Chesapeake Bay Activities
Home
The Chesapeake Bay is our Nation’s largest estuary and provides over $100 billion in annual economic value. The USGS works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation. See our Science page to learn about our themes and topics being addressed.
USGS Contributes to New Chesapeake Bay Barometer
USGS and other science providers contribute the long-term monitoring data, analysis, and new science findings for each Bay Barometer released by Chesapeake Bay Program. Read highlights from the 2019-2020 annual report.
Find out moreAltered Flow Affects the Biological Health of Streams
The natural cycle of water flow, known as the flow regime, is one of the primary habitat conditions needed for healthy biological communities in streams.
Read moreQuick Links
Learn more about USGS science activities in the Bay from our Science Strategy. Additional summaries of the USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities are available in the science topics section.
Science Summaries, Features, and Videos
News
2019-2020 Bay Barometer shows an ecosystem in mixed recovery
Chesapeake Bay Program — by Rachel Felver — April 06, 2021
Land use tied to ‘intersex’ smallmouth bass in Bay rivers
Bay Journal — By Timothy Wheeler — February 25, 2021
Chesapeake Bay Activities Newsletter January-February 2021
The USGS provides research and monitoring to better understand and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Our technical reports and journal articles, which we translate into science summaries, provide the findings used by federal, state, and local decisionmakers to inform restoration and conservation decisions. Here are some recent highlights.
Publications
Nutrient trends and drivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
The Chesapeake Bay Program maintains an extensive nontidal monitoring network, measuring nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients) at more than 100 locations on rivers and streams in the watershed. Data from these locations are used by United States Geological Survey to assess the ecosystem’s response to nutrient-reduction efforts. This fact sheet...
Hyer, Kenneth E.; Phillips, Scott W.; Ator, Scott W.; Moyer, Douglas L.; Webber, James S.; Felver, Rachel; Keisman, Jennifer L.; McDonnell, Lee A.; Murphy, Rebecca; Trentacoste, Emily M.; Zhang, Qian; Dennison, William C.; Swanson, Sky; Walsh, Brianne; Hawkey, Jane; Taillie, Dylan
Spatial and temporal patterns of low streamflow and precipitation changes in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Spatial and temporal patterns in low streamflows were investigated for 183 streamgages located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed for the period 1939–2013. Metrics that represent different aspects of the frequency and magnitude of low streamflows were examined for trends: (1) the annual time series of seven‐day average minimum streamflow, (2) the...
Fleming, Brandon J.; Archfield, Stacey A.; Hirsch, Robert M.; Kiang, Julie E.; Wolock, David M.
Assessing native fish restoration potential in Catoctin Mountain Park
Biological conservation is a fundamental purpose of the National Park system, and Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) supports high-quality habitat for native fishes in the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in eastern North America. However, native Blue Ridge sculpin (Cottus caeruleomentum) have been extirpated in Big Hunting Creek above...
Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Kessler, Karmann G.; Kelly, Zachary A.; Rogers, Karli M.; Macmillan, Hannah E.; Walsh, Heather L.