Location and Natural Environment
The
Marine Laboratory is situated on Pivers Island within the Outer Banks of
North Carolina, only 150 yards across the channel from the historic town
of Beaufort. A bridge connects the island with US Highway 70, making the
laboratory readily accessible by automobile. Other transportation to the
laboratory consists of bus service to Morehead City, about 2 miles distant
from Beaufort, and airline service to regional airports (New Bern, Kinston,
and Jacksonville).
Beaufort
is the third oldest town in the state and is surrounded by fishing and agricultural
communities. The area is well known for its historic and scenic attractions
as well as being a seaside resort. Cape Lookout National Seashore Park and
the Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve are within easy boating distance.
The area's system of barrier islands, sounds, and estuaries is rich in
flora and fauna, and diverse habitats, including rivers, creeks, mud flats,
unspoiled sand beaches, dunes, marshes, peat bogs, cypress swamps, bird
islands, and coastal forests, making the area an excellent haven for both
nature lovers and those interested in the pursuit of marine science.
The laboratory is within range of both the temperate and tropical species of biota. The edge of the Gulf Stream oscillates between 30 and 40 miles offshore, with reefs on the wide continental shelf. A great variety of phytoplankton, seaweeds, seagrasses, and marshgrasses may be found in the area. Common animals include the blue crab, squid, shrimps, snails, clams, ctenophores, jellyfish, hydroids, sponges, polychaetes, sea urchins, starfish, brittle stars, sand dollars, skimmers, terns, gulls, herons, sea turtles, dolphins, and many species of fish. All provide ample opportunity for study and research and are readily accessible on foot, by car, or by boat.
The Beaufort-Morehead City area provides location for five other facilities that collectively are one of the higher concentrations of marine scientists in the nation. These are the University of North Carolina's Institute of Marine Sciences, the North Carolina State University Seafood Laboratory, the North Carolina Aquarium at Bogue Banks, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Ocean Service Center for Coastal Fisheries Habitat Research at Beaufort. This concentration of marine scientists provides a critical mass for the pursuit of science and education.