Use of Remote Sensing on the Pamlico Sound with Implications for North Carolina Water Quality Management
Abstract
The Pamlico Sound serves a vital role in North Carolina's ecology and economy, but
declining water quality threatens the health of this system. Currently, the state
of North Carolina does no regular water quality monitoring of the Pamlico Sound so
the true condition of the Sound remains unknown. Long-term monitoring is needed to
track changes considering the nutrients that enter the Sound as a consequence of land-use
change in the watershed. Use of remote sensing in the Pamlico Sound is an ideal way
to track phytoplankton changes that occur
over a broad range of time and space domains. Remotely sensed data would provide researchers
with regular and long-term information that can be used to evaluate the impacts of
existing land
use and nutrient management programs. Improved information on the Pamlico Sound can
help
managers create standards aimed at altering human behavior and improving the condition
of the
Sound. This Masters Project investigates the feasibility of using remote sensing to
track water
quality in the Pamlico Sound. I conducted interviews with remote sensing experts and
North
Carolina water quality managers to determine whether remote sensing of the Pamlico
Sound will
be useful in future water quality monitoring programs. I determined that while water
quality
managers do not currently have the resources to incorporate remote sensing into existing
programs, it is a tool that will be useful and cost effective in future monitoring
plans.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/632Citation
Nojek, Larissa (2002). Use of Remote Sensing on the Pamlico Sound with Implications for North Carolina Water
Quality Management. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/632.Collections
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