Science

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    What Causes Dolphin, Whale Strandings?

    Experts debate what causes dolphins and whales to wash up on shores dead, like the three bottlenose dolphins that were stranded on Ocracoke Island during the winter of 2013-14.

  • Seals’ Appearance Is a Puzzle

    A mix of seal species is appearing on N.C. beaches with more and more frequency, but no one knows why. Could it be a consequence of a changing climate? One Duke University scientist is determined to find out.

  • Making the Unknown Known

    To prepare for possible wind-energy development, researchers are mapping the seafloor off the N.C. coast, a vast uncharted territory.

  • The Tropical Reefs of North Carolina?

    Prompted by the prospect of wind energy development off North Carolina’s coast, researchers are finding reefs with tropical fish and corals right off our coast.

  • Can the Cape Fear Take More Mercury?

    A researcher says the lower Cape Fear River, already impaired by mercury, can’t safely absorb the additional amount that will be discharged by a proposed cement plant.

  • Can You Hear Me Now?

    Experimental probes detect motion in sea turtle nests at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, giving park managers flexibility and the hatchlings a cell phone connection.

  • The State of the Sharks

    Some say sharks are endangered, others that great whites are on the surge. We take you on a shark research ship to learn what’s happening to our coast’s top predators.

  • The Plight of the Monarchs

    Soon the monarch butterflies will begin their fall migration along Eastern North Carolina. However, some experts say this keystone species is in serious trouble.

  • What’s in Those Oysters You’re Eating?

    A recent study takes a closer look at what’s accumulating in the oysters of Brunswick and New Hanover counties. In the first of two parts, we detail the research of a contaminant banned in Europe but commonly used here.

  • Is a Brown Tide Rising in N.C. Waters?

    Brown algae has fouled coastal waters from New York to Texas, killing shellfish and suffocating grass beds. So far North Carolina has been spared. Have we just been lucky or is it merely a matter of time?