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PROJECT SNAPSHOTS: Peek Into Coastal North Carolina Research

Climate

What do shifts in the global climate mean for our state?

Child walking on marsh bank

Jun 7, 2019

Sea Science: Which Wetlands Will Survive?

Sea level rise. Human development. Sediment deposits. Wave energy. All affect coastal wetlands, but to what extent? New research suggests all marshes have tipping points.
Malinda Maynor Lowery

Mar 15, 2019

From the Courthouse Steps to Climate Change: How Lumbee History Can Inform New Social and Environmental Dialogue

The Lumbee tribe remains the largest east of the Mississippi and among the largest in the United States, living on its original homelands and maintaining a distinct identity and sense of community. Malinda Maynor Lowery’s The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle weaves together the histories of indigenous peoples and Europeans in America.
Lichen Thallus

Mar 15, 2019

Hiding in Plain Sight

Along the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain, northeastern North Carolina stands out as a hotspot for lichen biodiversity.

Nov 8, 2018

Advancing Community Collaborations

Three new partnerships are growing, thanks to funding from the North Carolina Community Collaborative Research Grant Program, or CCRG. Topics include flood risks and emerging contaminants, as well as new tourism opportunities that capitalize on dark skies.
John Fear and Susan White working together at table

Sep 1, 2018

Coastal Connections: Adapting to Climate Change

The American Society of Adaptation Professionals has recognized John Fear, deputy director of North Carolina Sea Grant and the state’s Water Resources Research Institute, and Holly White, principal planner for the Town of Nags Head.
A pier overlooking the ocean

Aug 13, 2018

The Long View

In fact, climate adaptation is official business in Nags Head. In 2015, the town launched a new project called FOCUS Nags Head, an effort to overhaul its land use policies and ordinances. Last summer, the town completed the project’s first phase: a comprehensive plan that explicitly addresses climate change and sea level rise.

Aug 13, 2018

RISING: Perspectives of Change on the North Carolina Coast

What are the experiences and adaptation strategies of people living on the front lines of coastal change? How might the stories of residents, business owners, commercial fishermen, farmers and community leaders offer insight into the manifold threats facing coastal communities? Can they transcend political discourse and offer a new perspective — one that captures the natural, cultural and economic consequences of change? How do their experiences affect perceptions of the future?
Three maps showing how land and water issues are affecting coastal systems.

Dec 15, 2017

Unraveling Mysteries of Ghost Forests

Far from being frighteningly fun, ghost forests are a growing concern along much of the East Coast. In North Carolina, they are increasingly common along the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in the rural eastern part of the state.
Highway 12 on the Outer Banks. Credit: NCDOT.

Dec 1, 2017

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON THE OUTER BANKS

Sitting outside a restaurant in Duck, North Carolina, a great partnership was expanded over a meal of local seafood in the fall of 2015.
image: aerial view of waterfront marina in Southport, NC.

Dec 1, 2017

PROJECT SNAPSHOTS: Peek Into Coastal North Carolina Research

“What is North Carolina Sea Grant?” I field that question whenever people ask about my job. “We support marine and coastal research in North Carolina,” is my usual response. There’s more than that, of course.