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Name: Alex Duval

Partner: Mr. B. Kondek, recorded information as stated in material list No. 7

Class: Bermuda Marine and Island Ecology

Teacher: Mrs. A. Pearson

Date: 29 June, 2017

Title: The Composition of Bermudas Sandy Shores

Purpose:

The purpose was to combine fieldwork including data collection with library research to

gain knowledge about an organism or community found in Bermuda, in this case, the

sedimentary environment, sand.

Hypothesis:

It was hypothesized that sand in high water energy locations would contain smaller

particles because, strong currents lead to the continuous erosion of sand.

Locations:

Five locations had been chosen for sand collection across the whole island. Below they

are listed with a small description:

1. Tobacco Bay

Tobacco Bay is a very well protected inlet on the North East side of the island. Its beach

appeared to be composed of tan sand. And there was no wave energy because the beach was

protected by large rock formations and coral reefs.

2. Well Bay
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Well Bay is a semi-protected inlet on Coopers Island, on the Eastern most point of the

island, just south of LW Wade International Airport, facing across the whole south side of the

island. There was no coral here, however, sand coverage was immense. There were also lots of

sea grasses that grew along the bottom in small patches. This location had a medium amount of

water moment being a South Westerly facing beach. Currents around rocks were very high, as it

was an ebbing tide.

3. Harrington Sound

Harrington Sound is a large body of water located center of Bermuda, and divides the

North, and South Shore. Harrington sound had medium to low water energy and light winds that

pushed currents into rock island formations. There was an approximate three to eight-inch wave

height caused by the winds.

4. North Rock

North Rock is a seven-mile boat trip from the Eastern end of the island and a twenty mile

trip from the west (Bermuda Attractions). At N.R. one can see the incredible rim reef and fish

that inhabit it. There were strong waves with height of up to two feet. N.R. has steady winds of

about eight to twelve knots, and the ocean floor was approximately twenty-seven to thirty feet

deep.

5. South Shore Beach near Horseshoe Bay (Angle Beach)

Angle Beach is a South facing beach located on the Southern tip of Bermuda. Angle

Beach had gust of two to seven knots. It also had medium to high water energy, assisted by wind.

It had a mild rip current that was created by the cup and boiler reefs.

Background Information:
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What is Biogenic Sand? Biogenic Sand is composed of the exoskeleton or bone

fragments of dead sea creatures. Its extremely common to see biogenic sand on low latitude

beaches, less than 35. Biogenic sand is mostly light-colored and is made usually of carbonate

material although some prefer silica. Biogenic sand can greatly differ from one location to

another. (Sand Atlas).

What is the difference between Biological and Physical Erosion? Physical erosion is

caused by wave action, water currents, weather, and gravity. Physical erosion started

immediately after Bermuda emerged from the ocean. At the time of immersion volcanic rock that

was created was very dark and almost black in color. today we see that the sand is very light in

color and almost pink. We see this color today because of biological erosion, caused by sediment

producing marine life such as, seaweeds, coral and other organisms. A major component of

bioerosion is parrotfish feeding on small pieces of seaweed scraping off the surface of the reefs

and other Rocky bottoms. Their digestive process removes the food but passes on the ground

rock as body waste. As a result a large quantity of the sediment we see today are produced is this

way. Marine invertebrates including snails sea urchins and crabs produce sediment similar to that

of the parrotfish, by burrowing directly into the rock to avoid predators.

What is the effect of ocean currents on the production of sand? Tides are very long waves

that result from the gravitational pull mainly of the moon. The gravitational force of the moon

pulls large amounts of seawater towards it and causes a second pull on the opposite side of the

Earth. These bulges of seawater follow the moon around Earth. The moon's orbit takes

approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes there for high tide comes every 12 hours and 25 minutes.

However, most places have high tides close to 12 hours and 25 minutes, not always exactly due
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to their latitude. Low tides occur halfway between highs this is especially true ocean Island such

as Bermuda. (Sandy Coasts).

Why is the sand pink?

Materials:

1. Zip-Loc Baggies

2. Lab Notebook to Record Results

3. Microscope + Light

4. Small Petri Dish

5. Desk Fan (to dry samples)

6. Micro Reagent Lab Scoop (take wet sediment from bag)

7. Flat Millimeter Ruler

8. Someone for you to Record Information ex. Small, Regular, Pink. Puts one tally in each

column. (Makes things go alot faster).

Methods:

How do I record size and shape? Size, small grains measure from 0.0mm to 0.5mm,

medium 0.5mm to 1.5mm, and large 1.5mm up. Count one tally mark per grain into one of those

categories. Shape, Regular and Irregular, regular means, smooth faces and non-jagged edges.

Irregular means it could be smooth on its faces but has unusual curved edges that come to a sharp

point or have sharp edges.

Collecting Sediment:

1. Open Zip-Loc bag and enter water.

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2. Place hand into sand near water's edge until palm is covered.

3. Scoop sand into Zip-Loc bag.

4. Drain as much water out as possible.

Drying Samples:

1. Collect Zip-Loc bag(s) and petri dish(s)

2. On petri dish divide the plate into four equal sections, where you will gather ten samples

from each (forty (40) total).

