Assateague Island, MD

We left IUP early in the morning and stopped in Baltimore, Maryland to visit the National Aquarium. From the aquarium we drove down to Assateague Island, Maryland. We camped at the Assateague Island National Park. The next morning we dug trenches on the beach to observe the seasonal change in sand deposits. We then performed an experiment to determine the amount of longshore drift occurring along the Maryland coast. Our trip then took us throughout the national park to the marsh trails, and forest trails to look at the wildlife and plant life of the island. Eventually we arrived at Ocean City, Maryland to discuss the problems with coastal erosion that are present along this part of the coast. This part of the coast is undergoing serious erosion and there have been several attempts to slow the erosion, but most have failed and caused other problems around the area. We returned to our campsite for dinner, which included mussels that we had harvested ourselves earlier in the day. During the night a storm blew in and forced us to leave the island very early in the morning.