Chesapeake Bay Activities Newsletter July 2020
Mercury widespread in Chesapeake Bay headwaters fish
Bay Journal — By Jeremy Cox — Updated July 2, 2020
Chesapeake’s grasses hard hit by heat, high flows in 2019
Bay Journal — By Karl Blankenship — July 8, 2020
Invasive water plant poised to overwhelm Potomac watershed
Bay Journal — By Jeremy Cox — July 27, 2020
Heavy rains clobbered water quality, but it wasn’t a total washout
Bay Journal — By Karl Blankenship — July 10, 2020
New Synthesis Describes Current Understanding of Factors Driving Nutrient Trends in Streams of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Issue: Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in Chesapeake Bay since the 1950s have contributed to low dissolved oxygen leading to fish kills, and poor water clarity and associated loss of submerged aquatic vegetation. The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership has been working to improve aquatic conditions in the Bay and its tidal tributaries, and streams in the watershed, by reducing inputs of nutrients and sediment.
Under the Clean Water Act, the bay has been listed as impaired‖ and a total maximum daily load (TMDL) was established in 2010 to provide a framework for limiting nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment flux from the watershed. The TMDL requires management practices be implemented by 2025 to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus input.
USGS provides plenary and other talks at the Chesapeake Research Symposium
The Chesapeake Community Research Symposium is held every two years with a goal to “By bringing together managers, scientists, and stakeholders for a series of plenary talks, panel discussions, and special sessions, the 2020 Chesapeake Community Research Symposium will highlight recent progress, challenges and prospects for research, monitoring and modeling efforts that are used to guide management and restoration efforts in Chesapeake Bay.”