Overview
The Pamlico Sound is the largest lagoon on the east coast of North America1, sitting below the southern barrier of the Albemarle Sound and to the north of the Core Sound. On average, the sound is approximately 60 by 15 miles2. To the west lies mainland North Carolina and to the east are the Outer Banks. This string of barrier islands separates the Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. It is fed by the Tar River (which becomes the Pamlico River) and the Neuse River.
Human Impact on the Pamlico Sound
1Pamlico Sound.” Pamlico Sound – OuterBanks.com, www.outerbanks.com/pamlico-sound.html
2 Roelofs, EW, and DF Bumpus. “The Hydrography of Pamlico Sound.” University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, vol. 3, no. 3, 1 Jan. 1953, pp. 181-205.
3 Pamlico Sound.” Pamlico Sound – OuterBanks.com, www.outerbanks.com/pamlico-sound.html
4 Roelofs, EW, and DF Bumpus. “The Hydrography of Pamlico Sound.” University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, vol. 3, no. 3, 1 Jan. 1953, pp. 181-205.
5 Roelofs, EW, and DF Bumpus. “The Hydrography of Pamlico Sound.” University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, vol. 3, no. 3, 1 Jan. 1953, pp. 181-205.
6 Paerl, H. W., et al. “Ecosystem Impacts of Three Sequential Hurricanes (Dennis, Floyd, and Irene) on the United States’ Largest Lagoonal Estuary, Pamlico Sound, NC.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 98, no. 10, 2001, pp. 5655-5660., doi:10.1073/pnas.101097398.
7 “Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership.” APNEP, apnep.nc.gov/our-estuary/fast-facts.
8 Hightower, Joseph E., et al. “Historical Trends in Abundance of American Shad and River Herring in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina.” North American Journal of Fisheries Management, vol. 16, no. 2, 1996, pp. 257-271., doi:10.1577/1548-8675(1996)016<0257:htiaoa>2.3.co;2.
9 “Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership.” APNEP, apnep.nc.gov/our-estuary/fast-facts.
10 Paerl, H. W., et al. “Ecosystem Impacts of Three Sequential Hurricanes (Dennis, Floyd, and Irene) on the United States’ Largest Lagoonal Estuary, Pamlico Sound, NC.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 98, no. 10, 2001, pp. 5655-5660., doi:10.1073/pnas.101097398.
11 Pinckney, JL, et al. “Annual Cycles of Phytoplankton Community-Structure and Bloom Dynamics in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina.” Marine Biology, May 1998.
12 Boyd, Jason O. “Military Releases Information on Continued Exercises Going on in Area.” WCTI, wcti12.com/archive/military-releases-information-on-continued-exercises-going-on-in-area.