Unified Interior Regions
Maryland
Maryland's water supply comes from streams, rivers, groundwater and reservoirs. Many of these systems flow to the Chesapeake Bay, the Nation's largest estuary. This complex ecosystem has been degraded due to the impact of human-population increase. The MD-DC-DE Water Science Center studies the impacts this has on water quality, habitats and biological communities.
Maryland - Delaware - Washington D.C. Water Science Center
5522 Research Park Drive
Catonsville, MD 21228
Phone: 443-498-5500
Fax: 442-498-5510
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
12100 Beech Forest Road
Laurel, MD 20708-4039
Phone: 301-497-5000
Patuxent ResearchStates L2 Landing Page Tabs
Appalachian Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The USGS has conducted numerous assessments of undiscovered oil and gas in the Appalachian Basin, including studies of the Marcellus Shale. The region extends from Alabama to Maine. The following is an overview of the assessments:
- 2019 Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale (FS 2019-3044)
- 2019 ...
A tale of two coasts: tidal marsh persistence with changing climate and sea-level rise- Karen Thorne
The overall goal of this project is to improve our understanding of the combined effects of inundation, due to sea-level rise and storm surges, and other climate factor on tidal marsh physical and biological processes to provide guidance to natural resource managers to reduce these threats and increase resilience.
The health of maritime forests in three Mid-Atlantic National Seashores
The 2017 Work Plan for the National Resources Protection Program (NRPP) project on Fire Island, Sandy Hook, and Assateague includes a description of the issues and implications; description of the methods; and summary of the 2017 tasks, including site selection, well and instrumentation installation, and monitoring groundwater levels, temperature, and specific conductance.
Collecting Ecological Data and Models of Living Shoreline Restoration Projects
Developing effective living shoreline restoration projects that can withstand hurricanes and storms requires a better understanding of how restoration structures reduce the impact of wave and current energy on marsh edges in estuaries and bays. Without this knowledge, existing living shoreline projects and adaptive management measures are more likely to fail, decreasing the possibility for...
Flow Modeling at Dam Removal Sites Associated with Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Efforts
The purpose of this work is to better understand the effects of dam removal on local hydraulics, fish passage, and flooding. This study is part of a larger effort to monitor ecological resilience changes at nine Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency aquatic connectivity restoration projects. It will contribute crucial knowledge that will be used to improve aquatic connectivity system cost-...
Bird Banding Laboratory
The Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the...
Heavy-Mineral Sand Resources in the Southeastern U.S.
We are assessing the extent of industrial mineral resources hosted by heavy-mineral sands in the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. “Heavy-mineral sands" (HMS) is a term commonly used in industry and geologic literature to describe layered sediments deposited in coastal environments that contain dense (“heavy") minerals of economic value. The heavy minerals extracted from these...
Hurricane Joaquin - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Joaquin coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Disease Resistance of Wildlife Species: how the immune system evolves and adapts
The Challenge: In an era when emerging infectious diseases are steadily increasing, human populations are exposed to virulent new pathogens. Insight into the human system can be gained from understanding the variety of immune adaptations of wildlife species. The vertebrate immune system is not static. Rather, it involves in response to the environment.
Shoreline Changes and Impacts to Natural Resources in Chesapeake Bay
This project aims to improve our understanding of the impacts of shoreline hardening on aquatic ecosystems.
Genomic and Behavioral Effects of the Neonicotinoid Imidacloprid in Birds Exposed Through Pesticide-Coated Seeds
The Challenge: Neonicotinoid pesticides act as agonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and are designed to be lethal to insects while theoretically posing little to no threat to vertebrates. The perceived safety of neonicotinoids has led to a sharp increase in their use in the United States and globally, since they were first introduced in 1994. The use of the neonicotinoid...
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Summary—The Role of Storms on Bank Erosion Rates and Sediment Transport in Urban Areas
Sediment is a major pollutant degrading aquatic ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The USGS is conducting studies to determine the relative importance of streambank erosion to other sediment sources, such as upland erosion, in both agricultural and urban areas. The information is necessary so resource managers can focus on the types, and locations, of practices that will be most...
Coastal and Marine Geology Video and Photography Portal
This portal contains U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) video and photography of the seafloor off of coastal California and Massachusetts, and aerial imagery of the coastline along segments of the Gulf of Mexico and mid-Atlantic coasts. These data were collected as part of several USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program Seafloor Mapping projects and Hurricane and Extreme Storm research.
