Gary Shenk is a hydrologist with the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center stationed at the Chesapeake Bay Program in Annapolis, Maryland.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 15
Water quality impacts of climate change, land use, and population growth in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
The 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load was established for the water quality and ecological restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2017, the latest science, data, and modeling tools were used to develop revised Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs). In this article, we examine the vulnerability of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the combined pressures of climate change and growth in popul
Authors
Gopal Bhatt, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Isabella Bertani, Richard Tian, Jessica Rigelman, Kyle E. Hinson, Peter Claggett
Impacts and uncertainties of climate-induced changes in watershed inputs on estuarine hypoxia
Multiple climate-driven stressors, including warming and increased nutrient delivery, are exacerbating hypoxia in coastal marine environments. Within coastal watersheds, environmental managers are particularly interested in climate impacts on terrestrial processes, which may undermine the efficacy of management actions designed to reduce eutrophication and consequent low-oxygen conditions in recei
Authors
Kyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Raymond G. Najjar, Maria Herrmann, Zihao Bian, Gopal Bhatt, Pierre St-Laurent, Hanqin Tian, Gary W. Shenk
Recognizing political influences in participatory social-ecological systems modeling
Stakeholder participation in social-ecological systems (SES) modeling is increasingly considered a desirable way to elicit diverse sources of knowledge about SES behavior and to promote inclusive decision-making in SES. Understanding how participatory modeling processes function in the context of long-term adaptive management of SES may allow for better design of participatory processes to achieve
Authors
Theodore C. Lim, Pierre D. Glynn, Gary W. Shenk, Patrick Bitterman, Joseph H. A. Guillaume, John Little, D. G. Webster
Major point and nonpoint sources of nutrient pollution to surface water have declined throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Understanding drivers of water quality in local watersheds is the first step for implementing targeted restoration practices. Nutrient inventories can inform water quality management decisions by identifying shifts in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) balances over space and time while also keeping track of the likely urban and agricultural point and nonpoint sources of pollution. The Chesapeake Bay
Authors
Robert D. Sabo, Breck Maura Sullivan, Cuiyin Wu, Emily M. Trentacoste, Qian Zhang, Gary W. Shenk, Gopal Bhatt, Lewis C. Linker
Nitrogen reductions have decreased hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay: Evidence from empirical and numerical modeling
Seasonal hypoxia is a characteristic feature of the Chesapeake Bay due to anthropogenic nutrient input from agriculture and urbanization throughout the watershed. Although coordinated management efforts since 1985 have reduced nutrient inputs to the Bay, oxygen concentrations at depth in the summer still frequently fail to meet water quality standards that have been set to protect critical estuari
Authors
Luke T Frankel, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Aaron J. Bever, Romuald N. Lipcius, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. Shenk
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term e
Authors
John W. Clune, Paul D. Capel, Matthew P. Miller, Douglas A. Burns, Andrew J. Sekellick, Peter R. Claggett, Richard H. Coupe, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ana Maria Garcia, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Silvia Terziotti, Gopal Bhatt, Joel D. Blomquist, Kristina G. Hopkins, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Richard A. Smith, Alex Soroka, James S. Webber, David M. Wolock, Qian Zhang
Chesapeake Bay: A case study in resiliency and restoration
Chesapeake Bay (“mother of waters” or the “great shellfish Bay” in Algonquin), is the largest estuary in the United States and arguably the best studied estuary in the world. Chesapeake Bay is immense, with the main stem stretching 200 nautical miles (315 km) from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to its terminus at the Atlantic Ocean and an overall watershed encompassing 64,000 mi2 (165,000 km2)
Authors
Richard R Arnold, William C. Dennison, Louis A. Etgen, Peter Goodwin, Michael Paolisso, Gary W. Shenk, Ann Swanson, Nguyen Vargas
Quantifying the response of nitrogen speciation to hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed using a multilevel modeling approach
Excessive nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal waters can lead to severe eutrophication and different chemical forms of N exhibit varying levels of effectiveness in fueling primary production. Efforts to mitigate N fluxes from coastal watersheds are often guided by models that predict changes in N loads as a function of changes in land use, management practices, and climate. However, relatively little i
Authors
Isabella Bertani, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. Shenk, Lewis C. Linker
The Chesapeake Bay program modeling system: Overview and recommendations for future development
