First Draw Bridge on Cape Fear River - up river from the mouth of the Brunswick River, near Leland. 

Watershed Research

Dr. Mike Benedetti, Geography and Geology, primary interests are fluvial geomorphology, surface water hydrology, soil science and investigating the geomorphology of Coastal Plain watersheds. 

Dr. Michael Mallin, Biology Department, studies the Cape Fear River seeking to understand the biotic and chemical dynamics of this system in order to better understand how it may respond to natural and human-induced changes.

The effects of the Cape Fear River Harbor dredging project is examined by a consortium of faculty and students who study the physical, chemical, and biological parameters in the Cape Fear River and adjacent wetlands.

The Cape Fear River winds for 200 miles through the heart of the North Carolina piedmont, crosses the coastal plain, and empties into the great Atlantic Ocean near Southport . The Lower Cape Fear River Program take numerous physical, chemical, and biological measurements which are collected at thirty-four different sites on a regular basis so biologists, chemists, physicists, and geologists will be able to understand freshwater, estuarine, and nearshore marine processes in the Cape Fear River basin. The program is located at and administered by the Center for Marine Science at the UNCW.