Day 1: NJ & NY After a very long summer and fall semester, our adventure to Ecuador was finally here! We began our journey where everything began, Stockton University. Due to our flight taking off at JFK airport, the school had provided us a shuttle to take us to SpringHill Marriott Hotel in NYC. The majority of us (minus 3) met at Stockton at 3pm to grab the shuttle. We packed our luggage’s on the bus and bid fair well to our loved ones and by 3:30pm we were on our way! The ride to the hotel was very long and very bumpy (gotta love those NJ potholes!) but we finally arrived to the hotel around 6pm. We checked into the hotel and brought our belongings to our rooms. We had about ten to fifteen minutes of downtime before it was time for pizza and presentations!
Our first hotel of the trip
The first to present was Greg Fischer. He discussed the geology and seismic activity in Ecuador. To begin his presentation he spoke to us about Bowen’s Reaction Series, tectonic plates, seismic activity and the volcanoes of Ecuador. After discussing Bowen’s Reaction Series, he diverged more about tectonic plates, especially the Nazca and South American Plates, that are very influential for Ecuador’s earthquakes. To help us understand the affects of earthquakes more, Greg spoke about the different types of seismic waves and how each have different impacts. For example, surface waves travel along earths surface, travel slow and take much longer to diminish. These characteristics cause the most damage during and after an earthquake. Whereas body waves travel through earths interior, travel through solids, liquids and gases, and causes less damage during and after an earthquake. To conclude his presentation, Greg discussed the different types of volcanoes and the ones that we can find in Ecuador. He also informed us that with all the information and gadgets scientists may have on volcanoes, determining the time of an volcanic eruption is still very unpredictable and that a volcano may still erupt at anytime even after being deemed inactive or extinct.
Having some fun while learning
The second to present were Lauren Teach and Madison Roberts. Their presentation was about the biodiversity in the Amazon and the Galápagos Islands. They began their discussion about the many varieties of species found in the Galápagos Islands, the different habitat zones on each island and the threats of the islands. After speaking about the different habitat zones, Darwin’s 13 species of finches, and diversity found on Isabella Island, they involved the group in a fun interactive game of headbands. Jessie, Taylor, Victoria and I volunteered to be their players! The four of us were given a photo (that we weren’t allowed to see!) and attached them to our foreheads. It was our job to ask yes and no questions and guess what we were based on their answers. Out of the four of us, I of course, had the most difficult species. Instead of being a living being, I was a lava cactus! Although I lost, I had a lot of fun trying to determine which species I was. Jessie was the winner of our round. Lauren and Madison continued their discussion about the diversity found in the Amazon and the threats faced. After their discussion on the Amazon, they involved the group in a another round of headbands. Four more of us volunteered to be their players! Again, they were given a photo (that they weren’t allowed to see!) and attached them to our foreheads. Taylor was the winner of this round. Once the presentations were over, we headed back to our hotels rooms and went to bed as we anxiously waited for our travels from JFK to Guayaquil, Ecuador!