Fall 2021

More From Fall 2021

From the Executive Director: A Season of Variety and Opportunity

The start of a new school year brings excitement and adjustments. September marks the end of summer vacations, even if many people this year remained at home or nearby as the pandemic continues.

This Wet and Water Loving Land

Bland Simpson, North Carolina's oft-honored voice of our state’s coast, has written a new tribute to our state, titled North Carolina: Land of Water, Land of Sky. We’re delighted to provide these short excerpts that capture just a few of his book’s many flavors -- a blend of personal and collective history as only he can tell it.

An aerial view of Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks.

Model Behavior

Drawing on lifeguard expertise and artificial intelligence, researchers are improving rip current forecasting for beachgoers nationwide.

Aerial view of a North Carolina salt marsh fringing the upland forest. At the boundary, notice the dead and dying trees. This ghost forest is evidence of salt marsh transgression. Clockwise from the boat, researchers include Joshua Himmelstein, Antonio Rodriguez, Naomi Nice, Yasamin Sharifi, and Molly Bost. Photo: Joshua Himmelstein

Digging Up a Stormy Past

Sediment samples hundreds of years old reveal how hurricanes and nor’easters affect the landward migration of salt marshes.

New Links in the Sea-to-Table Chain: The North Carolina Local Food Council Responds in the Pandemic’s Darkest Hour

The loss of restaurant and other food service markets shook the commercial fishing industry to its core in the first half of 2020.

Currents: Invasion on the Mudflats

New research reveals the impact of the invasive seaweed Gracilaria on hard clams and other intertidal bottom-dwellers.

Coastwatch Classroom: The Watershed Wisdom Lesson Plan

As the pandemic continues to affect K-12 learning models, several thousand North Carolina teachers, students, and others already have accessed the free Watershed Wisdom online lesson plan.

Crab Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Credit: Vanda Lewis.

Mariner’s Menu: Fall Favorites

Enjoy four new savory specials this fall.

Sea Science: The Ever-Expanding Brains of Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks

This shark’s brain never stops growing throughout its entire life, especially the regions responsible for motor control and sense of smell.

Fisherman pauses for a moment to watch the sun set from Oceanna Fishing Pier in Atlantic Beach.

Hook, Line & Science

Southern flounder move offshore to spawn, but their migration patterns might be more mysterious than we thought.

Naturalist’s Notebook: Do Water Snakes Get Thirsty?

A research team enters swampy terrain to hand-capture snakes and measure the reptiles' sensitivity to dehydration.

Coastal Tidings: Do Ghost Forests Perpetuate Global Warming?