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Soul of the Soil

Emerging Contaminants

image: view from inside a well.

Jul 10, 2025

PFAS, Arsenic, and Trade-Offs

A bedrock well is the most cost-effective option.
Austin Gray with a student conducting fieldwork at a creek.

Jun 9, 2025

A New World for Microbes

Former Sea Grant fellow Austin Gray is exploring what happens when microbes meet microplastics.
image: Falls Lake under the stars.

Mar 31, 2025

Safeguarding Water

A new approach to watershed health protects the Falls Lake drinking water supply for 500,000 North Carolina residents.
image: algal bloom, aerial view.

Mar 31, 2025

Guide to Coastal Living

How can we avoid harmful algal blooms?
image: discarded plastic.

Mar 26, 2025

PET Predators

Chemical and biomolecular engineer Nathan Crook and Student Tianyu Li at NC State University are developing a microorganism that can break down and absorb plastic waste.

Dec 16, 2024

The 2024 NC Coastal Conference in Review

The 2024 North Carolina Coastal Conference on November 13 and 14 in New Bern brought together over 330 coastal enthusiasts for insightful presentations and discussions about the future of North…

Oct 16, 2024

Coastwatch Classroom

Adaptability for different ages and classroom environments is an important feature of Stream Watch’s lesson plans, honed for students in kindergarten to grade 2, grades 3 to 5, and grades 6 to 8. 

Oct 16, 2024

Mapping the Impacts of North Carolina’s Poultry Industry 

How might poultry farms, raising anywhere from 20,000 to 1.5 million chickens at a time, affect nearby communities? How do concentrated animal feeding operations and their waste, an estimated 2.5 billion pounds annually for chickens alone, impact our state’s waterways? How has the rapid expansion of this industry over the last few decades compounded these problems?

Oct 16, 2024

Plastic from the Mountains to the Sea

Researchers and community members join forces on plastic pollution in North Carolina.

Jun 30, 2024

Soul of the Soil

As the waters of the Cape Fear River Basin weave through the North Carolina Piedmont down into the Coastal Plains, they pass power plants, hog and poultry farms, paper mills, landfills, textile mills, agricultural farms, and more. These facilities mark the Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water for 500,000 residents and is the most industrialized in the state.