the Leather Star Dermasterras imbriacata.

Reproduction:

We don’t know the reproduction of sea pens whether by sexual or asexual means.

References:
http://www.fishroom.com/library/seapen.html
http://www.lanecc.edu/science/zonation/seapen.htm

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Octocorallia
Order: Pennatulacea Verrill, 1865
Suborder :Subsessiliflorae
Family :Pennatulidae Ehrenberg, 1834
Genus:Ptilosarcus
species:gurneyi
(Ptilosarcus gurneyi)
Common name: orange sea pen

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image Gallery

Other Members of the Class Anthozoa at Race Rocks.

 

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. 

Original: Dec 2002, Joshua Columbus ( Burma) year PC yr 29).  

additions by G.Fletcher 2018

 

A Project Week at Race Rocks

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Originally published in the Link, the Pearson College Newsmagazine- number 33, Jan10,2003 “Big Seal is Watching You”A Project Week 

A Project week at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve —-

–photos by Jeremias Prassl (yr 29) 

During Project Week November 4 to 11, 2002, three students lived on the lighthouse island of Race Rocks, in the marine protected area. Their project involved making observations to contribute to a data base, and doing some filming. Rosie Townsend, Ahmad Khalil, Jeremias Prassl (all year 29)

Day 1: The weather was marvellous, and at about 13.15 we arrived at Race Rocks, where we were welcomed by Mike Slater, the MPA guardian.

Day2: We held a meeting in the living room to determine what we would do during the next week. First of all there were the daily duties which had to be done at Race Rocks during the day: weather report to the Marina at 0800, morning engine check, salinity and sea water temperature check one hour before high tide, temperature and precipitation check at 1800, evening engine check. Extra to this we decided to do some movie projects. Filled with ideas we passed the afternoon by writing scripts for our projects.:

i) “Big Seal is Watching You” (a sort of “Big Brother” diary)

ii) Tide observation

iii) “How to Run Race Rocks” (a movie Mike asked us to do so he would not have to explain the daily duties over and over again)

iv) Documentation of the expected Department of National Defence Blasts on Bentinck Island and their influence on the sea mammals.

v) An Interview with the scientist which will come to RR every week for the next year.

vi) A short video giving a general introduction to RR

Day 3: Today we began the tide project. This involved taking clips of a fixed point on West Race Rock every hour between 0700 and 1700 to demonstrate the movement of the tides. We finished the editing and stored it on our results tape, so that is the first project that we have finished. We are also discovering that cooking should really be part of our project (creative experience?). Today Jeremias cooked a dish of liver, onions, and pears. Even Ahmad had a shot at cooking some rice, and for a first time in any kitchen. “It wasn’t completely disgraceful”, as Rosie stated. “In fact, it was really good”.

Day 4: We’re really beginning to notice how many whale watchers come past this island every day. There have been tons so far, and they often scare the animals into the water. Chris was supposed to come out with fuel today, but he decided not to risk it because of the predicted storm. At the end of the day, no storm has appeared but we are still hoping. If there is a big storm we intend to sit up in the lighthouse until it is over, or we run out of hot chocolate.

I personally really appreciate having an internet connection. Race Rocks is great, but I think that the isolation would drive me barmy if I couldn’t get in contact with the outside world. Our work today included all the daily duties and shooting all the footage we would need for “How to run RR”. We finished editing that today.

At the moment Ahmad is fasting for Ramadan which means that the only meals we eat as a group are our dinners. Actually, the other two have also been missing meals, since when we have a late breakfast after the morning duties, we don’t feel like eating lunch.

Day 5: The DND blasting was very interesting, especially for the more explosively-minded members of our party. At 0800 we set up our cameras. The first few blasts were not terribly exciting, but they progressively got louder over the day. When the loudest series began the seals and sea lions all stampeded into the water, leaving the island completely deserted. After our windows being shaken nearly to the point were they were about to break, we got scared (but decided not to jump in the Pacific).

Today for dinner we had fajitas that Rosie “cooked” (= take the fajitas and the seasoning out of the package, but them in the microwave, serve them with the enclosed salsa) which were good, even if she does say so herself.

Day 6: The blasting continued today, but still no storm. The effect on the animals was even more dramatic this morning. The first blast went off at around nine-thirty and the effect on the animals was instantaneous. They gradually crawled back while the DND people were on their lunch break, but they rushed straight back off again when they restarted.

