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Monitoring Ghost Forests At Cape Lookout National Seashore

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Published Date

June 15, 2023

Visitors to Cape Lookout National Seashore are being asked to help monitor a ghost forest there/NPS

Visitors to Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are being asked to help monitor ghost forests with a photo or two.

A recently installed Chronolog station creates a central location where visitors can use their phones to take photographs of a specific location from the same angle. These photographs are arranged in a timelapse, which allows researchers to track changes happening in that area over long periods of time. Visitors, especially those who walk the trail regularly, are highly encouraged to participate in this project.

Your contributions will allow researchers to study the formation of the ghost forest along the northeastern edge of Harkers Island. Ghost forests are regions where previously healthy coastal forests are being lost and converted to salt marsh habitat due to repeated exposure to saltwater. Dead tree trunks and stumps are common signs of a once healthy forest now in decline and retreating further inland. Ghost forests are found throughout Down East Carteret County and many other low-lying North Carolina shorelines.

The Chronolog station is located about a quarter of a mile down the Soundside Loop Trail. The trail winds along the eastern shore of Harkers Island, through maritime forest and saltmarsh. The trail can be accessed from behind the Harkers Island Visitor Center, located at 1800 Island Road, Harkers Island, NC. Trail maps, as well as additional information about ghost forests and instructions for using the Chronolog, are available in the Visitor Center from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. A small portion of the end of the loop trail, including a boardwalk and observation deck is currently closed pending repairs.

This project is hosted by North Carolina State University and is supported by Cape Lookout National Seashore and Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center. The project was completed under an approved scientific research permit. The current timelapse may be viewed at: https://www.chronolog.io/site/NCS106 - this link also includes exact GPS coordinates to the station.

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