In 1983, North Carolina had a wet 

 spring and dry summer. The bloom- 

 prone Neuse and Chowan rivers were 

 coated with algae. Further north, the 

 Potomac blossomed in view of the 

 White House and the capitol. 



After that summer, many scientists 

 believed the blooms were related to 

 the pace of the river. They surmised 

 that when river flows dropped, the 

 blue-greens had plenty of time to float 

 to the surface and bloom. 



But Paerl had some doubts about 

 that theory. 



"The river just doesn't behave that 

 simplistically," he says. 



The summers of 1985 and 1986 

 proved him right. 



They were dry, and the Neuse River 

 was nearly stagnant. Yet no bloom 

 appeared. 



Paerl says the missing element was a 

 strong dose of nutrients. Nitrogen and 

 phosphorus levels are always high in 

 the Neuse River because of effluent 

 from sewage treatment plants and 

 normal runoff, but spring runoff 

 makes the levels "super high," he says. 



It takes the super high levels to nur- 

 ture the blue-green algae. 



Maps used to predict flood heights 

 from storms and hurricanes do not 

 consider erosion, says Spencer Rogers, 

 Sea Grant's coastal engineer. 



Rogers has written a report. Coastal 

 Erosion Issues in Flood Hazard Map- 

 ping, that describes present deficien- 

 cies in flood maps, types of erosion 

 and how erosion rates can be incorpo- 

 rated into these maps. 



Without the inclusion of erosion, 

 present flood maps distort public per- 

 ception of storm risk, underestimate 

 the potential for insurance claims and 

 result in inadequate flood plain man- 

 agement regulations. 



For a copy of the report, write Rog- 

 ers at Box 130, Kure Beach, N.C. 28449. 



A drive through any coastal town 

 will tell you there's more to lodging 

 these days than hotels and motels. 



Bed and breakfast establishments 

 offer visitors an opportunity to stay in 



local homes with hosts who are native 

 to the area. And it's a way for home- 

 owners to make a profit on spare 

 rooms. 



If you're thinking of starting a bed 

 and breakfast, Sea Grant has a publica- 

 tion that will help. Opening a Bed and 

 Breakfast describes the investments, 

 regulations, reservation and schedul- 

 ing system, and rate structure you 

 should consider before making your 

 home a bed and breakfast business. 



For a copy, write Sea Grant. Ask for 

 UNC-SG-84-03. The cost is $1. 



Coastwatch is published monthly 

 except July and December by the 

 University of North Carolina Sea 

 Grant College Program, 105 1911 Build- 

 ing, Box 8605, North Carolina State 

 University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 

 Vol. 13. No. 9, October 1986. Dr. B.J. 

 Copeland, director. Kathy Hart, edi- 

 tor. Nancy Davis and Sarah Friday, 

 staff writers. 



aiASTWATCll 



105 1911 Building 

 Box 8605 



North Carolina State University 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605 



Nonprofit Organization 

 U. S. Postage 

 PAID 



Raleigh, N.C. 

 Permit No. 896 



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