Tar Heel researchers share their work with chancellor on the coast

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts walking along a North Carolina beach and talking with Alexis Longmire as another woman trails them. — Chancellor Lee. H. Roberts hears from ecology doctoral student Alexis Longmire as they walk along the shore of Shackleford Banks at a stop on the chancellor's boat tour on June 2. Longmire studies how manmade coastal barriers affect predator movement, seagrass, and the future of waterfront communities. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Carolina’s presence is felt across the state, including its coastline.

As part of his second summer tour, Chancellor Lee H. Roberts took a boat tour with members of Carolina’s environment, ecology and energy program and also visited the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, North Carolina, on June 2. The stops included marsh areas and living shorelines and featured a variety of Carolina projects that are protecting North Carolina’s environment, economy and people.

View photos from the the chancellor’s day on the coast.

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts, wearing a Carolina Blue pullover, hat and life jacket, talking with people aboard a boat in the water. A man and a woman are pictured aside him.

The day on the coast was the second portion of the chancellor’s ongoing eastern North Carolina tour, which kicked off with a visit to Fort Bragg. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Joel Fodrie, sitting along the edge of one boat, speaking and pointing toward Chancellor Lee H. Roberts, standing in another boat.

Joel Fodrie, who directs the IMS and specializes in estuarine ecology, speaks with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts disembarking from a boat.

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts disembarks from a boat for a tour of Shackleford Banks. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts walking alongside a beach and listening to Rachel Noble.

While walking alongside Shackleford Banks, Chancellor Lee H. Roberts hears from Rachel Noble, professor and director of the IMS Field Site. Noble’s laboratory conducts research on bacteria and viral pathogens in recreational waters, in shellfish and in stormwater and wastewater in estuaries. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Two feral horses grazing on grass near a beach.

Feral horses graze on Shackleford Banks. The horses provide a glimpse into how horses lived in the wild before their domestication. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts shaking the hand of Rick Luettich in the hallway of the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences.

At the IMS, Chancellor Lee H. Roberts meets with Rick Luettich, former IMS director and founding director of the UNC Center for Natural Hazards Resilience. Luettich specializes in coastal hazards and coastal physical oceanography. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)