Interesting scholarly papers discussing the Pamlico River

Water level and water quality

The water level in the Pamlico fluctuates substantially based on wind and ocean conditions. A detailed study of various components of Pamlico water levels is presented in

Reed, et al., Water level variations in the Neuse and Pamlico Estuaries, North Carolina due to local and remote forcing, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Volume 76, Issue 2, 20 January 2008, Pages 431-446

Implications for sea-level rise are considered in the NC Science Panel Sea Level Rise Assessment Report

J. E. Hobbie, Hydrography of the Pamlico River Estuary, is a 1970 report discussing salinity, temperature and oxygen concentration. Hobbie also discusses the existence of widespread beds of widgeon grasses in the river, which have since disappeared. The report is written to evaluate the impact of the Aurora phospahte mine during its early years.

Submerged aquatic vegetation

The Pamlico river once suppoted large beds of submerged aquatic vegetation. These plants declined sharply in the 1970's.

J. Fitzgerald, Fish utlilization of submerged aquatic vegetation, discusses biodiversity in SAV that had recovered in the mid 1990's.

Chapter 4 of the 2005 North Carolina Costal Habitat Protection Plan discusses SAV and notes drastic reductions in SAV in the Pamlico river in the 1970's.

SeagrassRestorationNow.com includes links to several studies on SAV degredation and restoration.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality has conducted several recent surveys of SAV in the Pamlico River.

Wildlife

Read, A. J., K. W. Urian, et al. (2003). "Abundance of bottlenose dolphins in the bays, sounds, and estuaries of North Carolina." Marine Mammal Science 19(1): 59-073.

Night Count Surveys for Alligators in Coastal Counties of North Carolina Timothy G. O'Brien and Phillip D. Doerr Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Sep., 1986), pp. 444-448

Population Dynamics and Stock Assessment of the Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) in North Carolina by David Eggleston

Chemicals and environment

Phosphates in sediments of Pamlico Estuary Joseph B. Upchurch, James K. Edzwald, Charles R. O'Melia Environmental Science & Technology 1974 8 (1), 56-58