Fallon Fernandes - Blog 1 (Intro & Coriolis Effect/Force Blog)

First order of business, google some needed inspiration from the Simpsons.
http://wtso.tv/movie/398-616_Bart_vs_Australia.html
Check. I'm fairly confident this video won't count as an acceptable source of information, but I was also fairly confident that water drains counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere. So, I'd figure I give it a shot.

Hi, my name is Fallon Fernandes. I live in Brockton, MA, and I work full-time at BU's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. I became interested in this class after hearing about it from a friend/co-worker named Debbie!

Actually, it's been a few years since I've taken a course that extends beyond the four walls of a classroom. I use to attend an agricultural high school which involved going outside on a daily basis and working with animals and plant life. Simply put, I've always enjoyed the hands-on approach to learning, especially in the midst of nature.

Although, I was always big on taking walks into the woods, I was never THAT into taking walks on the beach. I blame my mother for subjecting my brother and I to the Jaws franchise. "Smile you son of a..."

My family and I would make a trip to Nantasket beach a few times a year, but it felt mandatory. In other words, going to the beach was something you HAD to do in the summer time just like getting a frozen lemonade and a pretzel from a Mr. Lemon truck.

It wasn't until a few years ago, when my family discovered that we had relatives in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, that I really started to enjoy the ocean. My cousins in PEI have a cottage right on the beach front. So, almost everyday you could find us walking the beach, collecting gifts from the sea, and covering ourselves with layers of red clay to blend into the cliffside and scare the crap out of one another... Again, you can blame my mother for that one.

Moving on. In regard to the direction in which water flows down a drain... I now see why we were instructed to read that not-so-short introduction to the book "Voodoo Science." First day of class, and I got punk'd. This is the part were I would say, "lesson learned", but I don't know how many more false facts are deeply rooted in my brain. I may need more than some weeding.

My group conducted only one "experiment". We filled the sink with water, then watched it drain out completely. Before it finished draining, we threw a piece of paper into the sink to better see the direction in which the water was flowing. We all agreed the water was flowing in a counter-clockwise direction. I didn't suggest that we try it again, because that was my original guess. And, since I considered my original guess to be an already proven fact, I didn't bother checking it again. Obviously, a mistake.

When I went to wash my hands at the end of the night, I chose to use the sink next to the one my group used. The water was flowing in a clockwise direction. I stared at the drain for at least a minute, looking deeper into it thinking, "Maybe it's flowing clockwise at first because of the location of the faucets. If I just look deeper into the drain, I'll see the water switch directions, and I will be right again." That didn't happen, so I just walked away confused, and looking forward to future google hits.

I can't honestly say I remember learning that water flows in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere... maybe I just heard it somewhere which is why I found this site very interesting: http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html
It gave a few examples of sources that help spread this widely considered truth.

I'm still reading up on the Coriolis force/effect, the truth from which this false fact stemmed. However, it's my understanding now that hurricanes move counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. And, you cannot measure the affects of the Coriolis force at a small scale level (i.e. your bathroom sink). An experiment with a sink can be designed to show the Coriolis force, but it's amazing how many factors need to be taken into consideration. Besides the specs of the sink, the water needs to settle for a week, before it can be allowed to drain. And, when you begin drain the water, you must do so from a tiny hole in the bottom of the sink, allowing it to take several hours to drain out completely. The length of time will allow the Coriolis force to take affect and become apparent.

There's much more I need to grasp on the subject, but I have a long day tomorrow. So, I think it's time for sleep.

Besides my YouTube video and Jaws quote, here are the rest of my sources:

http://www.aos.princeton.edu/WWWPUBLIC/gkv/history/persson_on_coriolis05.pdf
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Hurricanes/Archive/original.pdf
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html

MJ- First Class Post

Brief Introduction: 
My name is Maria Jose , but everyone calls me MJ and I am an undergraduate student at BU. I was born in Peru, but I currently live in sunny South Florida! What made me come up north? I don't know,it just kind of happened but I absolutely love it here in Boston. I am currently studying finance and international management, and was in need of a natural science class when I found this amazing class. Living in Florida has made me LOVE fishing more than anything. Whenever I go home I probably go out fishing on the boat twice or three times per week. I've done everything from dolphin (mahi mahi ) fishing, to sword fishing for 200 lb fish. I think it's such a fun sport and when I heard this class included water, fish, and the ocean, I knew it was for me!

