Coastal Studies
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Item Embargo MICROBES AND AIRPLANES: INVESTIGATING MICROBIOLOGICALLY-INFLUENCED CORROSION OF SUBMERGED WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT WRECK SITES(East Carolina University, July 2024) Bush, Dominic W.; Jennifer F. McKinnon; Erin K. Field; Jason T. Raupp; Lynn B. Harris; Hans K. Van TilburgThere is perhaps no better symbol of the destruction, technological advancement, and geographical scale of World War II than aircraft. Today, thousands of these wartime vestiges are located beneath the ocean’s surface, serving as a highly sought after form of material culture. While archaeologists tend to opt for in situ preservation strategies, there are those who have advocated for a different ‘preferred’ option, instead promoting recovery. Proponents of the latter perspective have levied charges of inaction against archaeologists, citing unchecked degradation as the impetus for salvaging submerged aircraft wreck sites. To counter these claims, and better understand the degradative forces that place these sites at risk, the totality of environmental factors needs to be comprehensively assessed. This includes a site’s microbiome, as previous research has indicated that colonizing microorganisms have the potential to detrimentally impact steel shipwreck sites and other forms of underwater cultural heritage. However, aluminum aircraft of World War II have yet to be the focus of similar investigations, leaving a void in the field’s understanding regarding in situ preservation threats. Thus, this dissertation is the first attempt to extend this line of research to submerged aircraft wreck sites, using four sites in Hawaiʻi. The first step involves characterizing the microbes present, which necessitated sound collection protocols for obtaining microbial samples. The methodology developed for this project was designed to be practical, affordable, and amenable to a variety of uses. The successful collection of biofilm, the main form of biofouling on submerged aircraft wreck sites, enabled DNA sequencing of the material from these samples. The sequencing results allowed for an interpretation of the microbial assemblages associated with corroded and non-corroded wreck surfaces. While no significant taxonomic differences were identified between corroded and non-corroded samples, the study succeeded in defining the microbial communities of submerged aircraft wreck site biofilm, which appeared compositionally-distinct from those of the surrounding seawater and sediment. In addition to identifying key constituents, the data indicated that environmental factors, including the background microbiome and sedimentary interactions, play a prominent role in shaping submerged aircraft wreck site biofilms. Ultimately, evidence of microbiologically-influenced corrosion of submerged aircraft wreck sites remains inconclusive, although significant strides were made in understanding the microbial communities associated with these sites. For archaeological management, the study provides a sound methodology for future collections, baseline data, and the identification of necessary approaches and additional lines of evidence. There is an inherent value in being the first to attempt to see what works, thus serving as a launching point for future, more sophisticated forms of analyses that strive towards developing definitive statements on the relevancy of microbiologically-influenced corrosion to the in situ preservation of submerged aircraft wreck sites.Item Embargo Identifying current and future fish spawning habitat for fisheries management applications via oceanographic models: Case studies for Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) and Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma)(East Carolina University, July 2024) Bartlett, Brian S.; Rebecca G. Asch; April M.H. Blakeslee; Brad Erisman; Cheryl S. Harrison; Joseph Luczkovich; Eric WadeFor many fish species, spawning habitat is a smaller, but critical subset of overall habitat range. Spawning habitat contributes to both recruit abundance and metapopulation connectivity. As a result of these contributions, an understanding of spawning habitat dynamics is critical for managers to effectively manage a species. Further, due to climate change, many fish species’ spawning habitats are likely to change, either in location or timing. The goal of this research was to utilize oceanographic models, coupled with biological models, to (1) assess