Publications
The USGS publishes peer-reviewed reports and journal articles which are used by Chesapeake Bay Program resource managers and policy makers to make science-based decisions for ecosystem conservation and restoration. Use the Search box below to find publications on selected topics.
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Filter Total Items: 942
Rapid sea level rise and ice sheet response to 8,200-year climate event Rapid sea level rise and ice sheet response to 8,200-year climate event
The largest abrupt climatic reversal of the Holocene interglacial, the cooling event 8.6–8.2 thousand years ago (ka), was probably caused by catastrophic release of glacial Lake Agassiz-Ojibway, which slowed Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and cooled global climate. Geophysical surveys and sediment cores from Chesapeake Bay reveal the pattern of sea level rise during...
Authors
T. M. Cronin, P.R. Vogt, Debra A. Willard, R. Thunell, J. Halka, M. Berke, J. Pohlman
Long-term changes in abundance and diversity of macrophyte and waterfowl populations in an estuary with exotic macrophytes and improving water quality Long-term changes in abundance and diversity of macrophyte and waterfowl populations in an estuary with exotic macrophytes and improving water quality
We assessed species-specific coverage (km2) of a submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) community in the fresh and upper oligohaline Potomac Estuary from 1985 to 2001 using a method combining field observations of species-proportional coverage data with congruent remotely sensed coverage and density (percent canopy cover) data. Biomass (estimated by density-weighted coverage) of individual...
Authors
N. B. Rybicki, J.M. Landwehr
Changes in streamflow and water quality in selected nontidal basins in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985-2004 Changes in streamflow and water quality in selected nontidal basins in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985-2004
As part of an annual evaluation of water-quality conditions by the Chesapeake Bay Program, water-quality and streamflow data from 32 sites in nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay watershed were analyzed to document annual nutrient and sediment trends for 1985 through 2004. This study also formalized different trend tests and methodologies used in assessing the effectiveness of man...
Authors
Michael J. Langland, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Douglas Moyer, Jurate M. Landwehr, Gregory E. Schwarz
Factors affecting occurrence and distribution of selected contaminants in ground water from selected areas in the Piedmont Aquifer System, Eastern United States, 1993-2003 Factors affecting occurrence and distribution of selected contaminants in ground water from selected areas in the Piedmont Aquifer System, Eastern United States, 1993-2003
Results of ground-water sampling from 255 wells and 19 springs in 11 studies done by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program within the Piedmont Aquifer System (PAS) were analyzed to determine the factors affecting occurrence and distribution of selected contaminants. The contaminants, which were selected on the basis of potential human-health effects...
Authors
Bruce D. Lindsey, W. Fred Falls, Matthew J. Ferrari, Tammy M. Zimmerman, Douglas A. Harned, Eric M. Sadorf, Melinda J. Chapman
U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake Bay Studies: Scientific Solutions for a Healthy Bay and Watershed U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake Bay Studies: Scientific Solutions for a Healthy Bay and Watershed
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the science agency for the Department of Interior (DOI), has the critical role of providing objective science to document and understand ecosystem change in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The human population in the Bay watershed, which grew from 8.1 million in 1950 to almost 16 million in 2000, has resulted in degraded water quality, loss of...
Authors
Scott Phillips
Restoring coastal ecosystems and abrupt climate change Restoring coastal ecosystems and abrupt climate change
No abstract available.
Authors
Thomas M. Cronin, H. A. Walker
Predicting the vulnerability of streams to episodic acidification and potential effects on aquatic biota in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Predicting the vulnerability of streams to episodic acidification and potential effects on aquatic biota in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Acidic deposition is one of the most serious environmental problems affecting Shenandoah National Park in north-central Virginia. The park is the third most contaminated park in the National Park System because of the deposition of acid rain. Acid rain affects headwater streams in the park by temporarily reducing the acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) of the water, a process termed...
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Frank A. Deviney, George M. Hornberger, James R. Webb
Watershed characteristics and pre-restoration surface-water hydrology of Minebank Run, Baltimore County, Maryland, water years 2002-04 Watershed characteristics and pre-restoration surface-water hydrology of Minebank Run, Baltimore County, Maryland, water years 2002-04
Stream restoration efforts have been ongoing in Maryland since the early 1990s. Physical stream restoration often involves replacement of lost sediments to elevate degraded streambeds, re-establishment of riffle-pool sequences along the channel profile, planting vegetation in riparian zones, and re-constructing channel banks, point bars, flood plains, and stream-meanders. The primary...
Authors
Edward J. Doheny, Roger J. Starsoneck, Elise A. Striz, Paul M. Mayer
Time series and recurrence interval models to predict the vulnerability of streams to episodic acidification in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Time series and recurrence interval models to predict the vulnerability of streams to episodic acidification in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Acid rain affects headwater streams by temporarily reducing the acid‐neutralizing capacity (ANC) of the water, a process termed episodic acidification. The increase in acidic components in stream water can have deleterious effects on the aquatic biota. Although acidic deposition is uniform across Shenandoah National Park (SNP) in north central Virginia, the stream water quality response...
Authors
Frank A. Deviney, Karen C. Rice, George M. Hornberger
A shock-induced polymorph of anatase and rutile from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, U.S.A A shock-induced polymorph of anatase and rutile from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, U.S.A
A shock-induced polymorph (TiO2II) of anatase and rutile has been identified in breccias from the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure. The breccia samples are from a recent, partially cored test hole in the central uplift at Cape Charles, Virginia. The drill cores from 744 to 823 m depth consist of suevitic crystalline-clast breccia and brecciated cataclastic gneiss in which the...
Authors
J.C. Jackson, J. Wright Horton, I.-M. Chou, H. E. Belkin
A Reconnaissance for Emerging Contaminants in the South Branch Potomac River, Cacapon River, and Williams River Basins, West Virginia, April-October 2004 A Reconnaissance for Emerging Contaminants in the South Branch Potomac River, Cacapon River, and Williams River Basins, West Virginia, April-October 2004
In 2003 a team of scientists from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and the U. S. Geological Survey found a high incidence of an intersex condition, oocytes in the testes, among smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the South Branch Potomac River and the Cacapon River of West Virginia, indicating the possible presence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs). Possible...
Authors
Douglas B. Chambers, Thomas J. Leiker