Today there are some scientists on the island to study the impact of these tests. We did an interview with them for movie projects. Garry wanted us to ask some impertinent questions – I trust that we have done that to the best of our considerable ability.We think that we saw some whales from a distance, or maybe porpoises. We all hurried down to the docks with our cameras, and hopefully our photos will show more than a couple of fins. We trooped back again upon realising that our ecstasies were the subject of amused observation by the scientists in the lighthouse.

Right now we are listening to army communications on our VHF radio. As the storm is brewing around us and the darkness descends the feeling of a bad war movie is inescapable. If this diary seems to be largely concerned with food, we apologise, but we would like to have this project week officially recognised as a creative experience through cooking.

And so, good’bye for this week to readers of The Link. I hope that 2003 has started for you in health and happiness.

Eileen Dombrowski, Editor

Wave watching Day

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Good morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 5 Miles »» Wind North-East 7 Knots »» Sea Choppy/Rough
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.1 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC »» Rain 9.0 mm Today the blasting is over. We will finish editing the footage and it will appear on the website shortly. We have had some impresseive looking waves crashing on the rocks today, and they have been scaring the birds from their resting places.
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 1:16 PM

A Video made by the students this week:

http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/viddailyduties.htm

Today was another day of blasting.

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Good Evening
Temperature: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.8 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC
Rainfall: 3.6mm
Today was another day of blasting. The first blast occurred at around 9.30 am and sent all the animals stampeding off their respective islets. We finished two of our video projects today, which only leaves one to complete. We had a visit from some scientists who were studying the impact of the blasts. We conducted an interview which should hopefully be available with the rest of the footage on this website.http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/vidlionblasts.htm
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 6:13 PM

Good morning

WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 5 Miles »» Wind North-East 7 Knots »» Sea Choppy/Rough
The storm has not yet materialised, but the blasting continues. Today the blasting is louder, and the seals and sea lions have already deserted their islet. Today there are some scientists visiting the island to study these effects. ( LGL)  If you want to see the blasting, you can track it on the remote control camera at racerocks.com.
Yesterday’s rainfall was 4mm. We are expecting more today.
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.8 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 10:38 AM

Tidal Cycle at Race Rocks Video

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 This clip was produced on 8.11.2002. As Race Rocks Marine Protected Area is a place where large (3 meter) tidal range occurs, it is a good location to observe the raising and lowering of the water . A rock in Race Passage near the West shore of Great Race Rock was chosen and a camera was installed in front of the window of the research room in the Marine Science Centre. Video clips were taken for 15 seconds every hour of daylight, high tide occurred during noontime. The second part of the clip shows the tide going in fast motion, a day at the rock passes in 25 seconds.” Jeremias Prassti, ( PC yr 28)

From Victoria Tide tables for this date.. 8.11.2002. :

time… tidal height (ft)………….(meters)
0910 …………………..8.9……………..2.7
1100………………….. 8.5……………..2.6
1445………………….. 9.2……………..2.8
2345………………….. 1.0………………0.3

PROJECT IDEA:
1. On graph paper, using the data above, plot the tidal variation for the day. Then pause the video on each of the levels, measure the height of an exposed piece of the rock and then plot it on the graph. In this way you should be able to determine the elevation of the top of the rock.

2. Link to the physical factor page for Race Rocks – Go to the Tidal calculator links available and compare the shape of the graph for November 8, 2002 with the graph you have made here

Marine Life Disturbance

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MARINE LIFE DISTURBANCE: If you are checking out camera 1 or the remote camera today, you probably noticed that the middle island was full of sea lions this morning and was completely empty by noon. The Department of National Defence is doing their blasting exercises today again over at Bentinck Island . They will be doing the same tomorrow. A rather tragic occurance that happens every fall. Eventually the Northern Sea Lions (endangered species) and the Californian Sea Lions just move out of the Race Rocks area. There is a video on the marine mammals archive page that shows the effect of the Oct 7 blast. We have recorded todays events, (so far seven blasts) and will have it up in the archives also in a few days. In the meantime, look at the before and after pictures taken from the sitezap robotic camera just before and after noon today. This will appear in a file at http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/marmam/sealion/dndblastnov7.htm 
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.2 ºC »» Min. 8.7 ºC »» Reset 8.7 ºC »» Rain 4.0 mm
posted by Garry Fletcher at 12:55 PM