The document summarizes information about the Core Sound Estuary located in North Carolina. It describes the estuary's location, importance, plant and animal life, feeding rivers and streams, and threats. Key points include that Core Sound is a bay fed by rivers that mixes fresh and salt water, supporting ecosystems and fisheries. Salt marshes contain plants like cordgrass and provide habitat divided into low and high zones. Threats include pollution from sewage, development, and changes to natural disturbances.

1. A North Carolina Treasure
Kella Randolph M.Ed.
Core Sound Estuary

2. • Location
o Importance
• Plant life
oAnimal life
• Rivers, streams and other waterways that feed into the sound
oThreats to the Core Sound Estuary
Core Sound Estuary

3. Location of the Core Sound Estuary
Core Sound is a bay located just 16.2 miles from Harkers Island, on the east coast of North Carolina.

4. Cape Lookout National Seashore is a 56 mile long
stretch off of the Southern Outer Banks consisting of
3 undeveloped barrier islands - North Core Banks,
South Core Banks, and Shackleford Banks. In the
early 1500s, Florentine explorer, Giovanni da
Verrazzano, allegedly reported native people living
on the banks, and between 1540 and 1570 it is said
that Spain sent several explorers to investigate the
area.

5. Estuaries are some of the most
productive ecosystems in the world.
Many animal species rely on estuaries
for food and as places to nest and
breed. Human communities also rely
on estuaries for food, recreation, and
jobs. (NOAA)
Estuaries are bodies of water as well
as their surrounding coastal habitats
typically found where rivers meet the
sea. Estuaries harbor unique plant and
animal communities because their
waters are brackish—a mixture of
fresh water draining from the land
and salty seawater. (NOAA)
Importance of the Core Sound Estuary

6. • Estuaries are coastal bodies of water
that have mixed fresh and salty water.
The water in estuaries is mixed
because they are fed by rivers but also
have a connection with oceans.
Estuaries have a barrier to the sea,
similar to lagoons, that protects them
from ocean energy, but, unlike lagoons,
estuaries still connect with the sea.
Because of this connection with the
sea, estuaries are strongly influenced
by tides (NOAA).
Estuaries

7. Estuaries’ unique environment makes them a good
place for humans and animals. Humans benefit from the
beauty of estuaries and the food and resources they
provide. Estuaries are often tourism attractions or
harbors and ports. The mix of fresh and saltwater makes
a great feeding ground and habitat for many types of
wildlife (EPA).
This water mixture also results in a mixture of types of
sediment. Though estuaries have sediment from both
upstream rivers and from the ocean, most of the sediment
is relatively fine grained (McNally, pg. 3). The type of
sediment, and the abundance of it, affects human and
animal involvement with estuaries. Too much sediment
makes it hard for plants to photosynthesis and limits
human use of the estuary since sediment can be
deposited, making the estuary unsuitable for ship traffic.
If there is too little sediment in the estuary then the land
bordering it may be eroded away and increase predation
rates in some species (McNally, pg. 2)
Fresh water mixes with ocean water.

8. Bar built estuaries are behind some
sort of natural bar between the
estuary and the ocean, such as a spit.
(ONA).
Coastal plain estuaries form from the
rise of sea level. The rising sea level
then fills an already existing river
valley with water, creating an estuary.
Coastal plains estuaries

9. Plants of the Core Sound Estuary
Salt hay Spike grass Black rush
Smooth cordgrass Pickleweed

10. Animals of the Core Sound Estuary
nc-culture.com, http://core.ecu.edu/BIOL/luczkovichj/core_sound/core_sound.html
Baby fox
Diatoms & algae
Ray
Sharks
Bay anchovies
Pinfish
Bivalves (scallops,
clams)
Penaeid
shrimp
River otter

11. Photos used under Creative
Commons
Starry flounder
Hermit crabs
Great blue heron
Great egret

12. Core Sound produces the most valuable seafood catch in the basin, followed by
Bogue Sound and the Newport River.
White Oak River is a remote, scenic, 48-mile river that spills into Bogue Sound
past the picturesque town of Swansboro. Still farther east is the basin’s Newport
River, which begins near Havelock and flows into the eastern end of Bogue
Sound. The shortest and eastern -most river in the basin is the North River,
which empties into Back Sound near Harker's Island.
http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/Documents/RiverBasin_pdfs/final_web_whiteoak.pdf
Rivers, streams and waterways of the
Core Sound Estuary

13. Tucked between the eastern
portions of the Neuse and Cape
Fear river basins, the White Oak
River Basin abounds with coastal
and freshwater wetlands. The
basin includes four river systems,
or sub-basins, that feed into highly
productive estuaries of
Back, Core and Bogue sounds.
White Oak River Basin

14. • http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/NCRiverBasins/WhiteOakRiverBasin/WOR
B-FULL.pdf
• http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1173/circ1173b/chapter08.htm
This basin lies entirely within the
coastal plain, and includes four small
separate river systems (New River,
White Oak River, Newport River, and
North River). The White Oak River
basin encompasses 1,264 sq. miles,
446 stream miles, and 130,009
estuarine acres (NCDWQ 2001).
Sixteen municipalities (towns) are
located in whole or in part of the
basin.
White Oak River

