Research focus: Algal ecological
physiology, especially photosynthesis; estuarine and coastal ocean
productivity; wastewater management; marine ecology.
As more land in coastal regions is cleared for suburbia or converted
into intensive agricultural operation, water quality is suffering
downriver in environmentally sensitive estuaries and coastal waters,
Ramus says. With “more and more land use change, more water
comes off the watershed and it comes off faster," Ramus says.
“One major consequence of this is that excess nitrogen runoff
from automobile emissions, animal wastes and fertilizers enters
the water, where it nurtures algae growth that robs the water
of oxygen and promotes fish kills.”
To learn more about the impact of hurricanes and tropical storms
on coastal water quality, Ramus and his colleagues have monitoring
stations on three ferries -- two running from mainland North Carolina
to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks, and the third crossing
the Lower Neuse River, near where it empties into Pamlico Sound.
When a hurricane or tropical storm hits, they have the tools in
place to monitor water quality (data on dissolved oxygen, salinity,
temperature, turbidity, chlorophyll levels and other parameters)
in these waters.
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Global warming clouds our future. Pollution degrades our air,
soil and water. Environmental toxins compromise the health
of our children. Misuse threatens the sustainability of our
forests, fisheries, wetlands and coasts, and the health of
species that live there. 
