Glaciers: Landscape Architects of the Estuary EarthCache
Glaciers: Landscape Architects of the Estuary
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Waypoint 3 of 10 on Going Coastal’s NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Eco-Discovery Trail in Inwood Hill Park, caches developed by Going Coastal, Inc. (www.goingcoastal.org) in partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation as a special project in affiliation with Groundspeak and support from the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
The NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Earthcache Discovery Trail is meant to help visitors develop a better understanding of the Estuary, make connections between earth and environmental science, and foster stewardship.
This cache tells the story of how the combined action of geology and glaciers in the past affects the ecosystems that are present today in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary.
Ice and water formed the modern landscape at Inwood Hill. Glaciers are huge, solid forms of ice that move very slowly. Four times glaciers crept away from the artic regions, across Canada down through New York and came to a halt almost exactly at what is now New York City. This site was buried beneath hundreds of feet of solid ice during the ice age called the Pleistocene epoch (the period spanning 3 million to 12,000 years ago).
Sea level fell each time the glaciers grew, and rose when the ice melted. The frozen ice caused the sea level of the Atlantic Ocean to drop 400 feet and the shoreline to move over 100 miles to the edge of the continental shelf. During the period of lowered sea level the Hudson River cut a deep gorge, which was flooded by the melting glaciers to form a drowned river estuary. (visit link)
Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea. Estuary waters are a nutrient rich soup that are vital to plant and animals. The New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary took its current shape in the last 10,000 years when the ice began to melt. The estuary comprises New York Harbor and the tidally influenced portions of all rivers and streams that empty into the Harbor. It is part of the large New York Bight, which is the coastal indentation between New Jersey and Long Island at the entrance to New York Harbor.
Inwood Hill Park is a great place for birds to rest and feed. Many migratory birds fly north in the spring to breed and hatch their young, and then fly south in the fall to overwinter. New York City lies on a major north-south migratory route called the Atlantic Flyway. The Atlantic Flyway can be thought of as a highway for birds that starts in the Arctic and ends in South America. Some birds start or end their trip in Inwood Hill Park, while other birds use the park as a quick rest stop on the way to their final destination.
When you are going on a long trip how do you make sure to not get lost? Birds navigate thousands of miles by following land formations (like rivers), the sun, and/or the stars. Some birds are able to use the earth’s magnetic field to direct them just like people use compasses.
A map of the Atlantic Flyway at (visit link)
A very familiar type of waterfowl that lives in NYC all year round is the mallard duck. The male is colorful with a green head and white ring around the neck. As with most birds, the females are duller. Do you notice any ducks tipping themselves so that their heads are underwater and their feet are poking up? This is called dabbling. Ducks dabble in order to eat underwater vegetation and invertebrates.
Besides birds, some other long-distance travelers are fish, sea turtles, seals, and whales. The NY-NJ Harbor Estuary provides a place where juvenile fish live and grow. It supports more than 200 species of fish. The majority of fish in estuary waters are anadromous. This means that they are born in freshwater, travel to the ocean to grow up, and then return to the Hudson River to spawn (lay eggs). Striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, and American shad are anadromous fish. American eels do the opposite. A catadromous species of fish, eel spawn in the ocean and live out their lives in the estuary.
Survival in the estuary is difficult. A delicate balance of abiotic (nonliving) factors of the environment affects life in the estuary—salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH. Each of these factors is monitored to safeguard they are within a certain range to ensure the survival of species living in the estuary.
The Harbor Estuary is affected by what happens far upstream, such as pollutants and sediments that are transported by rain and water runoff. Land use affects water quantity and quality. So when you litter or pour motor oil on the street, it will eventually be carried by rain and wind to the estuary where it can harm aquatic life, birds and even humans.
Logging Task:
1. Name two features visible from here that were created by glaciers.
2. The elements Hydrogen and Oxygen in two of its phases shaped the modern estuary. What are the two phases?
3. Can you name a migratory bird you see here? Is the bird headed north or south? How do you know?
4. (OPTIONAL) -- Imagine you are a migrating bird flying over Inwood Hill Park. Draw a simple bird’s eye view map that includes a few landforms and features that will help you navigate your trip (water bodies, bridges, etc). Don’t forget to include a north arrow. POST YOUR MAP ON YOUR LOG.
To log a find on this earthcache, email tasks 1-3 to the cache owner (DO NOT POST IN YOUR LOG). Use your GPS device to locate the next cache - GC2RWCG. (visit link)
Data Source:
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology – (visit link)
• NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program – (visit link)
• NYC Audubon – (visit link)
• NOAA Estuaries - (visit link)
• Wikipedia - “Atlantic Flyway” “Estuary”
Data Collected: September 26 – April 15, 2011
Name and Type of Land
Inwood Hill Park
W 218 Street & Seaman Avenue, Manhattan
Phone: (212) 304-2365
www.nycgovparks.org
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