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toc = ABOUT THE TEAM = Hello! We are all 8th graders at Bonny Eagle Middle School located in Buxton, Maine. We are the largest middle school in the state of Maine with a total of 936 students enrolled in grades 6th-8th. Each grade is separated into "Scottish Clans" with ours being Dundee. Although, our school is located in Buxton our students come from the surrounding towns: Standish, Hollis, Limington, Buxton, Steep Falls, Bar Mills, and Frye Island. This makes up the largest school district in the state of Maine.

**STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE**

= = =** Step 1 - Preliminary Question(s) **=

1. Does the coral reef color change based on the temperature and the location of the water?

2. Are volcanoes located in the same area on an eruption cycle?

3. Does the area or location of a storm related to the power of strength of that storm?

4. Does the size of a caldera depend on the size of the volcano?

= = = = = = = = = = =** Step 2 - Initial Observations **=

**1. RESEARCH QUESTION:** Does the color of a coral reef change based on location and temperature of water?

**2. SOURCES TO VIEW ASTRONAUT PHOTOS:** -Gateway to Astronaut Photography -NASA's Earth Observatory

**3. LIST OF SPECIFIC DATA TEAM WILL LOG FROM EACH ASTRONAUT PHOTO:** Date of photo Image ID Season Location of reef (Country) Temperature of water Color of reef Name of the reef Longitude and Latitude Size of the reef Camera and Lens

**4. HYPOTHESIS:** Yes, there is a color variation based on temperature and location of the reef, but it may be t0o small to be seen from astronaut photographs.

= = = = = = = = = = =** Step 3 - Background Research **=

**1. IMPORTANT TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:** Barrier Reef: A coral reef running parallel to the shore but separated from it by a channel of deep water.

Fringe Reef: A reef that borders an island.

Polyp: Zoology a solitary or colonial sedentary form of a coelenterate such as a sea anemone, typically having a columnar body with the mouth uppermost surrounded by a ring of tentacles. In some species, polyps are a phase in the life cycle that alternates with a medusoid phase.

Nematocyst: A specialized cell in the tentacles of a jellyfish or other coelenterate, containing a barbed or venomous coiled thread that can be projected in self-defense or to capture prey.

Atoll Reef: A ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of coral.

Topography: The arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.

Stony Coral: A hard stony substance secreted by certain marine coelenterates as an external skeleton, typically forming large reefs in warm seas.

Zooxanthellae: A yellowish-brown symbiotic dinoflagellate present in large numbers in the cytoplasm of many marine invertebrates.

Salinity: Containing or impregnated with salt.

Calcium Carbonate (CaCo3): A white, insoluble solid occurring naturally as chalk, limestone, marble, and calcite, and forming mollusk shells and stony corals.

UV-Radiation: Energy given off from the sun that causes skin cancer.

Green House Effect: the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

Green House Gas: a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g.. carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.

**2. EARTH SYSTEM INFORMATION:** Coral Reefs are a huge ecosystem on earth, they contain a diverse group of plants, fungus, animals, protists, and bacteria. Because coral reefs are living they are considered to be apart of the BIOSPHERE.

**3. FORMATION PROCESS:** Coral reefs are formed when coral larvae attach to submerged rocks. The coral either becomes a barrier, fringe, or atoll reef.

**4. FEATURE DESCRIPTION OR CHARACTERISTICS:** Coral Reefs appear in astronaut photographs in a range of colors from green, blue, or turquoise, they are usually surrounding a small island or off the coast of a land mass

**5. ASTRONAUT IMAGES (2-3) THAT INCLUDE THE FEATURE YOU ARE STUDYING (links, ID#s, or images):** Coral Reef Saudi Arabia http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView.pl?directory=ESC&ID=ISS026-E-29614

Coral Reef Bahamas http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView.pl?directory=ESC&ID=ISS026-E-33176

**6. GEOGRAPHIC REGION OF FOCUS:** We are looking at 4 regions located above and below the equator and also East vs West in reference to the USA. Madagascar Indonesia Caribbean Saudi Arabia **7. IF YOU WILL CONDUCT A PLANETARY COMPARISON, PLEASE EXPLAIN:** N/A

**8. OTHER DETAILS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR RESEARCH:** N/A


 * Keep track of your sources in your bibliography.**

= = = = = = = = = = =** Step 4 - Experiment Design **=

**1. FINAL RESEARCH QUESTION:** Does the color of a coral reef change based on location and temperature of water?

**2. HYPOTHESIS** **(Include a brief explanation of observations & other knowledge that support this hypothesis):** Yes, there is a color variation based on temperature and location of the reef but it may be to small to be seen from astronaut photographs.

