On Wednesday morning, we set out to Storr’s Lake, our first stop of the day. This lake is approximately seven kilometers long and was probably once connected to the ocean but is now separated by a Holocene dune composed of carbonate sediment. The water here is turbid, meaning there are many life forms including algae and bacteria that give it a murky brown color. Within the water there are microbial mats which form a crust unlike close to the shore where there are not mats and it becomes squishy. There are also microbial mounds and knobs formed on the lake bottom, so we had to be careful as we walked!
After exploring the murky water at Storr’s Lake, we ventured to “Salt Pond” and “Little Salt Pond”. Salt Pond is closer to the ocean and we measured a salinity of 37ppt versus the 40ppt at Storr’s Lake and 44ppt at Little Salt Pond. The bottom was very squishy and we sunk into the sediment with each step. We saw many creatures such as pup fish, small shore crabs, and many birds including the neotropic cormorant and snowy egret. We ended with a field lunch at The Gulf and enjoyed our food by the beauty of the paleo dune with an amazing sea view.
-Contributed by Meranda
Photo credit: Meranda
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