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 Home | Image Galleries | Emergency Response
Mearns Rock Time Series
A photo time series of Mearns Rock, a large boulder located in the intertidal zone at Snug Harbor on Knight Island, Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Click on an image below to see the full image.
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Mearns Rock 1990
(07.01.90, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Mearns Rock in 1990 is partially submerged and covered in Fucus (algae).
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Mearns Rock 1991
(07.01.91, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) The entire boulder is covered with gold-brown Fucus in 1991.
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Mearns Rock 1992
(07.01.92, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 1992, the boulder is about 50% covered with larger, older seaweed (mainly Fucus).
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Mearns Rock 1993
(07.01.93, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In mid-1993, Fucus covers about 20% of the boulder's surface.
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Mearns Rock 1994
(07.01.94, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 1994, Fucus has completely left the boulder, leaving it dominated by mussels and scattered barnacles.
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Mearns Rock 1995
(07.01.95, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Fucus is making a comeback on the 1995 Mearns Rock.
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Mearns Rock 1996
(07.01.96, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 1996, a second "wave" of recovery has clearly taken hold.
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Mearns Rock 1997
(07.01.97, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 1997, the boulder is once again almost covered with the seaweed Fucus.
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Mearns Rock 1998
(07.01.98, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Adult Fucus and a filamentous algae cover the boulder in 1998.
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Mearns Rock 1999
(07.01.99, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) The boulder's second crop of Fucus has matured and, in 1999, nearly covers the boulder.
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Mearns Rock 2000
(07.01.00, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) A heavy cover of a grayish, slimy seaweed has joined the Fucus in 2000.
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Mearns Rock 2001
(07.01.01, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 2001, the boulder is still covered by both old and young Fucus plants, other algae, barnacles, as well as small mussels.
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Mearns Rock 2002
(07.01.02, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 2002, the boulder is dominated by barnacles!
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Mearns Rock 2003
(07.01.03, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) In 2003, young Fucus and mussels have not colonized the rock, as we expected.
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Mearns Rock 2004
(07.01.04, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) The 2004 boulder has a heavy covering of young Fucus plants, and barnacle density remains high, but no mussels are visible.
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Mearns Rock 2005
(07.01.05, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Conditions in 2005 are very similar to 2004.
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Mearns Rock 2006
(07.01.06, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Conditions in 2006 are quite changed from 2005, particularly in the "saddle" area of the boulder.
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Mearns Rock 2007
(07.01.07, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Conditions in 2007 are dramatically different than any previous year, since 1991.
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Mearns Rock 2008
(07.01.08, Snug Harbor, Knight Island, Alaska) Almost all of the large Fucus plants covering the rock in 2007 are now gone.
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| Related Pages on Our Site |
- Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Overview of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Includes links to many related resources, including photo galleries.
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- Graphing Changes in Marine Life Abundance Try your hand at some marine biology! Follow these steps, designed for middle and high school students, to make a study of the marine life occupying a section, or quadrat, of Mearns Rock.
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- Mearns Rock Time Series How does marine life recover from a major, one-time stress, such as an oil spill? As you will learn here, the answer is not simple.
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- Northwest Bay Study Site Photos of one of our study sites, a rocky beach on an islet in Northwest Bay, shortly after high-pressure, hot-water washing in 1989, and again in 1998.
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- Response to the Exxon Valdez Spill Within hours after the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, a team of NOAA OR&R scientists arrived on-scene.
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