model has been tested since 1987 to 

 successfully predict that two out- 

 breaks of the red tide would not reach 

 North Carolina shores, Pietrafesa 

 says. 



Inland, the satellites have helped 

 researchers understand the dynamics 

 of coastal flooding, particularly in the 

 Albemarle and Pamlico sounds where 

 people need plenty of time to evacu- 

 ate remote areas. 



"When you have a storm in this 

 area, how do you know when to 

 evacuate?" Pietrafesa asks. "Who do 

 you evacuate first? And is it really 

 going to flood high enough to cause a 

 problem anyway? If you don't make 

 the right forecast, then people can die. 

 If you overforecast, you create 

 panic." 



Pietrafesa says research, funded in 

 part by Sea Grant, has shown how 

 wind and tides move water in and 

 through the sounds, and how acts of 

 nature can flood the fragile estuarine 

 systems. This effort is being touted as 

 one of the best examples of coopera- 

 tion between university researchers 

 and forecasters for the National 

 Weather Service to serve the public, 

 he says. 



The satellite technology also has 

 important fisheries applications 

 because changes in the water play 

 key roles in the natural fluctuations of 

 fish stocks — their recruitment, 

 distribution, abundance and vulner- 

 ability to harvesting. 



Understanding the currents and 

 sea-surface temperatures can help 

 locate schools of tuna or salmon and 

 can assist in tracking the movement 

 of fish eggs and larvae that associate 

 with certain kinds of water. Again, 

 satellites are used to supplement field 

 research. 



Studies locally have shown that if 

 Virginia waters are driving into 

 Pamlico Sound with a northeast wind, 

 then fish larvae enter the system 

 through Oregon Inlet, Pietrafesa says. 

 Under opposite wind conditions, 



larvae enter through the Hatteras or 

 Ocracoke inlets further south. And 

 while the tide can carry them in and 

 out of the sounds, a persistent wind 

 will push them in and override the 

 outward tidal pull. 



Experts agree that these evolving 

 capabilities of satellite technology, 

 combined with conventional data- 

 collection techniques, are a powerful 



The tried-and-true methods 

 are stile the best gauges 

 for temperature. salinity and 

 speed of currents 

 below the sdrface. 

 which can tell researchers 

 adoot the originating point 

 of a water mas 



tool for ensuring the wise use of 

 living marine resources. 



"Ultimately, this (technology) is 

 pointed toward understanding what 

 the true energy balance of the earth is 

 — if we are going to understand 

 whether there's going to be global 

 warming or global cooling or where 



mm 



mam 



EXPERTS AGREE THAT THESE 

 EVULVING CAPABILITIES OF 

 SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY. 

 COMDINED WITH CONVENTIONAL 

 DATA- COLLECTION TECHNIQUES. 

 ARE A POWERFDL TDOL 

 FOR ENSDRING THE WISE USE DF 

 ING MARINE RESDDRCES. 



we are in the overall heating or 

 cooling cycle of the earth," Pietrafesa 

 says. "We need to understand the 

 present if we are going to understand 

 what lies ahead." E 



COASTWATCH 



