Table 1. Pearson’s correlation matrix representing relationships between water quality trends (FC concentration and salinity) and environmental parameters (LULC change, precipitation, shore distance) for all stations along North Carolina’s coast included in the MK trend testing.
When aggregated to annual averages, the NCDWR salinity data is insufficiently short (n = [10, 14] for each station) and limits our ability to apply trend testing. However, the NCDWR salinity time series (Figure 5) largely follow the same trends as the NCDMF salinity data; exceptions include sites in growing areas E and D, where several NCDWR stations were located in the upstream, fresher portions of the estuaries. While we generally selected stations in locations similar to NCDMF stations, these are presented due to lack of stations in the more brackish and marine waters within these areas. Given that the NCDWR data is collected through an unbiased monitoring program, the agreement between the NCDWR and NCDMF salinity observations indicates the NCDMF observations may not be severely affected by sampling bias.