This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
When Abra Berkowitz ’09 (Sharon, Mass.) was choosing classes for the spring semester, another student recommended she take a class with Kira Lawrence, assistant professor of geology and environmental geosciences, who joined the Lafayette faculty last year.
Even though Berkowitz is an English major, she was very interested in Lawrence’s Oceanography course, which includes three field trips to the shore. So, she signed up.
“I knew that if this professor had only been around for a semester and was already getting rave reviews, I had to take a course with her,” Berkowitz says. “Hearing the word ‘beach’ mentioned in the course description also helped.”
Oceanography is a popular elective for sophomore geology majors, but is open to students from any discipline.
“I’m trying to give students a broad understanding of what oceans are all about,” Lawrence explains.
“If a student is searching for a class that will teach him or her about coastal processes, how to verbally communicate science, and about human interactions with the natural environment, I would highly recommend this class,” Berkowitz says. “It certainly isn’t easy but is most definitely worth the effort.”
The lab component of the course involved three field trips to study coastal ocean environments.
“With oceanography, you have to see it to get it,” Lawrence says. “I think the opportunity to see and experience what they have learned in lectures is very valuable.”
Trustee Scholar Sarah Smith ’07 (Gap, Pa.) found the hands-on approach a perfect match for the course.
“It’s easier to understand some of the coastal processes when you actually see them happening as opposed to trying to visualize them from diagrams in a book,” says the biology major.
Lawrence and her students traveled to Sandy Hook, N.J., to study the coastline because there has been a lot of coastal change in the state as a result of ocean processes.
To prepare for the Sandy Hook trip, students studied old maps and historical data to measure rates of erosion in one section of the beach. Based on these observations of how the coastline has changed over time, they predicted the location of the present-day coastline.
At the beach, they used basic surveying techniques to see if their predictions were accurate. They then applied their knowledge to a hypothetical scenario in which they were consultants hired by the U.S. government to determine if Sandy Hook would be a good location for a new container shipment facility.
During an overnight field trip to Mystic, Conn., the class visited a variety of coastal environments, including a salt marsh, beach, estuary, and rocky intertidal zone. There, they learned how to measure change in those different environments.
“When we went to Mystic, it amazed me how much development has affected the harbors and shores,” Smith says. “For example, I’m aware of sources of ocean contamination like agricultural and urban runoff, oil, etc., but when we visited the Mystic Seaport, it was a lot clearer as to just how this affects the harbor. Standing on a dock in the harbor, you can see the extensive number of boats, the effluent pipes from wastewater treatment plants, and the landscape that contributes to runoff.”
The third trip of the semester was a weekend cruise in the Chesapeake Bay aboard a University of Maryland research vessel.
Geology major Sarah Wildermuth ’09 (Reading, Pa.) enrolled in Oceanography to get a different perspective on her major.
“I thought it would be interesting, and it was a chance to take a geology course that was a bit different from the majority of classes on rocks and minerals,” she says.
Wildermuth believes the field trips have been invaluable in gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of the coursework.
“I’m a very visual learner, so to get to see the ocean, what drives waves to break, and the kinds of particles that make up beaches and where they came from was so much more meaningful than what I could have gotten in a laboratory,” she says.
“The field trips have not only been incredibly fun, but have really put what we learn in lecture into perspective. It’s one thing to learn about the environment in lecture, but another completely to see the environment in action,” Berkowitz adds. “Who wouldn’t want to squirt a sea squirt, save a striped bass from a fishing net, search for hermaphroditic snails in an intertidal zone, and investigate shore erosion, all in a day’s time?”
For Smith, the course offered a wide range of knowledge and practical applications of classroom lessons.
“You really gain a comprehensive view of our oceans, like how they formed, how and why circulation occurs, how they affect land, and how humans affect them,” she says. “Professor Lawrence also had us write proposals regarding different issues surrounding oceans, and these proposals were very helpful because they both reinforced scientific research and writing and gave us insight as to how and why different policies form governing use in and around oceans.”
Other students who took Oceanography this semester include Marquis Scholar Laura Bochner ’10 (Bethlehem, Pa.), geology major Daniel Brown ’09 (Pittsgrove, N.J.), geology major Melissa Larsen ’09 (Swarthmore, Pa.), economics and business major Ashley Lichatin ’09 (Long Valley, N.J.), government and law major Kristin Luciano ’09 (East Quogue, N.Y.), Marquis Scholar Keara McCarthy ’10 (Montclair, N.J.), Brian McDonald ’10 (Saint Charles, Ill.), government and law major Caitlin O’Brien ’09 (Niskayuna, N.Y.), geology major Nancy Parker ’09 (Mystic, Conn.), and Jeffrey Zimmer ’10 (Brick, N.J.).
Lawrence’s current research involves reconstructing long, high-resolution records of ocean surface temperatures and productivity in order to better understand how and why the earth’s climate has changed through time. Her research is being funded by a three-year, $96,660 National Science Foundation grant, which will help pay for student assistants and other expenses.
She has published her research in various journals such as Global Change Biology, Global Ecology and Biogeography, Science, and Nature. The recipient of several grants, she has conducted research at the U.S. Geologic Survey and Woods Hole Research Center.
Lawrence earned Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in geological sciences from Brown University, an M.S. in earth sciences from University of California-Santa Cruz, and an A.B. in earth sciences from Dartmouth College.