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Stability of Freshwater Fish Populations and Resilience to Climate Change

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USGS Collaborates on Maryland Healthy Watersheds Assessment

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Land Use and Land Cover Data Now Published in Additional Formats

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Improving Understanding and Coordination of Science Activities for

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

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Agricultural Best Management Practices Can Improve Water Quality

And Conditions for Fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

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USGS Revises 2020 Nontidal Load and Trend Results

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Temporal Trends in Risk Factors Associated with Endocrine Disruption in Smallmouth Bass

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Understanding Factors Affecting Stream Condition

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USGS and CBP Produce Report to Enhance Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Monitoring Networks

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USGS Calculates Loads and Trends Through 2021 for the Nine Major Rivers Entering Chesapeake Bay

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New High-Resolution, Land-Use and Change Data Improves Decision-Making in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

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A Science-Based Approach for Targeting Resources to Achieve Multiple Chesapeake Outcomes

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Study Shows Importance of Streambank Erosion and Floodplain Deposition

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Publications

Discover Chesapeake related science in reports and journal articles authored by USGS scientists

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Chesapeake Bay Activities

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.

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PFAS in US Tapwater Interactive Dashboard

Web page displaying a map with text boxes on the left and right sides.

At least 45% of the nation’s tap water is estimated to have one or more types of the chemicals known as per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Vulnerability of Stream Fish Communities to Climate and Land-use Change

Maps showing forecasted environmental changes in Chesapeake Bay Watershed by 2090

The USGS examined the vulnerability of stream fish biodiversity to climate and land-use/land-cover (LULC) change throughout the watershed in contemporary and projected future periods.

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Quick 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.

News

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Tap water study detects PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ across the US

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Chesapeake Bay Activities Newsletter April-June 2023

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USGS scientists contribute to independent study evaluating why progress in achieving Bay water quality goals is lagging

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Publications

Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphometry with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool

Broad-scale mapping of stream channel and floodplain geomorphic metrics is critical to improve the understanding of geomorphic change, biogeochemical processes, riverine habitat quality, and opportunities for management intervention. The Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) was developed to provide an open-source tool for automated processing of digital elevation models (DEMs) to generat
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Labeeb Ahmed, Peter R. Claggett, Samuel Lamont, Marina Metes, Gregory B. Noe
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services

Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain sediment and n
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Jacqueline Sage Welles, Emily J. Pindilli, Gregory B. Noe, Peter Claggett, Labeeb Ahmed, Marina Metes
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Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

The Chesapeake Bay Land Change Model (CBLCM): Simulating future land use scenarios and potential impacts on water quality

The Chesapeake Bay Land Change Model (CBLCM) is an open-source pseudo-cellular automata land change model tailored for loose coupling with watershed models. The CBLCM simulates infill development, residential and commercial development, natural land and agricultural land conversion, and growth served by sewer or septic wastewater treatment. The CBLCM is unique among land change models by simulatin
Authors
Peter Claggett, Labeeb Ahmed, Frederick Irani, Sarah McDonald, Renee Thompson
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center
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Science

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Floodplain inundated with water

Floodplains provide millions of dollars in benefits every year to people in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds

Issue: Floodplains provide important services to people by retaining sediments, nutrients, and floodwaters, thereby improving water quality and reducing flooding impacts. Having information on how the monetary benefit that floodplains provide varies across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds helps resource managers describe the benefits that floodplains provide in their current state...
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Floodplains provide millions of dollars in benefits every year to people in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds

Issue: Floodplains provide important services to people by retaining sediments, nutrients, and floodwaters, thereby improving water quality and reducing flooding impacts. Having information on how the monetary benefit that floodplains provide varies across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds helps resource managers describe the benefits that floodplains provide in their current state...
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Chesapeake Bay Watershed Index Map for Susquehanna River

Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.
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ABiKiS Burst Flume

Fish Passage Design and Analysis at the S.O. Conte Research Laboratory

There are more than 92,000 dams in the United States, of which at least 3% of these produce hydropower. Hydropower projects create renewable energy but also can alter habitats, restrict upstream and downstream movements of fishes and other aquatic organisms, and may stress, injure or kill migrant fishes and other aquatic organisms. In addition, there are more than 5 million culverts and other road...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center
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Fish Passage Design and Analysis at the S.O. Conte Research Laboratory

There are more than 92,000 dams in the United States, of which at least 3% of these produce hydropower. Hydropower projects create renewable energy but also can alter habitats, restrict upstream and downstream movements of fishes and other aquatic organisms, and may stress, injure or kill migrant fishes and other aquatic organisms. In addition, there are more than 5 million culverts and other road...
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