Research Experience for Undergraduates at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science
2016

A Continuing Study of the Water Quality in the Pasquotank Watershed in Northeastern North Carolina
Mentor: Mr. Jeffrey Wood
Keywords:water quality, Pasquotank, watershed, dissolved oxygen, pH, salt, conductivity, clarity, turbidity
Abstract
The Pasquotank River Watershed is found in Northeast North Carolina beginning in the Great Dismal Swamp at the Virginia/North Carolina border and flows into the Albemarle Sound. The watershed provides a transition between the Great Dismal Swamp and the waters of the Albemarle Sound. The watershed is surrounded by a variety of land forms including swamps, farmland, and suburban developments. These produce a variety of runoff’s into the watershed affecting both the aquatic vegetation and marine life in the waters. This project will build on previous analysis of the four tributaries and the Pasquotank River completed in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The 2016 Research Experience for Undergraduates Pasquotank River Watershed Team will complete two sets of tests of the watershed. These test points originated from the 2011 and 2013 research projects with the addition of four points created to sample further downstream in the Pasquotank River. Results will be compared with previous readings utilizing a Water Quality Index (WQI), a unitless number ranging from 1 to 100 with higher numbers denoting better water quality. The streams tested were the Pasquotank River, Newbegun Creek, Knobbs Creek, Areneuse Creek, Mill Dam Creek, and Sawyers Creek. These streams, along with the Pasquotank River, cover a large portion of the watershed and provide a wide area of study for the watershed.

Tests to be performed in the laboratory on this year’s samples include pH, salinity, total dissolved solids, and conductivity. Air/water temperature, dissolved oxygen, wind speed/direction, and turbidity/clarity measurements will be taken in the field. The results collected will be placed online and displayed in correlation to their position utilizing Google Maps. The data will then be compared to the previous projects.

URL: http://nia.ecsu.edu/reuomps2016/teams/water/

Research Experience for Undergraduates at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science
2015

Validation of the Antarctic Snow Accumulation Ice Discharge Basal Stress Boundary of the South Eastern Region of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Mentor: Mr. Michael Jefferson Jr.
Keywords:Ice shelf, Antarctica, ENVI, Glovis, Landsat, Natural Basal Stress Boundary, Antarctic Snow Accumulation and Ice Discharge Basal Stress Boundary
Abstract
The largest ice shelf in Antarctic, Ross Ice Shelf, was investigated over the years of (1970-2015). Near the basal stress boundary between the ice shelf and the West Antarctic ice sheet, ice velocity ranges from a few meters per year to several hundred meters per year in ice streams. Ice velocity increase as the ice moves seaward, reaching more than 1 km yr-1 in the central portions of the ice front. Most of the drainage from West Antarctica into the Ross Ice Shelf flows down two major ice streams, each of which discharges more than 20 km3 of ice each year.

Along with velocity changes the warmest water below parts of the Ross Ice Shelf resides in the lowest portion of the water column because of its high salinity. Vertical mixing caused by tidal stirring can thus induce ablation by lifting the warm water into contact with the ice shelf. This process can cause melting over a period of time and eventually cause breakup of ice shelf.

With changes occurring over many years a validation is needed for the Antarctic Snow Accumulation and Ice Discharge (ASAID) basal stress boundary created in 2003. After the 2002 Larsen B Ice Shelf disintegration, nearby glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula accelerated up to eight times their original speed over the next 18 months. Similar losses of ice tongues in Greenland have caused speed-ups of two to three times the flow rates in just one year. Rapid changes occurring in regions surrounding Antarctica are causing concern in the polar science community to research changes occurring in coastal zones over time. During the research, the team completed study on the Ross Ice Shelf located on the south western coast of the Antarctic. The study included a validation of the ABSB vs. the natural basal stress boundary (NBSB) along the Ross Ice Shelf. The ASAID BSB was created in 2003 by a team of researchers headed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA GSFC), with an aim of studying coastal deviations as it pertains to the mass balance of the entire continent. The point data file was aimed at creating a replica of the natural BSB. Select cloud free Landsat satellite imagery from satellites 1 through 7 was used to detect changes occurring over the span of 19 years. The last major interest in the study included documenting the deviations or incorrect placements of the ABSB vs. NBSB. ENVI 4.7 as well as ENVI 5.0 image manipulation software was used in the geo-rectifying and the geo-referencing process. Changes that occurred were documented in the form of a data table with the change that occurred along with the latitude and longitude geographic coordinates.

URL:http://nia.ecsu.edu/reuomps2015/teams/antarctic/