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Science
Friday > Archives
> 2001
> May
> May 4, 2001:
Hour Two: North Carolina Coastal Issues
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North Carolina's shoreline would extend for about 4,000 miles
if it were all stretched out straight. Those miles contain a wide
range of habitats, and are essential to North Carolina's economy.
Commercial and recreational fisheries, such as the annual blue
crab harvest of some 60 million pounds, contribute a billion dollars
a year to the state economy. Beyond that, over 40 million people
visit the state every year, spending around twelve billion dollars
-- a good deal of which is spent along the state's famous shores.
But just how healthy is the coastal environment in North Carolina?
It is estimated that North Carolina has already lost 34 percent
of its coastal wetlands, including critical fisheries habitat.
Flooding from hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, and Irene have dumped
nutrients and freshwater into the normally salty water of area
estuaries, affecting living conditions there. And possible climate
changes may mean more trouble for area habitats. The state is
currently developing Coastal Habitat Protection Plans (CHHPs),
involving all coastal river basins, sounds and the ocean.
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North Carolina Coast, as seen by SeaWiFS.
(Image provided by the SeaWiFS Project,
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and
ORBIMAGE.
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As in other parts of the country, the push to develop near the beaches
is affecting the coasts. Erosion, flooding, and attempts to control
the power of the ocean through walls, weirs, groins, and jetties are
important concerns for coastal residents. In this special hour of Science
Friday, live from Raleigh, North Carolina, we'll take a look at some
of the issues affecting the coasts of North Carolina, from shifting
sands to the threat of global warming.
| We'll also talk about a a tiny toxic microbe called
Pfiesteria. First identified in 1988, this organism has likely
been living in coastal waters for thousands of years -- but recent
changes to its habitat, mainly through over-enrichment of estuarine
waters, has made the organism turn deadly. In the past 10 years,
Pfiesteria has killed millions of fish in North Carolina's
coastal waters. Other related toxic algal blooms have been found
along the coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf coast. We'll find
out about this unusual organism, its complex life cycle, and how
it could change from harmless to harmful so easily. |
Pfiesteria star amoeboid stage, one
of many
stages in its complex life cycle.
image courtesy Center for Applied
Aquatic Ecology, NC State University
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Join us in Raleigh for the broadcast. If you can't do that, call in
with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions
online in our Listeners'
Lounge (registration
required)
Guests:
Larry Crowder
Stephen B. Toth Professor, Marine Biology
Nicholas School
of the Environment Marine Laboratory
Duke University
Beaufort, North Carolina
JoAnn Burkholder
Director, Center for Applied Aquatic
Ecology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
Tom Drake
Assistant Professor, Marine, Earth,
and Atmospheric Sciences
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
Orrin Pilkey
Director, Program
for the Study of Developed Shorelines
James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
NOAA
Coastal Shoreline Website
Coastal Habitat Protection
Programs
North
Carolina Coastal Management
EPA
Global Warming: State Impacts - North Carolina
National
Park Service - Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Reports
Pfiesteria.org: Center
for Applied Aquatic Ecology
WHOI: Red Tide and Harmful
Algal Blooms
Harmful
Algal Blooms
North
Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
North
Carolina Coastal Federation
Carolina
Coastal Science on Science Junction
North
Carolina Watershed Coalition
Duke
University Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS)
Duke
Marine Laboratory Home Page
NCSU
Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
New
York Times: After the Storm, an Ecological Bomb
This segment produced by: Karin
Vergoth
Web Producer: Charles
Bergquist
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