3. Open Zip-Loc bag and using the lab scoop remove one scoop of sand from the bag. Place

in petri dish.

4. Let dry completely in a cool place, to speed up process use small desk fan.

Data Collection:

1. Once dry, collect sample.

2. Gently tap sample on tabletop to break them up and spread them evenly across all four

sections.

3. Place ruler on microscope, then the sample.

4. Adjust the microscope so one can see a small part of one section. That is focused on the

sand.

5. Hold ruler firmly in place with one hand.

6. Slide petri dish randomly around the section, pick the sample that is right in the middle

of your eyepiece 10x and record size, shape, color.

7. Move to another section.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until 40 samples have been collected. (all four sections times ten)
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Data:

Red Text = Majority

Tobacco Bay Sand Composition Table 1

Small Grain Medium Grain Large Grain Regular Irregular Color

(<0.5mm) (>0.5mm<1.5mm) (>1.5mm)

13 24 3 22 18 White: 23
Tan: 8
Gray: 1
Beige: 4
Pink: 4
Percent Small: 32.5%

Percent Medium: 60%

Percent Large: 7.5%

Well Bay Sand Composition Table 2

Small Grain Medium Grain Large Grain Regular Irregular Color

(<0.5mm) (>0.5mm<1.5mm) (>1.5mm)

30 9 1 19 21 White: 29
Grey: 1
Tan: 2
Clear: 2
Pink: 6
Percent Small: 75%

Percent Medium: 22.5%

Percent Large: 2.5%

Harrington Sound Sand Composition Table 3

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Small Grain Medium Grain Large Grain Regular Irregular Color

(<0.5mm) (>0.5mm<1.5mm) (>1.5mm)

33 7 0 12 28 White: 28
Tan: 6
Pink: 5
Grey: 1
Percent Small: 82.5%

Percent Medium: 17.5%

Percent Large: 0%

North Rock Sand Composition Table 4

Small Grain Medium Grain Large Grain Regular Irregular Color

(<0.5mm) (>0.5mm<1.5mm) (>1.5mm)

31 7 2 22 18 White: 16
Clear: 8
Pink: 12
Red: 2
Tan: 2
Percent Small: 77.5%

Percent Medium: 17.5%

Percent Large: 5%

Angle Beach Sand Composition Table 5

Small Grain Medium Grain Large Grain Regular Irregular Color

(<0.5mm) (>0.5mm<1.5mm) (>1.5mm)
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33 5 2 29 11 Pink: 16
White: 16
Cloudy
(White): 7
Black: 1
Percent Small: 82.5%

Percent Medium: 12.5%

Percent Large: 5%

Discussion:

The hypothesis that sand in high water energy locations would contain smaller particles

because, strong currents lead to the continuous erosion of sand, could not be supported by the

evidence and research gathered. This is because of locations like Harrington sound, with the

composition of its sand being small (82.5%) with the rest being medium (17.5%), and containing

no large particles. As compared to a location like North Rock where it is surrounded by strong

currents and hammered with powerful waves driven by winds. North Rock had overall small

sand, however only approximately 77.5% coverage, 17.5% medium, and 5% large. After looking

back in the field journal entry that was completed at this location, it was discovered that places

like Harrington sound act as a breeding ground for juvenile fish. And that the area is commonly

know to have high population of sea cucumber, which helps break down sediment, that it lays

on. The majority of juvenile fish in this area are parrotfish. Which are known for their strong jaw

bones used to break into rock to gather the algae that they use as food. The rock scrapings pass

through their system and are deposited as waste, thus creating the smaller sand.

Locations like Tobacco Bay and Well Bay are well protected with shallow water.

However, these two location differed greatly. Well Bay was shallow and had little to no coral or
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fish however, it did have stronger current coming from the southern waters it faced. Whereas

Tobacco Bay had large amounts of fish + coral, but little to no current. Tobacco bay had a

medium/small sand composition, 60% medium, 32.5% small, and 7.5% large. Well Bay had a

small/medium sand composition, 75% small, 22.5% medium, and 2.5% large. For these

locations it was expected to be the opposite, Well Bay with the medium/small because of its lack

of large fish or other organisms to break down the limestone rock.

The grand finale, Angle Beach, near Horseshoe Bay, ranked one of best beaches in the

world is known most famously for its pink sand. The sand composition here was astoundingly

small(82.5%)! (medium 12.5%, large 5%) Similar to that of Harrington sound, it is known for its

high population of parrotfish. This significantly contributes to the small grain size, but it is

accompanied by boiler reefs that break the rolling waves (approx 2ft). Which has lead to the

erosion of rocks near the beach. This erosion has created some of the most beautiful sand in the

world.
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Works Cited

Bermuda Coral Reef: The North Rock. Bermuda Attractions, Raj Bhattacharya,

www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000060.htm. Accessed 28 June 2017.

Biogenic Sand. Sand Atlas, Siim Sepp, www.sandatlas.org/biogenic-sand/. Accessed 28 June

2017.

Thomas, Martin L. H., Dr. Sandy Coasts. 2nd ed., Bermuda Zoological Society, 2008.