Dusty Swanson.
Clearwater Beach.
September 17th, 2015.

Temperature: 83 degrees F.
Wind: light wind to the SW.
Clouds: none above us but some far to the East.
Humidity: medium.
Water Temp: around 85-90.

Once everyone arrived at the parking lot, we headed out to the beach. On our way out we startled a Tortoise who quickly disappeared into the dunes. From here we were split into groups. Our group spent the first half of class creating a beach profile. A beach profile is recorded by measuring how far the beach drops as you move away from the Primary Dune and into the water. For ours we held up a line and had someone measure from the line to the ground every 10 meters. Whenever we measured a point we would check the soil composition. With this information we were able to make a semi accurate beach profile for our field notebooks.

For the second half of the class we followed our Professor north through the dunes. As we approached the primary dune we began to notice plants with rhizomatous root systems. 

These interconnected roots allow the plants to anchor themselves and spread through the ever shifting sand. As we moved past the primary dune there was a noticeable increase in woody plants. One such plant was the Inkberry.

The Inkberry leaves grow almost perpendicular to the ground. This limits the amount of sun hitting an individual leaf. On our way back we began to pickup trash that had been thrown throughout the dunes and the swash. Among the trash were some notable items such as a condom, a flipflop, a balloon, and a ton of mediocre beer. All in all, it was a great way to learn about one of the things most Floridians take for granted, the beach.