The Lower Cape Fear River Basin (Figure 1), part of the largest watershed in North Carolina, extends from near Tarheel, NC to the estuarine waters south of Wilmington.  Because the Cape Fear River Estuary acts as a nursery to a variety of marine organisms and river water serves as a source of drinking water, the water quality of the area has significant human and environmental impacts.  With recent growth in industry, degradation in the water quality of rivers and estuary has been observed.   Increases in nitrate and phosphate in the watershed have been documented.  In addition, a segment of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington does not meet minimum standards for dissolved oxygen.  

The Cape Fear River, two black-water tributaries (Northeast Cape Fear River and Black River) as well as tidal currents influence flow in the system.  Organic matter from the two black-water tributaries as well as discharge from industry in the surrounding watershed are believed to contribute to low oxygen conditions.  The effect of fundamental hydrodynamic factors such as discharge, tidal currents, and mixing on low-oxygen conditions, however, is not well understood.

The objective of my current research is to better understand how hydrodynamic factors influence the distribution of dissolved oxygen concentration and degradation in water quality in the Cape Fear river/estuarine system.   In order to distinguish between the relative importance of anthropogenic influences and natural effects (e.g. black-water contributions, mixing, and tidal influences), I first seek to understand the hydrodynamics of the estuarine/river system.

Other Research