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Data

The USGS collects multiple types of data in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Data Catalog contains a list and links of all the types of Chesapeake information from USGS. Some of the most relevant data related to streams and rivers is highlighted in the “tracking status and trends indicators of stream health”. Land cover, use, and change data are also highlighted.

Filter Total Items: 113

Motility of sperm from adult largemouth bass pond exposure to 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol or estrone-atrazine mixture (2018)

Adult largemouth bass have been shown to be sensitive to induction of intersex in response to chronic estrogen exposures over a complete reproductive cycle. Late summer to fall is the period of early gonad recrudescence when spermatogenesis is beginning in preparation for the spawning season in the spring. Our objective was to assess in 2018 whether early gonad recrudescence was a period of sensit

Fish species abundance data for selected streams of the Potomac River basin

This Data Release contains data on fish species abundance for selected streams of the Potomac River basin in eastern North America. This dataset supports analysis of karst streams in the Chesapeake Bay headwaters region and was funded by USGS Chesapeake Bay studies.

Water Chemistry and Smallmouth Bass Biological Data From the Potomac River, Dargan, Maryland, 2013-2019

Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year recruitment, in addition to adult mortality, has led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB) population in subwatersheds of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of these stressors, the current study

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads and trends measured at the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring stations: Water years 1985-2021

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads, and changes in loads, in major rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been calculated using monitoring data from the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring (RIM) Network stations for the period 1985 through 2021. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WR

Geospatial characterization of salt marshes in Chesapeake Bay

This data release contains coastal wetland synthesis products for Chesapeake Bay. Metrics for resiliency, including unvegetated to vegetated ratio (UVVR), marsh elevation, and tidal range are calculated for smaller units delineated from a digital elevation model, providing the spatial variability of physical factors that influence wetland health. The U.S. Geological Survey has been expanding natio

Literature review results and regulatory summaries of freshwater stressors influencing biological impairment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

This data release contains relevant datasets used in the analysis for the Chesapeake Bay stressor identification project, for which results are described in Fanelli and others (in review). For this project, two existing information sources were compiled and summarized to identify key in-stream stressors reported by the scientific literature or through regulatory assessments to be likely affecting

Priority Toxic Contaminant Metadata Inventory and Associated Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls Concentration Data

In June 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center (MD-DE-DC WSC) team began to collect and inventory available information on toxic contaminants within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. State agencies were contacted to determine available data. Also, the National Water Information System (NWIS) and National Water Quality Database (NWQD) were queried t

Estimated Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sediment Load Reductions from Best Management Practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed between 1985 and 2020

To estimate changes in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads from technologies and management practices (TMPs), the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership's CAST model was used to run scenarios with and without TMPs for years between 1985 and 2020 for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Scenarios were run using the native model segmentation of land-river segments and downscaled to the National Hydrograph

Characterization of the Impact of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Natural Resource Concerns in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides funding and technical assistance for the implementation of practices that enable people to conserve, maintain, or improve soil, water, and related natural resources. NRCS conservation practices, or best management practices, relate the conservation practices to conservation practice physical effects (CPPE). P

Datasets and scripts used for estimating streamflow and base flow within the nontidal Chesapeake Bay riverine system, water years 2006-15

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release contains estimated daily streamflow and base flow for HUC12 in the nontidal areas of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, monthly average streamflow and base flow, flow statistics, MATLAB scripts, and a document that describes how to create similar datasets in other watersheds. Daily streamflow was estimated for all the nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads and trends measured at the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network stations: Water years 1985-2020 (ver. 2.0, January 2023)

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads, and changes in loads, in major rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been calculated using monitoring data from the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network (NTN) stations stations for the period 1985 through 2020. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WRTDS (

Comparing various survey methods for estimating the number of colonial nesting white egret pairs

While small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) present a unique opportunity to survey avian populations while limiting disturbance, relatively little is known about how this method compares with more traditional approaches. In this study we compared population estimates of a mixed-species egret colony in the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA) derived from UAS photo counts, flush counts, flight-line surveys