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Spring 2023
image: researchers at work on a partially submerged shipwreck.

Spring 2023

The Mystery Ship Off Pappy Lane

Weeks of diving and mapping revealed a ship that had found its way from the turbulence of the Pacific Ocean to its final resting place at the bottom of the shallow, murky Pamlico Sound.

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More From Spring 2023

image: architectural design, Duffyfield neighborhood street view.

Resilience and Redevelopment in Duffyfield

After Hurricane Florence flooded an African American neighborhood with a long history of strength after adversity, a team of community leaders, researchers, and students has been working to restore housing and preserve community history.

Plant This Instead!

Deciding which plants to use for a foundation, privacy hedge, groundcover, or other landscaping project can be a challenge. Often, we use what we see growing in our region...
image: the Ricky Moore video shoot.

Mariner’s Menu: Lights, Camera, Crab Cakes

Mariner’s Menu, North Carolina Sea Grant’s popular online seafood guide, features blogger and photographer Vanda Lewis’s pictures with hundreds of recipes that Joyce Taylor developed. And now you can watch an expert prepare two Mariner’s Menu classics – as well as a brand new recipe.

Hook, Line & Science

As part of the world’s largest fish tagging program, anglers up and down the East Coast have played a key role in tracking the species’ movements — and you can help, too.
image: Alligator in the grass.

Emerging Contaminants: Why Do These Alligators Have Infections? 

A recent study of alligators in the Cape Fear River found they had elevated levels of 14 different per-and plyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in their blood serum, as well as clinical and genetic indicators of immune system effects.

Science and Social Media: Twitter and Red Tides

Red Tides occur when there is an overgrowth of Algae in coastal waters that depletes oxygen levels and releases toxins, which can be harmful to human health and sea life.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Vital Signs: The Hottest Ocean in Recorded History

Covering more than 70% of the earth, our global ocean has a very high heat capacity, and the top few meters of the ocean store as much heat as earth’s entire atmosphere. Ninety percent of global warming is occurring in the ocean...
image: NC Wildlife Gamelands sign.

Economic Impact: Wildlife Management Areas Support Local Businesses

New research shows how hunters, anglers, and boaters make significant contributions to the local and state economy.

3D Research: Who Wants to Look at a Dead Whale?

Marine Mammals travel long distances and sometimes can become stranded or die in locations that are difficult to reach. Drones and 3D photography pique curiosity about large marine animals that have died in remote areas.

Cultivating Coastal Waters: North Carolina’s ShellCast App Goes Regional

A digital tool for North Carolina's Shellfish growers soon will forecast last-minute lease closures in Florida and South Carolina, too.

News in Archeology: Neanderthals Cooked and Ate Crabs 90,000 Years Ago

Even cave dwellers loved seafood. Gruta De Figueira Brava, just south of Lisbon, contains rich deposits of shells and bones with much to tell us about the Neanderthals that lived there – especially about their meals.

Naturalist’s Notebook: Hurricanes, People, and Piping Plovers

A new study looked at the long-term mating habits of piping plovers before and after protective measures went into effect.

Healthy Ecosystems: How Much Ocean Floor Off the Southeast Coast Do Natural Reefs Occupy? 

Natural Reefs – often referred to more inclusively as “hard bottom” – are important habitat for Finfish, invertebrates, and other environmentally and economically important fauna. In fact, hard bottom is one of six types of habitat worthy of protection under the NC Coastal Habitat Protection Plan.
Boat

Safety Alert: Danger in the Air

Danger is in the air – and you can’t see or smell it. Many boaters already are aware of the importance of life jackets in avoiding tragedy, as well as how even small amounts of alcohol contribute to accidents on the water. But there’s also an invisible danger that can turn a boat outing deadly.
image: rip currents safety poster.

Rip Currents Safety

Share the poster — or print it out and put it up — and save a life.
NASA Image

Coastal Currents

North Carolina Space Grant is offering two opportunities to discover distant worlds — and much more — on one big weekend. On April 21, the NC Space Symposium will feature NASA experts and student research in Raleigh. That night and the next, the Statewide Star Party will take place.

Letter from the Executive Director

Spring is always a busy research season for North Carolina Sea Grant, with our team, faculty, and students across the state, as well as our coastal communities, working collaboratively to address coastal and watershed challenges and opportunities.