Since I study what happens to pollutants in the coastal ocean, my maps focused on how the landscape impacts coastal waters, particularly in term of the ecological system. In my initial map, I addressed how climate affects rainfall and groundwater and, by interacting with the landscape, can carry particulates into the estuary and, eventually, coastal waters. These particulates -- which include nutrients, pollution, organic matter and other particles -- can have both good and bad impacts: e.g., the right amount of nutrients can support healthy ecosystem growth but an overabundance of nutrients can lead to "dead zones."

After working with the educators, we reconstructed our map to delineate "Human Impact" from the "Natural Landscape." Both of these contribute to organic and inorganic particles in water; however, our group map is designed to clearly separate "harmful" from "not harmful" impacts. In addition, our group map shows that streams and groundwater not only contribute to estuaries and rivers, but also the "Local Water Supply" which directly impacts people.