the effectiveness of future spatiotemporal management on Nassau grouper under varying climate change, (2) investigate seasonal sea surface temperature changes as a biological cue for spawning under global warming, and (3) identify potential spawning grounds of southern flounder captured near Beaufort Inlet, NC. Results show that spawning habitat suitability declined by as much as 70% throughout the region by the end of the century compared to a historical baseline. Despite these declines, it was also shown that regions within marine protected areas had less severe declines than regions outside protected areas, suggesting that habitat refugia will be important for protecting Nassau grouper spawning habitat. It was also shown that the greater Caribbean Sea will experience uneven rates of temperature changes under global warming, with differences varying regionally and seasonally. Summer and winter experience the greatest changes, with species experiencing the highest impact from anthropogenic forces during the seasons they spawn. Finally, it was shown that the overall distribution of possible spawning sites of southern flounder varied from year to year, however the center of gravity was consistently in southern Onslow Bay, NC, across months and years. It was also shown that much spawning appeared to occur local to the capture site, but individual, long-distance dispersal events may help maintain genetic homogeneity throughout the stock. This research shows that utilizing climate models with biological modeling can provide important insight into fish spawning habitat currently, and under climate change. This work will be relevant to help protect species from overfishing and climate impacts via more knowledge-based management.Item Open Access ESSAYS ON THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON NORTH CAROLINA USING UNIQUE HOUSING AND FLOOD RISK DATA SETS(East Carolina University, July 2024) Kops, Jason; Gregory Howard, PhD; Jonathan Lee, PhD; Lester Zeager, PhD; Scott Lecce; Eugen Frimpong, PhDClimate change is expected to introduce new challenges to communities in North Carolina and across the globe. However, our understanding of how and where losses from climate change will manifest is limited. This makes it difficult for policy makers to craft policies to meet these upcoming challenges. By combining novel flood risk data at the parcel level in North Carolina with transactional home sale data from Zillow, this research estimates a statistically significant, negative, and nonlinear impact of increased flood risk on a home’s value. Based on projections of future flood risk, these results are extrapolated to provide parcel-level, real-dollar estimates of the impact of a changing climate on the housing stock value in North Carolina. Additionally, these estimated costs are shown to have disproportionate effects on different segments of the state and different demographic groups within the population. This research adds context to the cost-benefit analysis of flood risk mitigation and adaptation policy in North Carolina. Given the large majority of North Carolina communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, a vast number of this state’s citizens depend on its continued financial solvency. The distributional impacts of increased flood risk evidenced in this research should allow for a more robust policy regarding the allocation of resources. Furthermore, the estimated losses in property value can illuminate potential shortcomings in future property tax revenue which would affect public services such as education. Finally, the proliferation of the flood risk data in this research would provide additional price signals and allow property owners to make more well-informed decisions. In Chapter 1, we combine a North Carolina subset of real estate transactions from the Zillow Transaction and Assessment Database (ZTRAX) with continuous flood probability metrics from the First Street Foundation Flood Lab in a hedonic model to estimate the premium of reduced flood risk beyond the impact of FEMA floodplain designation. In Chapter 2, we extrapolate the results of our hedonic model to estimate parcel-level changes in housing stock value that are aggregated at the tract, county, and state levels using flood risk projections from the First Street Foundation for the years 2036 and 2051. We use these property value changes to estimate declines in annual property tax revenue. Additionally, we use regression analysis to investigate which socioeconomic and