MBHS students present glacial deposit data at Bowdoin College

From left to right: Dan Lesko, Becky Close, Max Kay and Sam MacIntosh (class of 2015). North Kay (class of 2012), Sarah Wade, Anja Nordstrom and Hanna Deon (class of 2014). (Photos courtesy of Patti Millette)

BRUNSWICK - On Wednesday, July 25, eight students from Mt Blue High School gave a poster session presentation for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) conference at Bowdoin College.

Students in Patti Millette’s honors earth science class have been studying glacial deposits in New Sharon for the last four years. Students who gave the presentation represented three of the four groups, and showed the progression of their research as new evidence has been collected.

The first three years focused on deposits on the west side of Cape Cod Hill in New Sharon where students discovered that sediment mounds on the side of the hill were paleo-sand dunes, left over from the time when melting glaciers at the end of the Ice Age caused sea level rise as far inland as the New Sharon area and even farther north up the Sandy River Valley.

Students who spoke about this part of the research were North Kay, Anja Nordstrom, Sara Wade, and Hanna Deon.

The past year’s group (2001-2012) focused on deposits on the southeast side of the hill, and determined that they were probably drumlin or drumlin-like deposits. Data collected by the students suggest that the drumlins probably formed as the glaciers advanced south over the top of Cape Cod Hill and were left behind when the ice melted.

Students who presented the most recent data and conclusions included Dan Lesko, Becky Close, Max Kay, and Sam MacIntosh.

Hanna Deon (left) and North Kay (right) present their data.