Janneza Miranda

Title of Work: Research on Paleoceanography in Southern Africa and on French Culture

Abstract:

During my time abroad, I worked on two different research projects. The first project was a research internship in paleoceanography. With the help of my professor, we analyzed the chemical composition of sediment from the ocean floor. The sample of sediment was taken from a small river in the south of Africa. The importance of this little river is that it is situated on the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ creates the dry seasons and wet seasons due to the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres coming together. When looking at the ITCZ in regards to Africa, it is the main reason for there being a rainforest in Africa along with well defined savanna. Over time, climate change has changed the climate of Africa by making longer dry seasons and wet seasons which creates more flooding and drought in Africa.

The purpose of analyzing the sediment samples from the small river was to find more information on how climate change is affecting the ITCZ in the south of Africa. If we understand how the climate has naturally changed, then we can predict how the climate is going to change in the future and prepare to start adapting to those changes. The second project was research on French culture and history. I traveled to multiple cities in France and learned about each city’s culture and history through visiting museums, interacting with the citizens and attending events. The goal of this research was to understand the cultural differences of France and to be able to identify comparisons between different region’s culture and history in France.

Title of Work (IGP Language): La recherche de Paléocéanographie et sur la culture française

Abstract (IGP Language):

Pendant mon séjour à bordeaux, en france, j'ai travaillé sur deux projets de recherches. Le premier projet était le stage de recherche de la paléo-océanographie. Avec l'aide de mon professeur, nous avons analysé la composition chimique des sédiments du fond marin. Les échantillons de sédiments avaient été pris dans une petite rivière dans l'Afrique du Sud. L'importance de la petite rivière est qu'elle est située sur la zone de convergence intertropicale (ITCZ). La ITCZ crée une saison sèche et une saison mouillée dûes à l'alizé de l'hémisphère du nord et du sud. Quand on regarde la ITCZ vers l'Afrique, la ITCZ est la première raison pour la forêt tropicale en Afrique. Avec le temps, le changement climatique a changé le climat de l’Afrique avec une plus longue saison sèche ou une plus longue saison mouillée qui crée trop d'inondations ou crée une plus longue période de sécheresse. Le but de l'analyse des sédiments de la petite rivière est de trouver plus d'information de comment le changement climatique affecte la ITCZ dans le sud d'Afrique. Si nous comprenons comment le climat changeait naturellement dans le passé, nous pouvons prévoir comment le climat va changer dans le futur et nous préparer à nous adapter au changement climatique.

Le deuxième projet était la recherche de la culture et histoire française. J'ai voyagé dans plusieurs villes en France et appris de la ville à travers des visites aux musées, j’ai interagi avec les citoyens et je me suis jointe à des événements. Le but de la recherche était de comprendre la différence de culture de la France en comparaison avec la culture des Etats-Unis.

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript:

When I look at an image of me a year ago and look at a more recent photo of me, I see two different people with new identities, a new sense of confidence, and a new perspective on life. Before I went abroad for IGP, I could not comprehend how big the world is, how many people there are, how many different cultures there are, and how everything I know is a small piece of the world. The trip abroad formed into a new person, with a new perspective on life, and a new understanding on how many opportunities there are out there. During my time abroad, I was not only able to experience French culture first hand, but I was also able to work within a paleoceanography lab, which helped expose me to a brand new study I had no idea of. The research I did was with the University of Bordeaux which involved scanning columns of sediments taken from a river in South Africa, with the main goal being getting the chemical composition of the soil, which gives us history on the precipitation and climate of the area. The study is important because as climate change is occurring and a heat wave, this research is important to the South of Africa because we are able to predict what could occur in the next year, and help implement new technologies to help the citizens of South Africa to help adapt to the new change. I’m excited to share what I have learned through my research and experience to all of you, and I hope I can spark the same curiosity in you that helped me get through IGP.

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