Monitoring

In an effort to learn more about the natural character of these estuaries, the reserve operates water quality monitoring stations at the Rachel Carson, Masonboro and Zeke's Island components of the reserve. Automated weather stations have been established within Rachel Carson and Masonboro Island.

The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve monitoring program follows protocols developed for the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program. The ultimate goal is to identify and track long-term changes in the status, integrity and biological diversity of estuaries. Every 30 minutes water quality meters deployed within the Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island and Zeke’s Island sites sample such parameters as: salinity, water temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, depth and cholorphyll a. Weather stations at both Rachel Carson and Masonboro Island provide hourly data on air temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, wind velocity, relative humidity and solar radiation. Monthly nutrient samples are also collected and analyzed. All of these data are cataloged and maintain both at the Reserve office and at the Centralized Data Management Office within the University of South Carolina Baruch Marine Laboratory in Georgetown, SC. Future directions of the monitoring program will include biological communities/habitats and land use changes within watersheds.