demographic groups will be most impacted by increases in flood risk. In Chapter 3, we replicate the methodology from Chapters 1 and 2 except our hedonic model uses vigintile regression analysis to investigate the heterogeneous preferences between income groups using home value as a proxy.Item Open Access Establishing the Relationship Between Nonhuman Primates and Mangrove Forests at the Global, National, and Local Scales(2022-11-11) Hamilton, Stuart E.; Presotto, Andrea; Lembo, Arthur J. Jr.Item Open Access Ocean Circulation Near Cape Hatteras: Observations of Mean and Variability(2022) Muglia, Mike; et alItem Open Access Modeling Net Ecosystem Carbon Balance and Loss in Coastalwetlands Exposed to Sea-Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion(2022) Charles, Sean P.; et alItem Open Access Buyouts with Rentbacks: A Policy Proposal for Managing Coastal Retreat(2022-04-23) Keeler, Andrew G.; Mullin, Megan; Smith, Martin D.; McNamara, Dylan E.Item Open Access Gulf Stream Position, Width, and Orientation Estimated from HF Radar Radial Velocity Maps off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina(2022-05-22) Muglia, Mike; Taylor, Patterson; Seim, HarveyItem Open Access A Purely Spaceborne Open Source Approach for Regional Bathymetry Mapping(2022) Lagomasino, David; Thomas, NathanItem Open Access An Observation-Based Study of Gulf Stream Meander Kinematics Offshore of Cape Hatteras(2022-06-23) Muglia, Mike; Taylor, Patterson; Seim, Harvey; Bane, JohnItem Open Access Return on Investment for Mangrove and Reef Flood Protection(2022) Heck, Nadine; Narayan, SiddharthItem Open Access The Large Footprint of Small-Scale Artisanal Gold Mining in Ghana(2021) Payton, Amanda; Lagomasino, David; Barenblitt, Abigail; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Asare, Kofi; Aidoo, Kenneth; Pigott, Hugo; Som, Charles Kofi; Smeets, Laurent; Seidu, Omar; Wood, DanielleItem Open Access Stratigraphic Evidence of Two Historical Tsunamis on the Semi-Arid Coast of North-Central Chile(2021-08-01) Corbett, D. Reide (David Reide), 1971-; DePaolis, Jessica M.; Dura, Tina; MacInnes, Breanyn; Ely, Lisa L.; Cisternas, Marco; Carvajal, Matías; Tang, Hui; Fritz, Hermann M.; Mizobe, Cyntia; Wesson, Robert L.; Figueroa, Gino; Brennan, Nicole; Horton i, Benjamin P.; Pilarczyk, Jessica E.; Gill, Benjamin C.; Weiss, RobertItem Open Access Future Carbon Emissions from Global Mangrove Forest Loss(2021) Lagomasino, David; Adame, Maria F.; Connolly, Rod M.; Turschwell, Mischa P.; Lovelock, Catherine E.; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Goldberg, Liza A.; Holdorf, Jordan; Friess, Daniel A.; Sasmito, Sigit D.; Sanderman, Jonathan; Sievers, Michael; Buelow, Christina; Kauffman, J. Boone; Bryan-Brown, Dale; Brown, Christopher J.Item Open Access Space-Borne Cloud-Native Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) Models Using ICESat-2 And Sentinel-2(2021) Lagomasino, D.; Moreno, S.; Thomas, N.; Pertiwi, A. P.; Traganos, D.; Poursanidis, D.; Fatoyinbo, TemilolaItem Open Access Mangrove Carbon Stocks in Pongara National Park, Gabon(2021-05-31) Lagomasino, David; Trettin, Carl C.; Dai, Zhaohua; Tang, Wenwu; Thomas, Nathan; Lee, Seung Kuk; Simard, Marc; Ebanega, M´edard Obiang; Stoval, Atticus; Fatoyinbo, TemilolaItem Open Access Pollen Geochronology from the Atlantic Coast of the United States during the Last 500 Years(2021-01-31) Corbett, D. Reide (David Reide), 1971-; Christie, Margaret A.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Parnell, Andrew C.; Shaw, Timothy A.; Khan, Nicole S.; García-Artola, Ane; Clear, Jennifer L.; Walker, Jennifer S.; Donnelly, Jeffrey P.; Hasse, Tobias R.; Horto, Benjamin P.Item Open Access Monitoring Matang’s Mangroves in Peninsular Malaysia through Earth Observations: A Globally Relevant Approach(2021) Lagomasino, David; Lucas, Richard; Otero, Viviana; Van De Kerchove, Ruben; Satyanarayana, Behara; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Dahdouh-Guebas, FaridItem Open Access Trees Outside Forests are an Underestimated Resource in a Country with Low Forest Cover(2021) Lagomasino, David; Thomas, Nathan; Baltezar, Priscilla; Stovall, Atticus; Iqbal, Zaheer; Fatoyinbo, TemilolaItem Open Access Mapping the Extent of Mangrove Ecosystem Degradation by Integrating an Ecological Conceptual Model with Satellite Data(2021-05-22) Lagomasino, David; Lee, Calvin K. F.; Duncan, Clare; Nicholson, Emily; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Thomas, Nathan; Worthington, Thomas A.; Murray, Nicholas J.