The Ocean
I love the ocean because I love listening to the waves. They make me forget everything else that is going on in my life. Going 50 miles out and not having any other sound surround you other than the waves crashing up against the boat is truly a peaceful and relaxing experience. I live about 10 feet away from this beach, and I have loved every minute I've lived in Florida.

Experiment 

Today in class we conducted an experiment in which we trapped water in a sink using out hands and a paper towel, and then letting the water drain and observing in which direction the water went down the drain. (Clockwise or counter-clockwise). 

- Step1: Take 1 piece of standard size paper towel. 

-Step 2:Use paper towel to block drain of a sink.Apply pressure with the palm of your hand to fill up sink about half way.

-Step 3: Remove hand and paper towel to allow water to drain.

-Step 4: Observe in which direction the water drains and record. 

When my team did the experiment , we actually did it twice. The first time Professor Berman performed the experiment and I observed the water going counter-clockwise. The second time we did the experiment , I also noticed the water draining counter-clockwise. After the second experiment we came to the conclusion that the water drained counter-clockwise. 

Research

According to some articles the direction the water drains depends on other factors other than just being in the Northern or southern hemisphere. "One can find both clockwise and counter clockwise drains in both hemispheres".A lot of people use the Coriolis effect as a blame for water draining in a specific direction , but that is a myth according to Dr.Doherty. The effect has such little impact on the direction the water flows that it cannot be the only reasoning behind the direction of the water. In addition, water does not flow in a different direction in Australia than in the opposite hemisphere. Because drains use such small amounts of water at a time, the scientific effects have no huge impact on the drainage. 

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/water-drain-equator_n_2010379.html

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/07/what-hemisphere-you-are-in-does-not-affect-the-way-water-spins-down-your-drain/

~ MJ Vasquez

Christopher Charles Reardon / clockwise or counterclockwise

My name is Christopher Charles Reardon. I am a 43-Year-old undergraduate student at Boston University Metropolitan College. Coincidentally, today—July 13—is my 43^rd birthday After successful completion of this course, I will be a mere 16 credits away from the attainment of my degree and could not be more excited to be so close to completing this achievement! I work full time as a substance abuse counselor at an addiction treatment facility in the Boston area and am truly passionate about my work. I am in school in order to obtain a degree so that I may support people in their substance use disorder recoveries by contributing to the addiction treatment field at a higher level.

I have chosen to take this course at the recommendation of my academic advisor Ellen Peterson. Furthermore, some students from last year’s class recommended this class to me. Since I am a social work/human services type of a guy, I am definitely not strong in science or math. My understanding of this course is that it will blend classroom and field activities in an engaging and relatable manner. Moreover, this class will fulfill my final science requirement.

I love the ocean and wish I had more time to be near it. I used to live in a tiny studio apartment on Provincetown Harbor and fondly recall being soothed to sleep at night by the sounds of the waves and clanging sailboat lines during the summer. I do not miss living in that town and am grateful for my improved lifestyle since leaving but I surely miss the ocean. There is something unnatural to me about spending an entire summer walking solely on concrete. However, my city experiences have brought me full-circle to a Boston University basement classroom where I had an opportunity to work with my peers tonight on an observation about what happens to water—specifically sink water—before it swirls down the drain.

Our task was to fill the sink with water and determine in which direction the water circles as it goes down the drain: clockwise or counterclockwise. As we waited for our turn, we watched the group in front of us and noticed the group’s disagreement about the direction of the water. The group was not unanimous. My three peers and I gathered around the sink and then discussed the task. Since the group before us seemed to have such a problem with their visual evaluation of the draining process, I suggested that we add a tiny piece of paper to the water as it drained. My theory was that the added contrast provided by the paper would make the current far easier to follow. As soon as the sink was roughly ¾ full of water, I gently released my hand. The water began to swirl in a noticeably counterclockwise direction. I then added a crumbled piece of paper towel (about the size of a pea) and noticed that the paper followed a decidedly counterclockwise direction. The entire group unanimously agreed that the water flowed in a counterclockwise direction.