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest, most productive, and most biologically diverse estuary in the continental United States providing crucial habitat and natural resources for culturally and economically important species. Pressures from human population growth and associated development and agricultural intensification have led to excessive nutrient and sediment inputs entering the Bay, negatively
Authors
Raleigh Hood, Gary W. Shenk, Rachel L Dixon, Sean M. C. Smith, William P. Ball, Jesse Bash, R. Batiuk, Kathy Boomer, Damian C Brady, Carl Cerco, Peter Claggett, Kim de Mutsert, Zachary M. Easton, Andrew J Elmore, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lora A. Harris, Thomas F. Ihde, Iara Lacher, Li Li, Lewis C. Linker, Andrew Miller, Julia Moriarty, Gregory B. Noe, George Onyullo, Kenneth A Rose, Katherine Skalak, Richard Tian, Tamie L Veith, Lisa A. Wainger, Donald E. Weller, Yinglong J. Zhang
Supporting cost-effective watershed management strategies for Chesapeake Bay using a modeling and optimization framework
Extensive efforts to adaptively manage nutrient pollution rely on Chesapeake Bay Program's (Phase 6) Watershed Model, called Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST), which helps decision-makers plan and track implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs). We describe mathematical characteristics of CAST and develop a constrained nonlinear BMP-subset model, software, and visualization frame
Authors
Daniel E Kaufman, Gary W. Shenk, Gopal Bhatt, Kevin Asplen, Olivia H. Devereux, Jessica Rigelman, J. Hugh Ellis, Benjamin F Hobbs, Darrell J Bosch, George L Van Houtven, Arthur E McGarity, Lewis C. Linker, William P. Ball
Advancing estuarine ecological forecasts: Seasonal hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay
Ecological forecasts are quantitative tools that can guide ecosystem management. The coemergence of extensive environmental monitoring and quantitative frameworks allows for widespread development and continued improvement of ecological forecasting systems. We use a relatively simple estuarine hypoxia model to demonstrate advances in addressing some of the most critical challenges and opportunitie
Authors
Donald Scavia, Isabella Bertani, Jeremy M. Testa, Aaron J. Bever, Joel Blomquist, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lewis C. Linker, Bruce Michael, Rebecca Murphy, Gary W. Shenk
Mechanisms controlling climate warming impact on the occurrence of hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay
AClimate change represents an increasing stressor on estuarine and coastal ecosystems. A series of simulations were run using the Integrated Compartment Water Quality Model to determine the magnitude of various mechanisms controlling the effect of climate warming on dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Chesapeake Bay. The results suggested that the average hypoxic volume in the summer would increase by 9%
Authors
Richard Tian, Carl Cerco, Gopal Bhatt, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk
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Filter Total Items: 15
Water quality impacts of climate change, land use, and population growth in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
The 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load was established for the water quality and ecological restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2017, the latest science, data, and modeling tools were used to develop revised Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs). In this article, we examine the vulnerability of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the combined pressures of climate change and growth in populAuthorsGopal Bhatt, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Isabella Bertani, Richard Tian, Jessica Rigelman, Kyle E. Hinson, Peter ClaggettImpacts and uncertainties of climate-induced changes in watershed inputs on estuarine hypoxia
Multiple climate-driven stressors, including warming and increased nutrient delivery, are exacerbating hypoxia in coastal marine environments. Within coastal watersheds, environmental managers are particularly interested in climate impacts on terrestrial processes, which may undermine the efficacy of management actions designed to reduce eutrophication and consequent low-oxygen conditions in receiAuthorsKyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Raymond G. Najjar, Maria Herrmann, Zihao Bian, Gopal Bhatt, Pierre St-Laurent, Hanqin Tian, Gary W. ShenkRecognizing political influences in participatory social-ecological systems modeling
Stakeholder participation in social-ecological systems (SES) modeling is increasingly considered a desirable way to elicit diverse sources of knowledge about SES behavior and to promote inclusive decision-making in SES. Understanding how participatory modeling processes function in the context of long-term adaptive management of SES may allow for better design of participatory processes to achieveAuthorsTheodore C. Lim, Pierre D. Glynn, Gary W. Shenk, Patrick Bitterman, Joseph H. A. Guillaume, John Little, D. G. WebsterMajor point and nonpoint sources of nutrient pollution to surface water have declined throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Understanding drivers of water quality in local watersheds is the first step for implementing targeted restoration practices. Nutrient inventories can inform water quality management decisions by identifying shifts in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) balances over space and time while also keeping track of the likely urban and agricultural point and nonpoint sources of pollution. The Chesapeake BayAuthorsRobert D. Sabo, Breck Maura Sullivan, Cuiyin Wu, Emily M. Trentacoste, Qian Zhang, Gary W. Shenk, Gopal Bhatt, Lewis C. LinkerNitrogen reductions have decreased hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay: Evidence from empirical and numerical modeling
