Sarah Spiegler

The NC Sea Grant program is submitting this scope for work for funding to support the placement of three water level sensors in the coastal region of North Carolina. In fulfillment of this scope of work, the NC Sea Grant extension team will lead a prioritization/scoping of the three sites and lead the engagement with selected communities. NC Sea Grant has direct ties to state level resilience initiatives and networks and will use this knowledge to inform siting.

The North Carolina Sea Grant College Program integrates three university functions — research, education, and outreach — into a cohesive, innovative, program that addresses priorities of the state’s numerous coastal stakeholders. These stakeholders include but are not limited to: communities located along the 300 miles of oceanfront shoreline and those within the 20 counties designated by the Coastal Area Management Act; communities further inland and located in the watersheds that drain to the Atlantic Ocean; coastal and estuarine water- and landbased industries; and many others. North Carolina’s vast natural environmental resources including the 2.3 million acres of estuarine habitat are of important ecological, cultural, and economic significance for the entire state. North Carolina Sea Grant (NCSG) positions itself at this intersection of research, education, and outreach, working to ensure results are translated to actionable information in support of the varied stakeholders invested in the state’s coastal region. Taking discoveries, demonstrations, and experiential knowledge developed by experts and delivering those results to identified audiences is a model our program embodies. These efforts support improved understanding and appreciation of the watershed, near-shore, and coastal ocean environments and the sustainable use and development of their resources. We join other coastal and Great Lakes states in a national network of Sea Grant universities charged with meeting the needs of society in our home state, our regions, and the nation as a whole. In North Carolina, Sea Grant program activities began with an institutional planning and project grant in 1970. With the establishment of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system in 1972 and involvement of Duke University via a consortial arrangement, NCSG became the nation’s 12th recognized Sea Grant College in 1976. The UNC system has remained committed to Sea Grant throughout the program’s history, including state funding generously provided through North Carolina State University, supporting portions of cost-share match requirements for the federal award received from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The North Carolina Sea Grant College Program integrates three university functions — research, education and outreach — into a cohesive, innovative, program that addresses priorities of the state’s numerous coastal communities. These include, but are not limited to: communities of individuals located along the 300 miles of oceanfront shoreline and those within the 20 counties designated by the Coastal Area Management Act; coastal and estuarine water- and land-based industries; the vast natural environmental resources including the 2.3 million acres of estuarine habitat that provide important ecological and cultural resources for the entire state. North Carolina Sea Grant (NCSG) positions itself at this intersection of research and outreach, working to ensure results are translated to actionable information in support of the varied stakeholders invested in North Carolina’s coast. Taking discoveries, demonstrations and experiential knowledge developed by experts and delivering those results to identified audiences is a model our program embodies. These efforts support improved understanding and appreciation of the near-shore and coastal ocean environment and the sustainable use and development of its resources. We join other coastal and Great Lakes states in a national network of Sea Grant universities charged with meeting the needs of society in our home state, our regions, and the nation as a whole.

The goal of this work is to initiate a paradigm-shift in the approach and interpretation of coastal marsh models to enhance natural resource management; one that will move from single model use to ensemble model application.