NOAA Beaufort Research

URE OMS Research Student, Napoleon Paxton is one of the interns assisting NOAA Beaufort Laboratory scientists in determining the maximum depth of seagrass beds along the Southern Outer Banks. The goal of this project is to develop a long-term record of seagrass bed extent, focusing primarily on the historical changes that have occurred to the deep-edge, and tie this in with historical changes in water-quality.

Karitsa Williams is working with Dr. Aleta Hohn in determining whether an unusually high number of strandings of harbor porpoise during the winter of 1999 was due to an unusual juxtaposition of oceanographic features in the western the mid-Atlantic. The goal is to investigate whether a narrow band of cold water near shore followed by a strong warm water front results in higher numbers of stranded harbor porpoise than when the front is further offshore.