Citation:

Impact/Purpose:

Our research objectives are to: (a) develop new methods using satellite remote sensor data for the rapid characterization of LC condition and change at regional to national scales; (b) evaluate the utility of the new NASA-EOS MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) leaf area index (LAI) measurements for regional scale application with landscape process models (e.g., biogenic emissions and atmospheric deposition); (c) provide remote sensor derived measurement data to advance the development of the next generation of distributed landscape process-based models to provide a predictive modeling capability for important ecosystem processes (e.g., nutrients, sedimentation, pathogens, etc.); and (d) integrate in situ monitoring measurement networks with UAV and satellite based remote sensor data to provide a continuous environmental monitoring capability.

Description:

From its headwaters northwest of Durham, NC, where the Eno and Flat Rivers join; the Neuse River flows in a southeasterly direction first into the Piedmont region past Raleigh and Smithfield. The river continues into the coastal region through Goldsboro, Kinston, and into the tidal waters upstream from New Bem. Finally, the Neuse opens into the Estuary leading into the Pamlico Sound. The Neuse River flows approximately 200 miles from its source in Orange and Person Counties to its mouth at the Pamlico Sound. Although the Neuse River supports approximately 1.5 million people along its 5,590 square mile basin, the majority of the population of the basin are located in the urban area of the basin around Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. Agricultural crop and livestock production are the primary land uses in the counties of the Coastal Plain Region. Forest/wetlands are prominent in the eastern region. Pollutants include sediments, nutrients, fecal coliform bacteria, and pesticides. Sediment deposition and nitrogen loading are among the most significant pollutants in the basin. During a precipitation event; sediments, nutrients from fertilizers, pesticides, and bacteria from livestock manure runoff to surface waters and percolate into the soil. Most of the nitrogen pollution loaded into the estuaries percolates through the soil to groundwater and discharges into surface waters that flow to the estuaries. Significant 'rainfall events often lead to algal blooms, low oxygen levels, and extensive fish kills. In order to remedy the problem, the NC Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources has mandated a 30% reduction in nitrogen loading to the basin by the year 2003; and has embarked upon a vigorous effort to educate citizens living in the basin about the problems and strategies for improving water quality in the Neuse River Basin.

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