**3. IMAGE DATA COLLECTION:**

**4. OTHER DATA SETS:**
 * NASA's Earth Observatory**:

Water Temperature (Celsius)

Chlorophyll (mg/m^3)

**5. MEASUREMENTS:**

N/A
 * Keep track of your sources in your bibliography.**

= = = = = = = = = = = = =** Step 5 - Collect and Compile Data **=

**1. MASTER DATA TABLE:** Click on the link below to see our final data table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AixT09jKvsPkdHR1SGlMaXlGUHBTdE55cGVwaVBYakE&output=html

**2. NEW DATA REQUEST INFO:**

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =** Step 6 - Display Data **=

**1. DATA TABLE(S): Under __each__ data table, list 1-3 observations.**

**2. GRAPHS: Under __each__ graph, list 1-3 observations.**

**3. MAPS: Under __each__ map, list 1-3 observations.**

**4. IMAGE ILLUSTRATIONS: Under __each__ image illustration, list 1-3 observations.**

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =** Step 7 - Analyze and Interpret Data **=

**1. RESEARCH QUESTION:**

**2. HYPOTHESIS:**

**3. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA:**

**DATA ANALYSIS #1:**
 * **RESTATE A SPECIFIC DATA DISPLAY __OBSERVATION__ FROM STEP 6:**


 * **__INTERPRETATION__ OF WHAT THAT OBSERVATION MEANS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR QUESTION:**


 * **ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR INTERPRETATION:**

**DATA ANALYSIS #2:**
 * **RESTATE A SPECIFIC DATA DISPLAY __OBSERVATION__ FROM STEP 6:**


 * **__INTERPRETATION__ OF WHAT THAT OBSERVATION MEANS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR QUESTION:**


 * **ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR INTERPRETATION:**

**DATA ANALYSIS #3:**
 * **RESTATE A SPECIFIC DATA DISPLAY __OBSERVATION__ FROM STEP 6:**


 * **__INTERPRETATION__ OF WHAT THAT OBSERVATION MEANS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR QUESTION:**


 * **ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR INTERPRETATION:**

**DATA ANALYSIS #4:**


 * **RESTATE A SPECIFIC DATA DISPLAY __OBSERVATION__ FROM STEP 6:**


 * ** __INTERPRETATION__ OF WHAT THAT OBSERVATION MEANS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR QUESTION: **


 * ** ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR INTERPRETATION: **


 * Add additional data analysis information as needed.**


 * CONSIDERATION OF ISSUES POTENTIALLY AFFECTING YOUR RESEARCH **
 * 1. POTENTIAL ERRORS OR INACCURACIES: **


 * 2. POTENTIAL MISINTERPRETATIONS: **


 * 3. LIMITATIONS OF DATA: **


 * 4. OTHER: **

= = = = = = = = = = =** Step 8 - Draw Conclusions **=


 * 1. SUMMARIZE CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION: **


 * 2. SUMMARIZE INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER YOUR HYPOTHESIS WAS REFUTED OR SUPPORTED? **


 * 3. NEWLY SPARKED RESEARCH QUESTION(S): **


 * 4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: **


 * 5. REFLECTION OF RESEARCH: **

= = = = = = = = = = =** Step 9 - Share Research **=

= GLOSSARY =

= BIBLIOGRAPHY = NOAA National Ocean Service Education: Corals - How Do Coral Reefs Form." //NOAA's National Ocean Service//. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <[]>.

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <[]>.

//The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth//. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. <[]>.

"Chlorophyll : Global Maps." //NASA Earth Observatory : Home//. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. <[]>.

"Sea Surface Temperature : Global Maps." //NASA Earth Observatory : Home//. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. <[]>.

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