Outriggers

Today we began our day in the classroom of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. We got spectral readings from the rock samples we collected yesterday. We had a little bit of trouble with the spectrometer, but it was nice to be out in the sun as we took our readings. After we took the water samples we collected from the Makauwahi Cave and tested out the Loggers. The Loggers record the temperature, pressure, and conductivity of the water. We recorded that data into an excel file.

Later on in the day, we met with the Outrigger team who assisted us in our data collection. We tied the Loggers onto the boats during their practice, and then we got to paddle ourselves as well. We took one of the Loggers on our boat which stayed closer to the shoreline. We used the data collected from our boats to ensure that the readings were coming up correctly. We saw differences in temperature and conductivity in the area where we were paddling which was expected because there was a freshwater outlet there. This was a good sign because it meant the Loggers were working correctly. The Loggers placed on the Outriggers of the team showed much more variation in conductivity than temperature. This was a very interesting find.

We also discussed more about individual projects. I will be working on a map which will show the different temperatures and the conductivity of the water along the coast to see if based on the data we collect we can identify groundwater plumes. I am excited to get out on a boat tommorrow to collect more data.