High amounts of acid can affect the con- 

 centration of dissolved metals that can, in turn, 

 harm organisms that live in the river, she adds. 



The sampling is part of a test run of the 

 new Elizabeth City State University research 

 vessel. Last spring, the National Marine 

 Sanctuaries transferred the 29-foot vessel to 

 Elizabeth City State. The Sanctuaries program 

 is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA). 



The ECSU Department of Geological, 

 Environmental and Marine Sciences (GEMS) 

 will use the vessel for habitat mapping and 

 monitoring, as well as restoration research 

 in waters of northeastern North Carolina and 

 southeastern Virginia. 



"We want to do more estuarine and wetland 

 research," says Francisco San Juan, GEMS 

 department chair. 'The boat will help us with 

 the research and allow undergraduate students 

 to get first-hand experience conducting research. 

 We also are trying to increase enrollment in the 

 department." 



Skills Training 



In 2000, ECSU began offering the Marine 

 Environmental Science major with four enrolled 

 students. Four years later, the program has 

 increased enrollment to 19 students. 



"At ECSU, there is a strong emphasis 

 beyond book learning," says Fischer. "We 

 are training undergraduates to get jobs in the 

 state or federal government. They can work as 

 technicians or go on to graduate school." 



As part of the program, students master 

 basic navigational skills, including tying knots, 

 taking samples and learning about safety 



issues. They also are conducting research on 

 the boat and in the Dismal Swamp, where they 

 use a half-mile boardwalk with an elevated 

 observational deck. 



"I have been fishing since I was 10," says 

 ECSU freshman Sean Hankinson of Elizabeth 

 City. "I wanted to study and be on the water 

 — and also be close to home." 



A water quality study involves the Pasquo- 

 tank River and Albemarle and Currituck sounds. 



"A lot of water quality research has been 

 done in the Pamlico Sound," says Fischer. 

 "Baseline information on water quality also is 

 needed in northeastern North Carolina and in 

 coastal Virginia, just to the north of the North 

 Carolina state line." 



Researchers are looking at agricultural 

 pesticides in the watershed, as well as effluents 

 or solids released by the reverse osmosis plant 

 on the Pasquotank River. The plant pumps 

 groundwater and then removes suspended and 

 dissolved solids. 



"We are looking for any traces of water 

 that is saltier than the river water," says Fischer. 

 "If the effluent water forms a pool or plume 

 within the river water, then fish, plants and other 

 organisms may avoid or not be able to live in 

 those areas of the river." 



NOA/V Support 



Through the NOAA Environmental 

 Entrepreneurship Program, ECSU is providing 

 support to officials developing North Carolina's 

 Coastal Habitat Protection Plan (CHPP), 

 including using remote sensory technology 

 to conduct research on wetlands, submerged 

 aquatic vegetation (SAV) and water quality. 



The entrepreneurship program awards grants to 

 minority-serving institutions to help them attract 

 underrepresented students in advanced academic 

 study and to foster job opportunities in the 

 NOAA-related sciences. 



ECSU's partners in the habitat mapping 

 project include the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

 (FWS), the Albemarle-Pamlico National 

 Estuary Program and the N.C. Department of 

 Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). 



"It is a good program," says ECSU senior 

 Reginald Bazemore of Windsor. "I have an 

 overwhelming interest in the water." 



Students are mapping and monitoring SAV 

 habitats in Albemarle and Currituck sounds, 

 Kitty Hawk Bay and Buzzard Bay, as well as in 

 Back Bay in Virginia. SAV species include wild 

 celery, redhead grass and widgeon grass. 



SAV is a critical habitat for fish and 

 shellfish, including red drum, speckled trout, 

 scallops, clams and blue crabs. Fischer says that 

 SAV needs clear water so that sunshine can reach 

 the plants. 



"With disturbance of the shoreline, you see 

 increased turbidity," says Fischer. "The amount 

 and health of SAV is a good indicator of water 

 quality." 



The data will be analyzed at the ECSU 

 remote sensing lab, where aerial photography 

 and spatial technologies such as Global 

 Positioning Systems (GPS) and satellite imagery 

 are being used to identify critical fish habitats 

 in the Albemarle Sound and the Chowan River 

 basin. 



To give students a first-hand look at SAV, 

 instructors took them in a blimp along the 

 northern shore of the Albemarle Sound. 



28 HOLIDAY 2004 



