An illustration of updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
Christopher Allen Mason
Chris Mason is a physical scientist at the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center.
Science and Products
Informing Chesapeake Bay Watershed Management by Monitoring Trends in River Nutrient and Sediment Loads
The USGS has computed nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and trends through water year 2023 in Chesapeake Bay rivers. These monitoring-based estimates help federal, state, and local managers evaluate and plan water-quality restoration strategies.
USGS revises 2020 nontidal load and trend results
Issue: The USGS has revised loads and trends through 2020 from monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Nontidal Network (NTN). The original release of the results was in July 2022. During a process to implement a new software package for the next update of NTN data, the USGS discovered some questionable data values. Most of the questionable values were related to a coding...
USGS calculates loads and trends through 2021 for the nine major rivers entering Chesapeake Bay
Issue: The amount of nutrients and suspended sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay affect water-quality conditions in tidal waters. Excess nutrients contribute to algal blooms that lower the oxygen levels in tidal waters that are important for fish and shellfish. The algal blooms, along with suspended sediment, also decrease visibility in shallow waters for submerged aquatic grasses. The grasses...
Tracking Status and Trends in Seven Key Indicators of River and Stream Condition in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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. A team of USGS ecosystem scientists is meeting this need with an initiative to track the status of, and trends in, key indicators of the health of non-tidal freshwater...
Updated 2020 Nutrient and Suspended-Sediment Trends for the Nine Major Rivers Entering the Chesapeake Bay
Issue: The amount of nutrients and suspended sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay affect water-quality conditions in tidal waters. Excess nutrients contribute to algal blooms that lower the oxygen levels in tidal waters that are important for fish and shellfish. The algal blooms, along with suspended sediment, also decrease visibility in shallow waters for submerged aquatic grasses. The grasses...
Chesapeake Bay Water-Quality Loads and Trends
Access the most recent data gathered from the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Monitoring Network, learn about the techniques used to collect this data, and read about the history of the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Monitoring Program. Nontidal Network (NTN) data refers to data from the 123 monitoring stations where nutrients and sediment are collected monthly and during storms. River Input Monitoring (RIM)...
Updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
An illustration of updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
Trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for RIM (2021)
Summary of long-term (1985-2021) and short-term (2012-2021) trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for the River Input Monitoring stations. “Improving” or “Degrading” trends are classified as likelihood estimates greater than or equal to 67 percent, whereas “No trend” estimates are greater than 33 and less than 67 percent.
Summary of long-term (1985-2021) and short-term (2012-2021) trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for the River Input Monitoring stations. “Improving” or “Degrading” trends are classified as likelihood estimates greater than or equal to 67 percent, whereas “No trend” estimates are greater than 33 and less than 67 percent.
Science and Products
Informing Chesapeake Bay Watershed Management by Monitoring Trends in River Nutrient and Sediment Loads
The USGS has computed nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and trends through water year 2023 in Chesapeake Bay rivers. These monitoring-based estimates help federal, state, and local managers evaluate and plan water-quality restoration strategies.
USGS revises 2020 nontidal load and trend results
Issue: The USGS has revised loads and trends through 2020 from monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Nontidal Network (NTN). The original release of the results was in July 2022. During a process to implement a new software package for the next update of NTN data, the USGS discovered some questionable data values. Most of the questionable values were related to a coding...
USGS calculates loads and trends through 2021 for the nine major rivers entering Chesapeake Bay
Issue: The amount of nutrients and suspended sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay affect water-quality conditions in tidal waters. Excess nutrients contribute to algal blooms that lower the oxygen levels in tidal waters that are important for fish and shellfish. The algal blooms, along with suspended sediment, also decrease visibility in shallow waters for submerged aquatic grasses. The grasses...
Tracking Status and Trends in Seven Key Indicators of River and Stream Condition in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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. A team of USGS ecosystem scientists is meeting this need with an initiative to track the status of, and trends in, key indicators of the health of non-tidal freshwater...
Updated 2020 Nutrient and Suspended-Sediment Trends for the Nine Major Rivers Entering the Chesapeake Bay
Issue: The amount of nutrients and suspended sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay affect water-quality conditions in tidal waters. Excess nutrients contribute to algal blooms that lower the oxygen levels in tidal waters that are important for fish and shellfish. The algal blooms, along with suspended sediment, also decrease visibility in shallow waters for submerged aquatic grasses. The grasses...
Chesapeake Bay Water-Quality Loads and Trends
Access the most recent data gathered from the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Monitoring Network, learn about the techniques used to collect this data, and read about the history of the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Monitoring Program. Nontidal Network (NTN) data refers to data from the 123 monitoring stations where nutrients and sediment are collected monthly and during storms. River Input Monitoring (RIM)...
Updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
An illustration of updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
An illustration of updated short-term nitrogen and phosphorous trends in the Chesapeake Bay
Trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for RIM (2021)
Summary of long-term (1985-2021) and short-term (2012-2021) trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for the River Input Monitoring stations. “Improving” or “Degrading” trends are classified as likelihood estimates greater than or equal to 67 percent, whereas “No trend” estimates are greater than 33 and less than 67 percent.
Summary of long-term (1985-2021) and short-term (2012-2021) trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads for the River Input Monitoring stations. “Improving” or “Degrading” trends are classified as likelihood estimates greater than or equal to 67 percent, whereas “No trend” estimates are greater than 33 and less than 67 percent.