There are various explanations regarding the direction that water drains throughout scientific literature. An article in Scientific American discusses several theories. For example, geologist Brad Hanson states that the Coriolis effect—an effect caused by the rotation of the Earth—causes water draining from drains to drain clockwise on the northern and counterclockwise on the southern hemisphere. Professor Fred W. Decker, however, states that the direction that the water drains has more to do with “an accidental twist given by the starting flow.” In other words, the direction of the flow could change each time depending on conditions at the time of the trial. Decker suggests further empirical trials. Physicist Robert Ehrlich also states in the article that the Coriolis effect is far less noticeable in a small area like a drain. He states, however, that if all external influences are removed such as currents, wind, and drain irregularities then “apparently” drains drain in different directions on different hemispheres. (Scientific American, 2001). Evidence of the minimal correlation between the direction that water drains out of a sink and the Coriolis effect may be found in the text Physics: A World View (Kirkpatrick & Francis, 2007). Again, this text indicates that although the Coriolis effect is real, such conditions cannot be replicated in a sink or a toilet unless perfect scientific conditions are present. Finally, in 1962, researcher Ascher Shapiro at MIT found that the effect of the Coriolis effect on water drainage is real, however, the effect is not strong enough to overcome external forces as in the aforementioned examples (Shapiro, 1962).

Tonight’s small group experiment, although earnest, lacked the basic tenants of the scientific method. For starters, we did not take any time to figure out what we were doing and second, we did not even repeat our experiment to see if the result was repeatable. Therefore, this experiment illustrates why so much junk science is out there. People in the public (including me) are easily swayed by quick demonstrations and are ill informed regarding the proper study of science.

References

Kirkpatrick, L. D., & Francis, G. D. (2007). Physics: A World View. Belmont, California, USA:   Thomson Wadsworth.

Scientific American. (2001, January 28). Can somebody finally settle this question: Does water flowing down a drain spin in different directions depending on which hemisphere you're in? And if so, why? Retrieved July 12, 2013, from Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett

Shapiro, A. H. (1962). The Fluid Dynamics of Drag:. Garden City, New York, USA: Doubleday.

Ddolan/ Flow of draining water

My Name is Deb Dolan and I’m from Brockton Ma.  I love water; salt water, fresh water and swimming pools.  I’m spend most of my disposable income on the water, near the water or in the water.  My two favorite beaches are Elbow Beach, Bermuda and Skaket Beach in Orleans Maand my favorite water sport is paddleboarding or SUP.

In class the question was posed; does water drain from a sink in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction?  A non-scientific experiment was carried out using a bathroom sink.  The water faucet and drain both appeared to be centered on the sink.  A hand was pressed tightly against the drain and was used as a stopper until the sink was half full of water, and then removed to observe the flow of water.  The direction was not immediately obvious so a small piece of paper was tossed in and a counterclockwise flow was observed.

According to Everyday Mysteries the flow direction of draining water in toilets, sinks and hurricanes depends upon which hemisphere you’re in. This phenomenon is called the Coriolis force. “The Coriolis force is caused by the earth’s rotation. It is responsible for air being pulled to the right (counterclockwise) in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left (clockwise) in the Southern Hemisphere.”¹  However,^, according to Snopes .com, the Coriolis force does not affect your sink or bathtub as the CF affects large scale measure for things like “1000 meter cyclone”²  And the water flow in the sink or tub has more to do with plumbing and the shape of the vessel and how level it is and less to do with the Coriolis Force”  “The direction of rotation in draining sinks and toilets is NOT determined by the rotation of the Earth, but by rotation that was introduced earlier when it was being filled or subsequently being disturbed (say by washing). The rotation of the Earth does influence the direction of rotation of large weather systems and large vortices in the oceans, for these are very long-lived phenomena and so allow the very weak Coriolis force to produce a significant effect, with time.“3  I like the Northern/Southern hemisphere argument but is was unable to cull a  concrete opinion from the web.

1. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html

2. http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

3. http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html

Yue Chan: 1st post

• Hello there, my name is Yue Chan. I'm currently entering my 4th year as an undergraduate student at Boston University. I'm majoring in biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation with a minor in marine science.  My love for cats knows no end, and that was how I found my love for biology and then my want to help curb the adverse effects of climate change. I chose a minor in marine science so that I could also satiate my love for salt marshes and hopefully one day work with preventing their rapid erosion. 
• I chose this course because, although I am familiar with Georgian coasts, I don't know very much at all about Massachusetts' coasts. I've been very busy with school the last 3 years and haven't had any time or opportunity to explore the coasts. I saw this course as the perfect chance to get to know Boston's coast. I also chose this course because I don't have any experience with field work and would like to hone those skills. I hope to some day be researching by a coast and collecting data for myself and so would like to learn how to do so.
• Today, the experiment to decide which way the water drains in the northern hemisphere was done in teams of four. In my group, we conducted the experiment twice, once with Professor Berman and the second time without the professor. During the initial experiment, Professor Berman used a folded paper towel to cover the drain hole and filled the sink up about a third full with water. Then the water was drained and we watched for the direction of flow. Three of us in our group, including myself, decided it to be a counter-clockwise movement while one in our group thought that it was a clockwise movement. During the second experiment, one in our group used her hand to block the drain hole and filled the sink up about 3/4 full of water. We then drained the water and watched for the direction of flow. At the end of the drainage, we had all decided it flowed in a counter-clockwise motion. 
• According to Ascher Shapiro, the direction of flow of draining water in sinks, tubs, and other house hold appliances varies according to many different variables however it is slightly affected by the Coriolis Effect (1962). He was able to conduct a laboratory experiment to confirm that if all other variables are negated, the Coriolis Effect does slightly cause water to flow counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere. Then in 1965, a team of researchers in the southern hemisphere conducted the same experiment to find that the water drained and flowed in a clockwise direction (Trefethen et al.) The Coriolis Effect plays an integral part in affecting large-scale motions and deflects currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere (Boston University, 2012).This all suggests that there are too many variables, in a common household sink, that influence the direction of water flow and those variables overshadow the minor influence from the Coriolis Effect.
  
  
  
  Boston University. 2012. Marine Biology. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. United States of America.
  Shapiro, Ascher. 1962. Bath-Tub Vortex. Nature. Vol.196(4859), p.1080.
  Trefethen, L.M., Bilger, R.W., Fink, P.T., Luxton, R.E., Tanner, R.I. 1965. Nature. Vol. 207 (5001), p. 1084.

First Class (Romina Duarte)

My name is Romina and I'm a transfer student from New Jersey. I grew up about half an hour away from the famous Jersey Shore (I promise you, the Jersey shore isn't like the show). The ocean has always been a big part of my summer, and it has always been a place that has given me wonderful memories. After Sandy, it seems that the entire state's attention is to rebuilding the shore, and it has really opened my eyes to how deeply important the shore is to New Jersey's culture. It gives me great pride to be from a state that takes such pride in nature. As for me, I'm a Criminal Justice major and it's my senior year of college, so I'm pretty excited. The reasons that convinced me to take this course are that it's an interesting subject and that my life consists of having friends in the Marine Biology field. Having a roommate that lives and breathes nature can sometimes lead to some interest as well. I'm excited to finally understand the species that she declares when we go out to the shore.

As for the field trip from today's class, we had two separate tests. During the first one, (which was the presentation by the professor) I thought I saw the water drain clockwise. I was surprised because I thought it would drain counterclockwise. However, I didn't feel sure about what I had seen because the view wasn't ideal. The rest of my team disagreed with me, so we decided to test this again. In this test, we all agreed that the water was draining counterclockwise. After we all agreed on what we had seen, we decided to conclude the test.

According to my research, the idea that water drains in a different direction depending on the hemisphere you are on is a myth. As this website (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html) states, this is a myth that has come from the Coriolis force. This is a force that can be seen from hurricanes, but this force is too weak to truly affect draining systems. Another source, the Huffington Post, (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/water-drain-equator_n_2010379.html) has even taken this debate and set the record straight on this question. They, like the Library of Congress, have stated that this is a myth for smaller drainage systems, but that this does occur in higher scale natural events such as hurricanes. For my last source, I checked the Scientific American. In this article, (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett) they state the exact same explanation as the sources above for this misunderstanding of the Coriolis force. After researching this, the debate and difference of opinion in class makes much more sense.

