South Atlantic Bight - The Southeast’s Ocean Backyard

The South Atlantic Bight (SAB) is a unique place because of its geology, biology and physical oceanography. The continental shelf varies from 40 to 140 km wide. Habitats include rock reefs, sands and muds. A huge salt "river," the Gulf Stream, flows at 4 to 5 knots along the shelf break until it deflects out over the open ocean off Cape Hatteras. A constant succession of massive eddies and upwellings peel off the Gulf Stream’s western wall, carrying life from the tropics to the temperate sounds of North Carolina. The continental slope varies dramatically, from the phosphorite rocks and outcrops of the Blake Plateau, to the steep mud canyons of the Upper Hatteras Slope. Compared to neighboring states to the north and in the Gulf of Mexico, the SAB is less developed, yet is still the fastest-growing region on the East Coast.

Research projects:
Oceans and Human Health

Photo from NOAA’s Ocean Explorer