Sippewisset Marsh

Besides sampling from Trunk River, we also went to Sippewisset Marsh for sampling. Unlike Trunk River, the microbial mats in the marsh are like pieces of cake. We can actually pull it out from the sediment intact. The picture on the right is a piece of the mat that we pull out. Similar to Trunk River, the top layer is cyanobacteria.






Here on the left is the picture of the entire marsh area. I was carrying my bag pack or else I would have jumped in and swim instead of threading on tip-toes to avoid getting my bag and my undies wet.

Most of the areas are not too deep but me being short, some areas came up almost to my waist. I waited for the taller guys to go in and see how deep it is. Usually, when I see area like these, especially back in M'sia, in my mind, I'll be like 'aiyoh..em chai u chua boh' but I didn't even think about leeches what more snake here. The water is calm and cool I wish we were there longer instead of just 2 hours. But I might go back there again since it's only about 5 mi away.

Besides the mat, the other sample that I like most is the 'berries'. They are not real berries that we eat but they are purple-sulfur bacteria that clumps together like berries. They are usually on the surface of the sediments and when you disturb the water, they'll float up. I tried to take a picture of it but everytime I get close, I mix the mud up making it hard to see the sediment. So I took it in the sampling bottle instead. They are the cutest bacterial complex I've ever seen!