planted in stands not only slowed ero- 

 sion, but actually regained lost ground. 

 But plantings don't always work. In 

 some "high-energy" areas, where 

 waves are especially frequent or in- 

 tense, the grasses never get a foothold. 

 In 1980, Seneca and Broome will con- 

 tinue to watch their test plantings and 

 will try to pin down the relationship 

 between wave energy and the growth 

 of grasses. 



Understanding shoreline erosion, 

 and many other coastal processes, is 

 largely a matter of understanding the 

 movement of water. Sea Grant 

 researchers Ernie Knowles, Bob 

 Weisberg, Len Pietrafesa and Jerry 

 Janowitz, all of NCSU, are using 

 sophisticated meters and wave- 

 monitoring gear to measure and record 

 waves and water circulation in North 

 Carolina sounds. 



In 1979, the researchers collected 

 enough data to conclude that their 

 methods are accurate. In 1980, they 

 will formulate ways to predict how 

 water, under the influence of weather, 

 circulates in the sounds, carrying its 

 load of salt, sediment, nutrients and 

 contaminants. 



One of the studies will generate an 

 atlas of the state's sounds, showing 

 areas susceptible to flooding, and map- 

 ping zones in which marsh-grass 

 plantings might help control erosion. 



Knowles and Weisberg are also rig- 

 ging equipment for the ocean, trying to 

 determine what effect the Gulf Stream 

 has on the state's wave climate. In the 



past, standard wave-prediction for- 

 mulas were applied to problems like 

 erosion, pollution and marine con- 

 struction. But these models didn't ade- 

 quately take into account the Gulf 

 Stream, which Knowles and Weisberg 

 suspect may weaken or otherwise alter 

 wave energy off North Carolina. The 

 new data will be useful to communities 

 trying to solve coastal problems and 

 will help them develop more effective 

 plans for the management of their 

 resources. 



Currents 



As Knowles and Weisberg are study- 

 ing the ocean's surface, Tom Curtin 

 and Yates Sorrell are looking under the 

 waves to find out what's happening 

 with underwater currents. Curtin and 

 Sorrell, both of NCSU, have built and 

 lab-tested an electro-magnetic sensor 

 that they believe will help them 

 measure and record movements of sea 

 water near the shore. The researchers 

 expect to launch a working model near 

 Duck this winter. If it survives rough 

 seas, they will float three or four in the 

 water and begin collecting data this 

 spring or summer. The researchers 

 believe the data will help scientists and 

 engineers track pollution, understand 

 the mixing of nutrients in the currents, 

 and design better marine structures. 



ORVs 



For those who use off-road vehicles 



to follow the fish, or just to let off 

 steam, North Carolina's coastal 

 terrain has been almost irresistable. 

 But as the traffic multiplies, so does 

 public concern: from opponents, who 

 feel ORVs are defacing the landscape, 

 and from supporters, who resent hav- 

 ing their driving restricted. 



As the debate roars on, Sea Grant's 

 Paul Hosier, of the University of 

 North Carolina at Wilmington, has 

 been carefully studying the beaches for 

 hard evidence to show exactly what ef- 

 fect ORVs have on the coast. 



Hosier has found that ORV traffic 

 can indeed strip vegetation from 

 dunes, marshes and grasslands. Just a 

 few passes from a vehicle can kill 

 grasses that need years to recover. 

 And, as ground is bared and compact- 

 ed, damage continues to underground 

 stems and roots. All this can spell 

 erosion. 



In 1980, Hosier will continue to 

 measure the impact of ORVs at test 

 sites in Nags Head and at two national 

 seashores, Cape Hatteras and Cape 

 Lookout. He will also try to identify 

 ways drivers and communities might 

 keep ORV damage to a minimum. 



Off-road driving is not the only sort 

 of recreation booming in North 

 Carolina. Sport and tournament 

 fishing attract thousands to the state's 

 coast each year. But little is known 

 about the recreational fishermen and 

 their sport: Where are they from? How 

 much do they spend on a fishing trip? 

 What do they do with their catches? 



Photo by J. Foster Scott 



Visitors pick their way through debris on a beach near Oregon Inlet, where, in 1979, heavy winter seas eroded 

 shorelines, stranding uprooted vegetation 



