Land-Use Monitoring and Forecasting
Land-Use Monitoring and Forecasting
New high-resolution, land-use and change data improves decision-making in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Efforts are underway to protect the rich array of lands and habitat across the Bay watershed for fish, wildlife, and people. However, new high-resolution data show an alarming loss of forests and other vital lands because of development. The USGS is leading analyses of the enhanced land-change data, and forecasting scenarios of future use, to inform land-protection and local-planning decisions.
Filter Total Items: 24
A Science-Based Approach for Targeting Resources to Achieve Multiple Chesapeake Outcomes
Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) needs to accelerate progress on multiple outcomes to meet deadlines in the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The CBP partnership spends about $1.2B annually on activities toward achieving the Watershed Agreement, with a focus on water-quality improvement. Recent funding increases, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provide additional opportunities to...
Altered flow affects the biological health of streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Issue: The natural cycle of water flow, known as the flow regime, is one of the primary habitat conditions needed for healthy biological communities in streams. However, human activities have drastically altered the natural flow regime of most of the world’s rivers and streams, including those in the Chesapeake watershed, which has resulted in changes not only to the natural habitat but also...
New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions
Issue: The need for stream mapping The physical shape of streams and floodplains can provide information about how water, sediment, and other matter moves through the landscape. Streams can have deep channels (tall streambanks) disconnected from the floodplain or wide shallow channels that easily spill over the banks into the floodplain during high flows. Mapping where streams fall along this...
Projecting stream conditions under future land-use and climate scenarios
Issue: Global change, particularly changes in land use and climate, is dramatically altering stream conditions throughout the world. Healthy streams are important for freshwater fisheries, wildlife, and public recreation. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has a goal of improving the health of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes an outcome of improving the condition of 10...
Videos Highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities
A list of Chesapeake Bay Program videos highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities.
USGS 3D Elevation Program Supports Science Activities in the Chesapeake Watershed
Increased acquisition of lidar in the Chesapeake Watershed The Chesapeake Bay Program has a critical need for enhanced land cover and land-use information to better inform restoration and conservation efforts throughout the watershed. An important component of land information is more detailed land elevation data, which are collected using lidar ( light detection and ranging), a remote sensing...
USGS develops novel approach to assess efficiency of stormwater management practices
Issue: Urban stormwater runoff is a rapidly increasing source of pollutants to Chesapeake Bay. It contributes on average 16 percent of the nitrogen, 16 percent of the phosphorus, and 25 percent of the sediment load to the bay annually. Urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs) (fig. 1) have been used in an effort to reduce the volume and improve the quality of stormwater runoff entering...
Temperature changes affecting brook trout populations
By the Numbers: 23 The maximum temperature, in degrees Celsius, that brook trout can tolerate.
Land Change Monitoring and Modeling
The USGS leads the effort through collaboration with Chesapeake Partners to monitor land change that can be used to assess the impacts land conversion on water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities
Stream temperature rising throughout the Chesapeake Bay region
U.S. Geological Survey research, published in the journal Climatic Change
Human development leads to a decline in stream health
Changes in stream flow and pollution have altered plant, insect and fish communities across the nation.