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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.

USGS Chesapeake Bay Studies - Data Catalog

New High-Resolution, Land-Use and Change Data Improves Decision-Making

Three side-by-side panels to show land-use-land-change in Charles County, MD

With support from the CBP, the USGS, Chesapeake Conservancy and the University of Vermont developed an improved 1-meter resolution land use/land cover (LULC) data set for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Freshwater Flow into Chesapeake Bay

The USGS provides estimates of the monthly and annual amounts of freshwater flow into the Bay so scientists and managers can better understand effects on ecosystem conditions.

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Tracking Status and Trends in Seven Key Indicators of Stream Health

Identifying and tracking the status of, and trends in, stream health within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is essential to understanding the past, present, and future trajectory of the watershed’s resources and ecological condition.

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Filter Total Items: 112

Compilation of multi-agency water temperature observations for streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed

This data release collates stream water temperature observations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), Water Quality Portal (WQP) and the USGS Aquarius (AQ) Time-Series database. Data retrieved from NWIS consists of aggregate (minimum, maximum and mean) daily values and continuous data from USGS monitoring stations. Values from the WQP contain
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Selected inputs for examining the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States

Streams provide water for human activities and consumption in much of the world. Streamflow is largely controlled by climate forces, therefore it is likely sensitive to climate changes. We analyzed daily air temperature (AT), precipitation (P), and stream discharge (Q) metrics for 124 watersheds in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, United States, from 1981 through 2020. Spatial-raster datase

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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads and trends measured at the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring stations: Water years 1985-2022

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 2022. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WR
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Compilation of multi-agency specific conductance observations for streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Freshwater salinization is an emerging issue for freshwater environments in the Chesapeake Bay, USA region. Salinization is often described by measurements of specific conductance (SC). This data release contains specific conductance observations collected by multiple regional agencies for streams within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This inventory compiles and harmonizes data from the Water Quali
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Immune Function of Wild Smallmouth Bass Collected from Sites within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 2016-2021

Adult and young of the year smallmouth bass from the Chesapeake Bay watershed have faced health issues (mortality events, disease by a variety of pathogens, endocrine disruption in male fish, evidence of oxidative damage to tissues, and signs of exposure to chemical contaminants) at multiple sites within the Susquehanna and Potomac River basins. Functional immune assays were added to long-term com
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Summary data on the forage base and critical forage taxa for Chesapeake waterbirds

We collated existing quantitative data on avian dietary composition of 58 waterbird species that make use of the Chesapeake Bay. From this database, we quantified the relative importance of forage taxa to the diets of each waterbird species. This data will enable us to develop a comprehensive suite of forage taxa indicators whose abundance and distributions can be monitored as a proxy for Chesapea
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Geospatial characterization of salt marshes on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

This data release contains coastal wetland synthesis products for the Atlantic-facing Eastern Shore of Virginia (the data release for the Chesapeake Bay-facing portion of the Eastern Shore of Virginia is found here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P997EJYB). Metrics for resiliency, including unvegetated to vegetated ratio (UVVR), marsh elevation, and tidal range are calculated for smaller units delineated
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

SPARROW Model Inputs and Estimated Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Total Nitrogen in Streams of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

This data release contains input and output data tables from a SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model, which estimated total nitrogen loads in streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed under varying better management practice implementation scenarios. Further documentation about the SPARROW modeling framework can be found here: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/tm
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center

Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Database 2022 Edition

The Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover Database (LULC) facilitates characterization of the landscape and land change for and between discrete time periods. The database was developed by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory in cooperation with Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Stream temperature data for sites in the Potomac River headwaters during 2022

This Data Release contains stream temperature data for 12 sites within the headwaters of the Potomac River basin. Data were collected between June 1-August 31, 2022 (92 days) at 30-minute increments. We collected data using Onset ProV2 gages in perforated PVC cases mounted to stream substrates with rebar. This work was funded by the USGS Priority Ecosystem Science program for the Chesapeake Bay.
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Lifespan of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units

Lifespan distribution in the Chesapeake Bay (CB) salt marsh complex is presented in terms of lifespan of conceptual marsh units defined by Ackerman and others (2022). The lifespan calculation is based on estimated sediment supply and sea-level rise (SLR) predictions after Ganju and others (2020). Sea level predictions are present day estimates at the prescribed rate of SLR, which correspond to the
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities

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
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center