The effect of the acidification of coastal erosion

In the beginning of science fair, Alice Phung (‘21) pushed through mounds of research to find the direction that she wanted to take with her experiments. Eventually she found her project: testing the effect of the acidification of coastal erosion. “I did not know where I was going at first but Dr. Windmon recommended [the project] to me,” said Alice. She was able to replicate ocean waves and Florida soil by creating an experimental set up. To test the effect of the acidification of coastal erosion, she used a baby rocker to mimic waves. On the baby rocker were tubes containing water at different pH values and rocks found on the Florida coastline. She then looked at how long it took for the rocks to erode. “Nothing goes right the first time. I kept on searching and hoping to perfect the method when all I needed to do was start it, make mistakes and try again,” said Alice.