John Boyer, a freshman in meteorology, will present research on climate change and its effect on North Carolina’s coasts at the Undergraduate Research Symposium Saturday.

Boyer’s presentation focuses on global warming and its effect on a local scale. He said he studied other research on the issue and compiled the findings in a way so a nonscientific person could get an idea of the situation.

In his research, he found that by the year 2100, world sea levels are expected to rise by up to 1 meter.

That, combined with a slow sinking of North Carolina beaches and their low slope, could wash away the protective islands of the Outer Banks and expose cities further inland to the battering of Atlantic hurricanes, he said.

Boyer said areas need to be preserved by allowing the coast to go through natural processes, and developers shouldn’t “cage” the ocean with sea walls or other forms of containment.

He explained islands naturally want to move inward toward the land, but this happens very slowly.

“Hurricanes are the driving force,” bringing about balance to the island’s movement, he said.

This balance is interrupted, he said, when the inlets are filled by building roads or other economic developments.

Boyer said this is not good for the overall health of the island.

According to Boyer, there has been much discussion about whether to develop the islands or take care of their well being. He suggested a compromise by taking a less invasive approach by using ferries instead of bridges and building less grandiose homes along the beach front to decrease losses in the event of bad weather.

“[We should] change the nature of the building styles, lower the risk and build cottages instead of mansions,” he said.

Boyer said he has worked with Sandra Yuter, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, and it is “important to have someone take you by the hand and pull you into college level research”.

The research is an extension of his Introduction to Meteorology course, he said. To receive honors credit, he worked with his professor to enhance and deepen the scope of the class.

“I wanted to study something that isn’t well understood,” he said. “To have a better understanding of that would make you a better scholar.”

Throughout his school career, he has focused on meteorology and increasing his knowledge of the subject through projects and an internship, Boyer said.

“Whenever there was a project in school, I did it about meteorology,” he said.