Driftwood and Shells at the Wrack Line

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Driftwood and Shells at the Wrack LineShells on a piece of driftwood under a dock in a small pool of water left behind by the receding tide at the wrack line on Great Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island. The boards of the dock above are reflected in the water.

Driftwood Left on the Tide

Driftwood Left on the TideShells on a piece of driftwood under a dock in a small pool of water left behind by the receding tide at the wrack line on Great Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island. The boards of the dock above are reflected in the water.

One of my degrees is in the sciences. Physics is the particular discipline with work in applied science and technology. But my belief is that science is a study for everyone, everywhere. That is to say that I am an advocate for the concept of "citizen science", that science is for everyone.

By some stroke of great fortune, we live by the shore. Shorelines mean wrack lines, and wrack lines are full of life. These are places where we find wonders of science presented as random art. It is a place where one believes that an explosion in a print factory could produce a great novel. Our joy and responsibility are to read that tome.

What is a wrack line? A wrack line is a coastal feature where organic material and other debris are deposited at high tide. The gathering of shells, seagrass, seaweed, and the like becomes a food habit for all forms of life. That life combines both terrestrial and sea life.

Here we find ourselves with driftwood beneath a pier on Great Island in Narragansett. There is life in the pools left on the tide. The slats of the pier above reflect and refract light in kind. Observing the physical and biological becomes a visual pleasantry.

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