15. Salt marshes are salty because they
are flooded by seawater every day.
They are marshy because their ground
is composed of peat. Peat is made of
decomposing plant matter that is
often several feet thick. Peat is
waterlogged, root-filled, and very
spongy.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/media/supp_est06
a_salt.html
Salt marshes are a mosaic of snaking
channels called tidal creeks that fill
with seawater during high tides and
drain during low tides. Fish species
including flounder and mullet live
most of their lives in marsh creeks.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/media/supp_est06
a_salt.html
Salt marsh

16. Core Sound Salt Marsh
Because salt marshes are waterlogged and
contain lots of decomposing plant material,
oxygen levels in the peat are extremely low—
a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia promotes
the growth of bacteria which produce the
rotten-egg smell that is attributed to marshes
and mud flats.
Salt marshes are covered with salt-tolerant
plants, or halophytes, like salt hay, black rush,
and smooth cordgrass. However, these plants
do not grow together in the same area.
Marshes are divided into distinct zones, the
high marsh and the low marsh. (NOAA)

17. The low marsh floods daily at high tide.
The high marsh usually floods about
twice a month during very high tides
associated with new and full moons. The
more often an area is flooded, the more
saline it is. Plants living in salt marshes
have different tolerances to salt. Those
with higher tolerances are found in the
low marsh, and those with lower
tolerances to salt are found in the high
marsh zones. Plants from one marsh zone
are never found in the other.
Salt marshes are covered with salt-tolerant plants, or halophytes, like salt hay, black rush, and smooth cordgrass. However, these plants
do not grow together in the same area. Marshes are divided into distinct zones, the high marsh and the low marsh. The difference in
elevation between these two areas is usually only a few centimeters, but for the plants that inhabit each of these zones, a few centimeters
makes a world of difference.

18. Salt marshes experience
flooding during high tide,
and some draining during
low tide.
Flood video from NOAA
Tides

19. One type of natural disturbance is the
continual pounding of ocean waves. In many
estuaries, barrier beaches protect inland
habitats from wave erosion. If these beaches
are destroyed, salt marshes and inland
habitats adjacent to the estuary may become
permanently damaged. Waves can also
dislodge plants and animals, or bury them
with sediments, while objects carried by the
water can crush them. Large storms are
especially destructive to estuaries,
particularly in areas like Florida and the
Carolinas, where barrier beaches are
common. (NOAA)
Estuaries are fragile ecosystems that are
very susceptible to disturbances. Natural
disturbances are caused by the forces of
nature, while anthropogenic disturbances
are caused by people. Natural
disturbances include winds, tidal
currents, waves, and ice. Anthropogenic
disturbances include pollution, coastal
development, and the introduction of
non-native species to an area. (NOAA)
Threats to the Core Sound Estuary

20. City Sewage Treatment Plants
Industry
Agriculture and Forestry
Development
Consumers
What causes the
problems?

21. • Install a water efficient toilet. In the meantime, put
a brick or 1/2 gal container in the standard toilet
tank to reduce water use per flush.
• Run the dishwasher or clothes washer only when
you have a full load. This conserves electricity and
water.
• Use the minimum amount of detergent and/or
bleach when you are washing clothes or dishes.
Use only phosphate free soaps and detergents.
• Minimize the use of pesticides, herbicides,
fertilizers. DO NOT dispose of these chemicals,
motor oil, or other automotive fluids into the
sanitary sewer or storm sewer systems. Both of
them end at the river.
• If your home has a sump pump or cellar drain,
make certain it does not drain into the sanitary
sewer system.
http://www.simsbury-ct.gov/water-pollution-control/pages/ten-things-you-can-
do-to-reduce-water-pollution
Ten Things You Can Do To Reduce Water Pollution
• DO NOT pour fat from cooking or any other type
of fat, oil, or grease down the sink. Keep a “fat jar”
under the sink to collect the fat and discard in the
solid waste when full.
• DO NOT dispose of household chemicals or
cleaning agents down the sink or toilet.
• DO NOT flush pills, liquid or powder medications
or drugs down the toilet. For recommendations on
proper disposal for all types of medical wastes,
visit the CT DEP publication here.
• Avoid using the toilet as a wastebasket. Most
tissues, wrappers, dust cloths, and other paper
goods should be properly discarded in a
wastebasket. The fiber reinforced cleaning
products that have become popular should never
be discarded in the toilet.
• Avoid using a garbage disposal. Keep solid wastes
solid. Make a compost pile from vegetable scraps.

22. EPA. Retrieved from http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm.
McNally, W. H., Mehta, A. J. Retrieved from http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C09/E2-
06-01-04.pdf.
NOAA. Retrieved from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/welcome.html.
ONA Retrieved from http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/habitats/estuaries1.htm.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/media/supp_est06a_salt.html
http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/Documents/RiverBasin_pdfs/final_web_whiteoak.pdf
Photos courtesy of Creative Commons and NOAA
Resources