Seasonal hypoxia is a characteristic feature of the Chesapeake Bay due to anthropogenic nutrient input from agriculture and urbanization throughout the watershed. Although coordinated management efforts since 1985 have reduced nutrient inputs to the Bay, oxygen concentrations at depth in the summer still frequently fail to meet water quality standards that have been set to protect critical estuariAuthorsLuke T Frankel, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Aaron J. Bever, Romuald N. Lipcius, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. ShenkNitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term eAuthorsJohn W. Clune, Paul D. Capel, Matthew P. Miller, Douglas A. Burns, Andrew J. Sekellick, Peter R. Claggett, Richard H. Coupe, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ana Maria Garcia, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Silvia Terziotti, Gopal Bhatt, Joel D. Blomquist, Kristina G. Hopkins, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Richard A. Smith, Alex Soroka, James S. Webber, David M. Wolock, Qian ZhangChesapeake Bay: A case study in resiliency and restoration
Chesapeake Bay (“mother of waters” or the “great shellfish Bay” in Algonquin), is the largest estuary in the United States and arguably the best studied estuary in the world. Chesapeake Bay is immense, with the main stem stretching 200 nautical miles (315 km) from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to its terminus at the Atlantic Ocean and an overall watershed encompassing 64,000 mi2 (165,000 km2)AuthorsRichard R Arnold, William C. Dennison, Louis A. Etgen, Peter Goodwin, Michael Paolisso, Gary W. Shenk, Ann Swanson, Nguyen VargasQuantifying the response of nitrogen speciation to hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed using a multilevel modeling approach
Excessive nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal waters can lead to severe eutrophication and different chemical forms of N exhibit varying levels of effectiveness in fueling primary production. Efforts to mitigate N fluxes from coastal watersheds are often guided by models that predict changes in N loads as a function of changes in land use, management practices, and climate. However, relatively little iAuthorsIsabella Bertani, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. Shenk, Lewis C. LinkerThe Chesapeake Bay program modeling system: Overview and recommendations for future development
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest, most productive, and most biologically diverse estuary in the continental United States providing crucial habitat and natural resources for culturally and economically important species. Pressures from human population growth and associated development and agricultural intensification have led to excessive nutrient and sediment inputs entering the Bay, negativelyAuthorsRaleigh Hood, Gary W. Shenk, Rachel L Dixon, Sean M. C. Smith, William P. Ball, Jesse Bash, R. Batiuk, Kathy Boomer, Damian C Brady, Carl Cerco, Peter Claggett, Kim de Mutsert, Zachary M. Easton, Andrew J Elmore, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lora A. Harris, Thomas F. Ihde, Iara Lacher, Li Li, Lewis C. Linker, Andrew Miller, Julia Moriarty, Gregory B. Noe, George Onyullo, Kenneth A Rose, Katherine Skalak, Richard Tian, Tamie L Veith, Lisa A. Wainger, Donald E. Weller, Yinglong J. ZhangSupporting cost-effective watershed management strategies for Chesapeake Bay using a modeling and optimization framework
Extensive efforts to adaptively manage nutrient pollution rely on Chesapeake Bay Program's (Phase 6) Watershed Model, called Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST), which helps decision-makers plan and track implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs). We describe mathematical characteristics of CAST and develop a constrained nonlinear BMP-subset model, software, and visualization frameAuthorsDaniel E Kaufman, Gary W. Shenk, Gopal Bhatt, Kevin Asplen, Olivia H. Devereux, Jessica Rigelman, J. Hugh Ellis, Benjamin F Hobbs, Darrell J Bosch, George L Van Houtven, Arthur E McGarity, Lewis C. Linker, William P. BallAdvancing estuarine ecological forecasts: Seasonal hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay
Ecological forecasts are quantitative tools that can guide ecosystem management. The coemergence of extensive environmental monitoring and quantitative frameworks allows for widespread development and continued improvement of ecological forecasting systems. We use a relatively simple estuarine hypoxia model to demonstrate advances in addressing some of the most critical challenges and opportunitieAuthorsDonald Scavia, Isabella Bertani, Jeremy M. Testa, Aaron J. Bever, Joel Blomquist, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lewis C. Linker, Bruce Michael, Rebecca Murphy, Gary W. ShenkMechanisms controlling climate warming impact on the occurrence of hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay
AClimate change represents an increasing stressor on estuarine and coastal ecosystems. A series of simulations were run using the Integrated Compartment Water Quality Model to determine the magnitude of various mechanisms controlling the effect of climate warming on dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Chesapeake Bay. The results suggested that the average hypoxic volume in the summer would increase by 9%AuthorsRichard Tian, Carl Cerco, Gopal Bhatt, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk - News