Water

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • Casting New Light on Ocean Acidity

    That’s a pteropod. No bigger than a pea, it’s very sensitive to acidity levels in seawater. New research conducted at the Duke Marine Lab suggests that these sea butterflies and other marine animals could be in for a tough future.

  • How Much Freshwater Can a Swamp Take?

    That’s the main question being asked about two proposed quarries that will dump almost 24 million gallons a day of freshwater into brackish, blackwater creeks.

  • AMOC, ocean currents, sea-level rise

    Seas Rising Faster Along Northern Outer Banks

    Amid the ongoing debate in the state legislature over sea-level rise comes new government research that indicates that the sea is rising north of Cape Hatteras faster than in any other place in the world.