Day 1: Determining Draining Direction

Brief Bio:

My name is Berit, and I am a student at Boston University studying history. I am from Florida and I grew up only minutes away from the beach. I am taking this class not only because because I needed a science course and this one was recommended by a number of people, but also because the topic was one that I thought would be interesting. I've spent my entire life around beaches. I have been fortunate enough to travel to beaches as far east as the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, and as far west as the beaches of the French Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific. My experiences have strengthened my affinity for the ocean and beaches, and have also shed light on how different various beaches are from each other—or even themselves at different points in time.

Field Trip to the Bathroom:

Today in class we took a field trip to the bathroom to perform an experiment to determine which direction water drains from a sink in the Northern Hemisphere: clockwise or counterclockwise. My group consisted of five people, and we performed the experiment two times. On the first attempt, a few moments after the water drained, we reached a consensus that the water drained clockwise. On the second attempt, we reached a consensus again, that the water drained clockwise. It may have been difficult to properly discern the way the water was draining because we did not fill the sink up entirely during either of our attempts.

Research:

Upon researching the topic, it would appear that our conclusion would have been incorrect because water in the Northern Hemisphere is pulled by the air which causes it to drain in a counterclockwise direction. The Coriolis effect explains why water in the different hemispheres drain in different directions: simply, because of the direction of the earth’s rotation. However, research on the direction water drains from sinks in either hemisphere of the earth is influenced by things other than the Coriolis force; instead, for small-scale bodies of water (e.g. a sink or bathtub), the direction in which water drains is determined more directly by the shape of the sink and of the drain. From what I have gleaned from my internet research, the Coriolis effect is more applicable to large-scale air movements like the direction the air blows from hurricanes, typhoons, an cyclones.

Sources:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D3.html

First Class- Coulter Bailey

My name is Coulter Bailey, and I have lived in Greenwich, CT my whole life. I transferred to BU from Denison University in Ohio, and have enjoyed it ever since. I'm in Metropolitan College, and really like that I can work and go to school at the same time allowing me to be very busy, and have a full schedule.

I have been going to Nantucket my whole life, and I love the ocean. I enjoy fishing, swimming, and everything there is to do on the water. I did an Outward Bound program where I kayaked through the Puget Sound for a week, and it was an unbelievable experience. I saw some awesome marine life, and look to see more in this class.

When I first heard about this class, I thought it would be very interesting, and fun to take. I mean going on the water for 6 days and learning about the ocean? Sounds perfect to me. Also, I need to fulfill a Science requirement and this seemed like a great way to do it.

Today in the bathroom, my group did a water experiment to determine whether water drains in a sink clockwise or counterclockwise. We did the experiment twice, and had very similar results. The first time, we plugged the sink, filled it up, and watched the water drain. We all agreed we saw the water drain clockwise. We did the experiment exactly the same way one more time, and agreed we saw the same thing: the water draining clockwise.

After doing research, I have determined that it depends on how the water was introduced into the drain so it can flow either clockwise or counterclockwise no matter what hemisphere the drain is in. The Coriolis Effect, which is "the observed curved path of moving objects relative to the surface of the Earth," (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html) does not affect small bodies of water like sinks or toilets. But, the Coriolis Effect does affect such things as hurricanes because they are much larger, and move counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. This is also because of the Earth's rotation.

So, in conclusion, the water's flow is determined by the drains themselves, and not the Coriolis Effect, as a drain or toilet is too small to be affected by the Coriolis Effect.


http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett

First Class Day 1

Hi my name is Antoine J Ramos I originally from the Bronx, NY. I served the US Army for 6 years and I moved to Boston in May 2008. I am taking this course because it will give me a natural science credit and my advisor recommended the course. What I love about the ocean and the beach is how it reminds me of family get together's and enjoying the summer. Being from the Bronx visiting the ocean and the beach was something that we rarely did, only on a special occasion did we go to the beach as a family.

These are the three different maps of the Boston Habor:

file://localhost/Users/antoine/Downloads/harbor_map1.jpg

file://localhost/Users/antoine/Downloads/Boston%20Harbor%20Map%202.png

file://localhost/Users/antoine/Downloads/Boston%20Harbor%20Map%203-1.jpg

Today we did an experiment which had my group observing which way the water drains in a sink or toilet. My group decided to use the sink located in the custodial closet in between the men's and women's bathroom. My fellow group member Pat Palmer held his hand over the drain hole and we allowed the water to fill up about a quarter of the sink. Once our group was satisfied with the amount of water in the sink Pat removed his hand from the hole and we all observed which direction the water drained down the hole. I observed that the water drained in a counter clockwise way down the hole and my group members all agreed that the water drained counter clockwise. 

