A little rain doesn't bother Jacky

A small cave offers shelter from the rain and a glimpse at ancient ripples

These shallow seas swallow up old dunes

Roger and Billy hike along the margins of a fossilized dune

The surface of a dead Elkhorn coral is the perfect place for many encrusting organisms to make homes

Serpulid worms colonize the surface of a dead elkhorn coral

Some organisms bore deep vertical chambers into the dead corals

Roger takes a moment to enjoy the hike

Lesser starlet coral (Siderastrea radians) establishes a foothold in a shallow sandy environement

Green algae and sea grass are common in these shallow environments

A cushion sea star (Oreaster reticulatus) makes its way across the algal flats

Another rocky hike for the team

The team takes a closer look at carbonate cements that seem to drip downwards from an interesting layer

Crossbedded sands cover up an extensively burrowed unit

Burrows with fecal pellet lined walls (Ophiomorpha)

Roger flies the drone while Jacky serves as spotter

Spectacular light from the evening sun shines on rocks that formed when sea level was higher than today

Still having a good time after a long day of hiking and work

A drone captures the team surveying an ancient shoreline

A drone captures the team surveying an ancient shoreline

A drone captures the team surveying an ancient shoreline

Large caves form inside fossilized dunes

Rainwater bypasses the roof of this cave

In a sudden chilly downpour, the ocean provides warmth

The colors are unreal just as the rainstorm passes

Brain coral (Pseudodiploria sp.) from a time with higher sea level

Brain coral (Pseudodiploria sp.) from a time with higher sea level

The team finishes collecting data as the sun sets (and the mosquitos swarm)

A coarse sand wave marches slowly over the algal flats

A very very buggy sunset

Roger and Jacky enjoying a morning boat ride

Jacky takes some notes while standing on a deposit of rounded cobbles

Billy and Jacky taking notes while standing on an ancient beach in front of an ancient dune

Billy operating the GPS

The team stands on top of an old coral reef

Carbonate sands buried this ancient reef

A finger coral (Porites sp.) colony pokes out of the sand

Roger manages the GPS while Billy takes some notes

The dissolution and precipiation of calcite cements paints the surface of the rock red

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Ancient dunes tower over the the tidal channels of Turtle Sound

Billy and Jacky standing in the entrance to a large series of caves

The professor deep in thought

Billy returns from a short scouting trip

The team scrambles to protect the electronics as a sudden downpour begins

The team wades through sandflats to get to the outcrop

The team surveying a small coral reef that grew on the flanks of an ancient dune

These rocks were once an old sand dune. Caves that formed in the rock are exposed today along the coastal cliffs

If you plan to hike along the coastline, bring good boots for the sharp rocks

Jacky hikes along the top of an old coral reef

Worm snails (Vermetids) and other encrusting organisms growing together

An Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) tries again and an Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) keeps watch

Symmetric brain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa)

Relatively recent (early Holocene) dunes sinking into the sea

Bubbles nucleate as waves on this beach drive air into the sand

Large constructional terraces form in the surf zone

Most of the terrace is constructed by worm snails (vermetids)

Roger Creel standing on a terrace that has been constructed by countless worm snails (Vermetids)

Constructional terraces beneath a modern tidal notch in a fossilized coastal dune

Constructional terraces beneath a modern tidal notch in a fossilized coastal dune

Constructional terraces beneath a modern tidal notch in an fossilized coastal dune

Constructional terraces beneath a modern tidal notch in an fossilized coastal dune

The team at work

Roger Creel piloting the drone

Fossilized deposit of a constructional terrace from a time when sea level was higher

Large coastal dunes waiting to join their fossilized neighbors

Billy and Roger in search of old tidal notches

Water drips through this old sea cave and leaves behind some new carbonate

Old sea caves are widespread throughout the Bahamas

As the dunes erode away, a reef forms on the left behind rocks

A sandy beach has transformed into these rocks in just a few thousand years

Billy and Jacky climb to the top of a fossilized dune for a better view

Roger eats a sandwich while the team crosses a broken bridge

The perfect beach?

Making friends

Fossilized deposit of a constructional terrace from a time when sea level was higher

The start of a 2.5 mile (3.8 km) morning commute

Jacky stands atop a fossilized dune while Roger blends into the boulders below

The rocky southern point of Long Island, Bahamas

A natural arch forms in this fossilized dune

Ancient corals hide in the pocket between dune ridges

Clouds loom over the blue-green Caribbean and a pink-red salt pond

A sample is collected as Jacky surveys the ancient reef

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Between two ridges of an ancient dune, a modern pocket beach sits on an ancient pocket beach

This horizontal notch in an ancient dune was carved by the tides when sea level was higher