Christ the Redeemer under New Technology

foto - o globo

In 2010, Rio de Janeiro completed its 446th year and in Feb 2011 its new lighting system as inaugurated with LED-based (Light emitting diodes) technology - 300 of them, which are energy saving and more effective, enabling a combination of 1,000 colors! The monument is now 80 years old. It's birthday is on Oct 12th. The massive statue is approximately 30 meters high and weighs over 700 tons. It is perched high above Rio de Janeiro on Corcovado (the hunchback) rock, about 700 meters above sea level. Much like the Statue of Liberty, it was designed and partially built in France (hands and head) by the Franco-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski. The new lighting system was developed with the German lighting specialists Osram, and technician Peter Gasper. Colors, intensity and direction can now be fully controlled. 

Part of the 300 new LED lighting system of 2011

the Lagoa, a lagoon connecting with the sea in Ipanema

A small chapel under the base of the statue

Rio de Janeiro, The Marvelous City

\Greetings from Rio!! Today we took some time to explore one of the world's greatest cities. The students began their day with a bike ride around the famous and beautiful Ipanema Beach. They played in the ocean and even attempted a walk on a beachfront tightrope (some were more successful than others). The highlight of the day was a visit up to Corcovado, the magnificent Christ statue that overlooks Rio. Lines were very, very long and it was extremely crowded but the views of Rio were spectacular and all agreed that the long wait was well worth the thrill of being there! Tomorrow we will leave Rio and will be on our way to Angra, a fishing village about 2 hours away. We will resume our science experiements and will surely have lots to report on what we discover... Goodnight from The marvelous City!!!

Low tide and coastal erosion

Climate change is affecting sea level all over the world. One 'extra' lesson we learned at the TAMAR sea turtle conservation project in Salvador, needed no special posters or displays as it was wide open and visible to all visitors... the aggressive sea level rise at Tamar's seafront base! We had already witnessed and photographically documented this phenomenon in last year's edition of Sciences Brazil (2010), along Salvador's gorgeous beaches. Here at Tamar, while observing the exposure of the rocky shore at low tide, we also almost witnessed a couple of visitors almost fall in one of the rather large pits formed by high tide water making its way inland under the Tamar sea wall base. Looking out more carefully we also can see the sandbags and woodpiles are being installed so as to protect the present shoreline from more erosion. Apparently, this will not be enough...!

Coastal Sand Dunes and Marshes

Much like Cape Cod, the Bahian Coastline of Salvador (Bahia) has sand dunes built in height and width from the action of coastal trade winds. The winds pile up sand into dunes many meters high, where drought resistant vegetation grows. Our group had a walk on this 'wild side' slightly off road about 2 hours from downtown Salvador... We were impressed with the mounds of very fine sand and abundant vegetation including pretty flowers and the African palm oil trees (Dendê) used in preparing the delicious fish stew we had for lunch Just beyond, we found coastal ponds with tea colored waters and wetlands with rainwater accumulated during the rainy season. Amongst the adaptations to such an extreme environment we saw a true botanical parasite happily thriving over a shrub. Its yellow color gives away - no chlorophyll production here! 'Just let me feed 'intravenously' on someone else! No leaves needed !

Issues facing Sea Turtles

Two issues facing sea turtles are Light Pollution and Pollution of Plastics in the ocean. When there is too much light around a beach (usually from urban development), baby sea turtles become disoriented and often walk the wrong way when they attempt to go toward the ocean. When plastics are dumped into the ocean, sea turtles accidently ingest them thinking that they are food and they often die as a result. Here are two student-produced videos which have been made (rather spontaneously) in order to raise awareness about the difficult issues facing sea turtles. Enjoy!

TAMAR Turtle Sanctuary

Our curious young scientists spent the day today at the TAMAR Turtle Sanctuary in Salvador where visitors go to learn about sea turtles and the many issues facing them today. It was awesome!! Every moment was a teachable moment and Dr. Scott was in his element teaching all about sea creatures, different types of sand, coastal erosion and more! I am happy to report that our students know no fear and that they jumped right into the experience by touching sea urchins, sea hares and sting rays. In addition to the turtles of all ages, we also saw sharks and polka-dotted groupers!

This fantastic day ended with a spontaneous stop to enjoy local sand dunes where our students observed various plants and trees and then tumbled (very enthusiastically) down the sand dunes.

Colégio Nossa Senhora Das Mercês Ursuline School

We had only been in Brazil for two short hours when we received a call from the Ursuline School here in Salvador, Nossa Senhora das Merces. We had only very recently informed them that we would be here because, as many of you will recall, Ms. Bourgeois and I (Ms. Nipp) just met with many of the Brazilian Ursulines at a conference in the state of Sao Paulo. The school principal and the sisters very kindly invited us over right away to meet the high school students and to have a school tour - we had to hurry because classes for the high school end at 12:30. So, still looking a bit ruffled from our long journey, we set out for the school.
And what a thrill it was!! We were met by Sr. Elsa who gave us a grand tour of the school and even a wonderful coffee break with cookies homemade by the sisters (yumm!). It turns out that Sr. Elsa is great friends with Sr. Mary Lapping who lives in St. Louis but has often visited us in Dallas - Ursuline is such a connected world !!
The school campus is large and impressive and dates back to 1635! We stopped in on a literature class where our students were received with GREAT enthusiasm! The Merces students asked lots of questions - mainly about sports, school uniform, music and what it's like to go to an all-girls school (since all Ursuline schools in Brazil are co-ed). We were only together for a short time but many new connections were made.
As it turns out, there was a surprise of an old connection between Dr. Scott and Sr. Francisca who had been his teacher of plant ecology at the Ursuline University in Rio in the late 70's. It was a happy reunion!
All in all, our first day in Brazil was fantastic - the day ended with a lovely Italian meal and Jessica V's presentation on Sea Turtles. Tomorrow we'll see the turtles in person and will have more updates on the thrill of Brazil!

The adventure begins!

Greetings from Brazil !! We arrived this morning tired but enthusiastic about the days to come. Now we are happily installed in the Pousada Redfish in Salvador, a lovely small hotel owned by British artist, Charles Butler. Stay tuned to hear all about our first day of adventure....