These are the three different sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/water-drain-equator_n_2010379.html

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect

The main factor that determines that way the water drains down the sink is the manner in which it enters the sink and its direction. This is called the "Coriolis Effect", which means depending on the location of earth and it will impact and determine the path of moving objects

Patrick Palmer waterflow

My name is Patrick I grew up in Massachusetts and have always spent time at the beach.  I am in the class because when I had had my mid-life crisis I did not go and buy a corvette I decided to go back and finish my degree. Nearly complete. I have always enjoyed exploring the tidal pools for different kinds of life.  I am always amazed how different the ocean is every time I visit it.  I always make it a point to go on a whale watch every year.  My group found the water exited the sink in a counter clockwise motion.
As far as information on the flow of water in the northern and southern hemispheres, according to the website, www,loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis water rotation can be found in both directions in both hemispheres, that some people try to explain the effect on the direction is associated with the coriolis but other say this is not true, the Coriolis force is to weak to effect such small bodies of water in sinks, showers and toilets.
www.snopes.com › Home › Science  Reports the direction of water going down the drain is influenced by the direction from which the water is introduced and or pulled away from the drain not the Coriolis effect.

 The drains in sinks and toilets are too small to be effected by the Coriolis according to the website www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html 

so based on what I find I think the direction is influence by the plumbing set up not the Coriolis  or the hemisphere they are in.‎

 

StevieMarie LaMonica: "Bathroom Field Trip"

July 12, 2013

My name is StevieMarie LaMonica. I have lived in Winthrop, MA my entire life, surrounded by the ocean. We are actually now called "Winthrop, By The Sea". I've also grown up around Deer Island - the lovely and marvelous, alien looking, Deer Island - though that's technically part of Boston.

I am taking this class because, honestly, I have to in order to graduate. I will be graduating from BU this August (very excited!).

I do love the ocean; it reminds me of home. The sound; waves, seagulls...boats, planes flying over, and the amazing view of the Boston skyline at some beaches around Winthrop. I'm not all that into sand but I love water!



Today my group did a little water test in the bathroom sink to see which way the water drains; clockwise or counter-clockwise. We all came an agreement that the water drained counter-clockwise.

The experiment consisted of Chris filling up the sink with his hand over the sink drain. When we had enough water, Chris turned the water off and removed his hand. We all watched as the water drained.

At first, to me, it was quite confusing; I honestly thought it looked as though the water was going in both directions, but at the final moments, I realized it was going counter-clockwise; my teammates agreed on the final decision.

When searching the internet to see which direction water drains in Australia, I've found that water drains in different directions. The cause seems to be the Coriolis Effect. The coriolis effect is:

the apparent deflection (Coriolis acceleration)  of a body in motion with respect to the earth, as seen by an observer on the earth, attributed to a fictitious force (Coriolis force)  but actually caused by the rotation of the earth and appearing as a deflection to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and a deflection to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/coriolis+effect

Here are my sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/water-drain-equator_n_2010379.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-somebody-finally-sett

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html



StevieMarie LaMonica

1st class

 My name is Aleksandra Binkowska. I was born and raised in Poland but moved by myself to the US at 19 years old. The reason I like the ocean is because the place where I grew up was far away from Ocean/Sea so I never had a chance to explore it as a child. Now living in Boston I have a chance to get to know it, enjoy it, and learn new and fascinating things about it every time I go to the beach.

During tonight’s class we got to do an experiment based on how the water drains in the sink. The question was: does it drain clockwise or counter clockwise? Doing the experiment with my classmates we all agreed that the water flows counter clockwise. Right after filling up the sink and moving Patrick's hand away from the drain opening we were able to see the water draining in the counter clockwise way. It was easy to notice since there were some little things floating in the water J.

From the article http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/coriolis.html I learnt that water drains counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere (being pulled to the right) and clockwise in southern (being pulled to the left) only when it comes to objects that are relative to the Earth’s surface and it doesn’t apply to such small bodies of water such as water draining in the sink.

This source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/water-drain-equator_n_2010379.html informs us that water can swirl either way no matter where you are.

