To Ms. Noonan's St. Malachy students

Hi middle schoolers!

Ms. Noonan has probably told you that I am studying the coral reefs in the Bahamas. Right now, I am on a small island that is a bit east of Miami, Florida. It is called San Salvador. I am working with scientists who want to learn what is causing the coral here to become diseased.

This is the first time in my life that I have ever collected real scientific data. I have heard that you collect data all the time in your experiments with Ms. Noonan. I wonder if your data collecting is anything like what the scientists in the Bahamas are doing.

In this photo that I posted, you can see one of the tools we are learning to study the coral. Today, we learned how to use this tool on dry land. This is called a PI (point-intercept) Frame. Does it remind you of anything you have seen in math or science?

When the research team and I get into the water tomorrow, we will be randomly dropping one of these frames on a coral reef. Do you see the points where the ropes are crossed? We have to record what kind of reef object is lying directly under each point. We must mark whether we see:

- hard coral (like elkhorn_coral)

- soft coral (like dead man's finger coral): they usually move with the current

- algae

- sponge

- sand

- rock

- other (tire, plastic bag)

We are going to drop our frame in about 30 random places and record data.

The scientific researchers here have collected 17 years of research on the coral here. They are trying to collect data on how much coral has been killed and whether or not the coral will grow back. They are also trying to find easy ways for communities to help their reefs stay healthy on an Earth going through climate change.

If you have any questions or comments about the work I'm doing here, please post a comment. Hopefully, I will be able to respond to them and post them for other students to see.