CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) recently completed two Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) monitoring projects in the Outer Banks for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). In late May, marine biologists Erin Hodel and Jeffrey Pennell of the Ports and Coasts division at CSA performed the Year 3 annual monitoring survey of a seagrass mitigation site associated with the construction of the new Herbert C. Bonner Bridge in Pamlico Sound.

The following week, Ms. Hodel joined Dr. Reide Corbett, Director of the Coastal Studies Institute at East Carolina University, and graduate research assistants on the last biannual monitoring survey for the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Evaluation (SAVE) Currituck project, a two-year comprehensive study aimed at assessing SAV distribution, species richness, sediment characteristics, water depth, and water quality parameters in Currituck Sound.

CSA Senior Scientist and Program Director of the Ports and Coastal Sciences division, Erin Hodel, (far left) with the SAVE Currituck field team, led by Dr. Reide Corbett, Director of the Coastal Studies Institute at East Carolina University (above), just offshore the historic Currituck Lighthouse and Whalehead Club on Currituck Sound, Outer Banks, North Carolina, May 2019.