UNC Sea Grant 



,^idfti] Carolina State Library 

 Raleigh 



January, 1981 



V 



coast Swatch 



Photo by Steve Murray 



At the eel farm, hundreds of baby eels squirm toward a meal specially 

 concocted to make them grow fat and healthy 



Mapping floods, 

 Weighing waves 



The North Carolina coast is a 

 complex creature, but one worthy 

 of understanding . From the 

 barrier islands to the estuaries, 

 from the seafood industry to the 

 marina business, questions con- 

 stantly crop up about our coast. 

 Some of the answers are simple, 

 but others require years of 

 research . 



In an attempt to mesh the need 

 for greater use of coastal resources 

 with a respect for environmental 

 needs. Sea Grant has funded 26 

 research, education and advisory 

 services projects by researchers at 

 seven universities. Twelve projects 

 are new to the program while 14 

 are continuing. 



Of all the forces nature brings to 

 bear in coastal North Carolina, none is 

 more dramatic than a hurricane. But 

 not since Hazel in 1954 has our coast 

 felt the brutal winds and surging 

 floodwaters of a major storm. The 

 threat of a hurricane makes com- 

 munities and officials apprehensive: 

 When a hurricane does strike, what 

 will it destroy? 



A new Sea Grant study beginning 

 this year is to pinpoint areas in coastal 

 North Carolina that are especially 

 vulnerable during storms. T. C. 

 Gopalakrishnan, an associate professor 

 of marine science at North Carolina 

 State University (NCSU), has already 

 begun studying data from Hazel. He 

 will use the data to project the extent 

 and impact of floodwaters under 

 Continued on next page 