This source http://blog.sciencegeekgirl.com/2008/04/06/myth-3-does-water-swirl-counter-clockwise-in-the-southern-hemisphere/ just proves the other sources that it doesn’t really depend on which hemisphere you are in.

When it comes to Australia this source http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-south-of-equator-tornadoes-spin-in-opposite-direction informs us that it all depends on “luck”.

Nemo Tosses Tons of Clams on Boston Area Beaches

When "Nemo the Nor'easter" blew through the region last week, it left residents of the region's coastal communities to cope with the the impacts of pounding surf, coastal flooding, 50 mph winds and up to 40 inches of snow.

The worst blizzard to hit new England in decades also left an unexpected bounty on the region's public beaches - tons and tons of clams.

According to Revere resident Kathleen Heifer, who sent us these images,  Revere beach was "literally littered" with quohogs, littlenecks and cherrystones, as well as seed clams, scallops, crabs and juvenile lobsters. There were so many clams on the beach that the seagulls ate their fill and then just sat on the beach, seeming "to full to fly". (We will post a link to her video here as soon as we can.)

According to Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's BayWatcher Bruce Berman,  Nemo's strong winds pounded the region's beaches from Nahant to Nanatsket with waves to 30 feet. The surf tossed clams on the beach hundreds of feet above the typical high tide line, where frigid temperatures quickly froze them solid, killing tens of thousands of the tasty creatures.

"It is an unexpected bounty for the seagulls" said Berman. "But it may be bad news for diggers and shellfish lovers, who could find clams harder to come by this year."

 With snow emergenices, school closures and parking bans still in effect in many communities, there are two bright spots. First, it should be a great year for treasure hunters. The same conditions that tossed the clams on the beach have also deposited a fresh crop of flotsam, jetsam, beach glass and other historic artifacts for beach goers to discover. Second, Berman predicts that Nemo will have no impact on this year's Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash pledge fundraiser to support free beach events and programs this summer, .scheduled for Saturday, March 23 2013.

Hopefully things will have settled down by then!

Eat a Lionfish - Save a Reef!

Last weekend I went fishing with my friends from Reward Fishing Fleet out of Miami Beach Marina in South Beach.We usually catch a mixed bag that typically includes snapper, grouper, jacks and mackerel, as well as bonita, skipjack and blackfin tuna, sailfish, mahi mahi, sailfish and the occassional wahoo, as well as jacks, runners, grunts, porgies, yellow tails and reef fish of all descriptions.

I was fishing for mutton snapper (and caught two - see above) with a nine foot leader and a four ounce sinker  when I felt a small tug on my line.

When I reeled it in, I discovered that I had caught my first Lionfish, an invasive species from the Indo-Pacific with venomous spines which is decimating the reefs of South Florida.

This lionfish was introduced to South Florida waters more than 20 years ago by hobbyists who were appalled to discover that the colorful aquarium fish was a voracious predator which would quickly devour all the smaller fish in their aquariums.

As far as we can tell, the adult lionfish - which averages about 1 lb, though some species can get much larger, has no natural predators in South Florida waters.

Until now.

In an effort to protect our reefs, which are already under enormous pressure from over fishing, other invasive species, global warming and environmental degradation, state and federal regulators are now encouraging divers and anglers to catch and kill as many lionfish as they can.

So I asked the captain to clip the spines (where the toxins are located) and fillet the fish for me, which he did - very carefully.

To my delight I discovered that lionfish fillets are delicious, similar to grouper, and that it makes a great sashimi and seviche.

So now I am going to try to target lionfish, and help rid the reefs of these tasty pests.

A word of warning. The sting of a lionfish is very painful and can be quite dangerous. The toxin is still active even when the fish is dead, so be very careful when you clean the fish. You will find this website - Lionfish Hunter - full of safety tips and techniques - and some very nice recipes.

You may also enjoy these videos on how to clean a lionfish which I found on You Tube on how to clean and detoxify a lionfish.

My recipe for Lionfish Seviche.

Catch, clean and chop 1 lb of lionfish fillets into 1/4 inch pieces,
Cover with fresh lime juice
Add garlic, cilantro, red onions and hot peppers to taste.

Marinate and chill for about one hour.

Serve with salsa - or over a lime sorbet or citrus granita.