NC Sea Grant/NC WRRI Fund New Research Projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Rhett Register, 919-515-1092, rregister@ncsu.edu
John Fear, 919-515-9104, jmfear@ncsu.edu

Posted Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014

North Carolina Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system jointly provide competitive funding for projects that explore current water resource and coastal issues in North Carolina. Three projects were chosen for funding in 2014.

“These projects address the noted focus areas, and simultaneously meet the organizational priorities of both WRRI and NCSG. They also all include a thorough outreach plan, helping ensure that the data and products generated from these projects will have broad applicability,” notes John Fear, deputy director of both programs.

“Drought Resilience: An Integrative Project” will create video and online modules that educate audiences about water resources management and conservation. Lucy Laffitte, UNC-TV, is the principal investigator. Michele Drostin, Dana Haine and Kathleen Gray, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment, are co-principal investigators.

“Land Application of Aquaculture Effluents To Prevent Surface Water Eutrophication and Promote Groundwater Re-Infiltration in Coastal North Carolina” will build and test a system that diverts wastewater from land-based aquaculture to woody biomass production. Harry Daniels, North Carolina State University, is the principal investigator. Elizabeth Guthrie Nichols and Dennis W. Hazel, also from NC State, are the co-principal investigators.

“Coastal Groundwater Watch” involves citizen scientists. They will help develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to assess the potential effects of a progressively shallower water table caused by rising sea level. Alex Manda, principal investigator, and Tom Allen, co-principal investigator, are both from East Carolina University.

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