Chesapeake Bay Activities
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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 Updates Chesapeake Science Strategy
As the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is faced with new and evolving pressures from climate change, human development and changes in land use, the USGS has updated its science priorities to help address these growing threats.
Find out moreChesapeake Science Partners Produce Tributary Summaries
Several Chesapeake Bay science partners collaborated to compile tributary basin summaries for 12 major tributaries or tributary groups in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
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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
Chesapeake Bay Activities Newsletter May-June 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.
For the second year in a row, smaller Chesapeake Bay dead zone forecast for the summer
Chesapeake Bay Program — Press Release — June 21, 2021
News Feature: The complex case of Chesapeake Bay restoration
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America — by John Carey — June 16, 2021
Publications
USGS Chesapeake Science Strategy 2021-2025
The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is a national treasure that provides almost $100 billion annually of goods and services. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), is one of the largest federal-state restoration partnerships in the United States and is underpinned by rigorous science. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a pivotal role as a science provider...
Hyer, Kenneth E.; Phillips, Scott W.
U.S. Geological Survey landscape science strategy 2020–2030
Across our Nation, multiple Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments are working with stakeholders and landowners to restore, conserve, and manage lands and resources to benefit fish, wildlife, and people. One of the largest Federal efforts is led by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), with multiple DOI agencies working to conserve and...
Jenni, Karen E.; Carter, Sarah K.; Aumen, Nicholas G.; Bowen, Zachary H.; Bradford, John B.; Chotkowski, Michael A.; Hsu, Leslie; Murdoch, Peter S.; Phillips, Scott W.; Pope, Kevin L.; Schuster, Rudy; Steinkamp, Melanie J.; Weltzin, Jake; Xian, George Z.
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