Westover School Alumna and Petrologist Mentors Oceanography Students

Surf and Sand Offer Real-Life Learning Opportunities

02/13/2008

MIDDLEBURY, CT -- While most visitors to Nantucket and Cape Cod go there for rest and relaxation, the eight Westover School students in Science Teacher Alice Hallaran's Oceanography class took a two-day field trip to the island and to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on the Cape this fall to experience first-hand what they had studied in the classroom.

At the Woods Hole Institute, the students were treated to a tour of the research center by Westover alumna Evelyn Mervine '02, who is working through Woods Hole and MIT on her Ph.D. in igneous petrology, the study of the origin and formation of igneous rocks. Her special interest is studying the rocks of the ocean floor. Evelyn gave students tours of the institute's rock library, dating lab, and its research vessel, and presented a slideshow of her recent research.

Evelyn spent the summer of 2006 on the Indian Ocean aboard a research vessel from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography with 22 other researchers. The scientists were studying the 90 East Ridge off the east coast of India. The 5,000-kilometer-long ridge rises to within 2 miles of the ocean surface.

Since current theories in plate tectonics do not explain the origin of the massive ridge, the research team brought up rock samples that are being examined and studied for clues to its creation. On their tour in Woods Hole, students viewed newly-arrived samples of the Indian Ocean rocks.

On Nantucket, students also worked with Dr. Sarah Oktay, the Director of the UMass Research Station, to observe and study the effect of waves, tides and currents on the ocean side of the island. Experiencing first-hand the effects of erosion and the shifting of sand bars and beaches in Siasconset, the students witnessed the relocation efforts for the Sankaty Head lighthouse, which is being moved 400 feet further from eroding bluffs overlooking the ocean.

As part of the field study, the Oceanography students measured the slope and width of another beach to construct a beach profile and to study erosional rates over time. Using a variety of field equipment, students hunted for creatures in a marsh during low tide and measured its abiotic factors. Cities of fiddler crabs
greeted them.

Students agreed that their field trip on Nantucket was a great learning experience. D'Arcy said she was impressed that the beach profile they took will contribute to an ongoing study and that Evelyn is investigating a controversial theory. Meeting Evelyn and hearing about her research made a deep impression on other Oceanography students.

"It's great to see it could be a career," said Ann-Derrick Gaillot '08. Libby Froeber '08 said it was "cool that she was a recent Westover graduate." Alice noted that in
addition to the scientific learning they gained from the trip, what also added to the students' positive experience was the bonding that occurred among them over cups of tea, games of Trivial Pursuit, dips in the ocean, and watching "millions of fiddler crabs" marching across the sand.