Orthoimagery Data
Orthoimagery data typically are high resolution aerial images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the spatial accuracy and reliability of a planimetric map. The National Map offers public domain, 1-meter orthoimagery for the conterminous United States with many urban areas and other locations at 2-foot or finer resolution.
The National Map Small-Scale Collection
The National Map offers a collection of small-scale datasets, most of which are at 1:1,000,000. The National Map publishes two data collections at one million-scale: one for Global Map users and one for National Map users. In terms of vector geometry, the lines, points, and areas in these data collections are identical. The difference is in the attributes assigned to these features.
High-resolution geophysical data collected along the Delmarva Peninsula in 2015, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2015-001-FA
The Delmarva Peninsula is a 220-kilometer-long headland, spit, and barrier island complex that was significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted cruises during the summers of 2014 and 2015 to map the inner continental shelf of the Delmarva Peninsula using geophysical and sampling techniques to define the geologic framework
Geochemical analysis of authigenic carbonates and chemosynthetic mussels at Atlantic Margin seeps (ver. 2.0, March 2019)
Isotopic analyses of authigenic carbonates and methanotrophic deep-sea mussels, Bathymodiolus sp., was performed on samples collected from seep fields in the Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons on the north Atlantic margin. Samples were collected using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) during three different research cruises in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Analyses were performed by sev
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Maryland Soybean Farm
A soybean farm in northern Maryland. Corn can be seen growing in the background.
Maryland Soybean Farm
A soybean farm in northern Maryland. Corn can be seen growing in the background.
Cicada shell
USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.Roooooarrrrrr!, Danger, creature from the black lagoon. Or...not. Here we have a close up look at the many interesting features that are left behind when a cicada emerges. This one was in my backyard and left his/her full body suit behind on the shed. Insects are just weird sometimes, how do they go from something that looks like a
...
Horseplay on Assateague Island
Following Hurricane Sandy, GPR field work was conducted on Assateague Island, Maryland, to image stratigraphic features that may aid in explaining controls on washover deposition. The horseshoe crab was spotted early in the morning while gearing up for the day.
Calvert Cliffs—Maryland
Calvert Cliffs on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
Recreating wetland-stream complexes in urban watersheds, Howards Branch, Baltimore, Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey), Ronald Bowen (Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works), Kevin Smith (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), and Keith Underwood (Underwood and Assoc.) talk about recreating an Atlantic White Cedar wetland at an old millpond setting along a highly urban section of Howards Branch. This project looked for opportunities to
Recreating baseflow channels, Howards Branch, Baltimore, Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey) and Joe Berg (BioHabitats, Inc.) describe base-flow channels and sand seepage wetlands in a wetland complex at an old millpond setting along a highly urban section of Howards Branch. Recreated baseflow channels enhance changes in width with increased stormwater flow. These channels maximize the effectiveness of floodplain
Multi-agency coordination leads to successful dam removal, Simkins Dam, Patapsco River Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey) and Serena McClain (American Rivers, Director, River Restoration) discuss the history of how the dam removal became possible. Allen Gellis (USGS Maryland Water Science Center) discusses the importance of monitoring sediment transport related to dam removal. Matt Collins (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) describes
Multi-agency coordination leads to successful dam removal, Simkins Dam, Patapsco River Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey) and Serena McClain (American Rivers, Director, River Restoration) discuss the history of how the dam removal became possible. Allen Gellis (USGS Maryland Water Science Center) discusses the importance of monitoring sediment transport related to dam removal. Matt Collins (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) describes
Ecosystem restoration in the Chesapeake Bay headwaters, Severn River Tributary, Anne Arundel County Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey), Hala Flores (Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works), Ronald Bowen (Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works), and Keith Underwood (Underwood and Assoc.) talk about stream restoration projects associated with Anne Arundel County's new office complex. A 0.5- mile long series of sand seepage berms and bog wetlands
Stream restoration, sediment TMDLs issues, and riparian vegetation in urban gullies flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, Carriage Hills, Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey), Keith Underwood (Underwood and Assoc.), Erik Michelsen (South River Federation), and Joe Berg (BioHabitats, Inc.) discuss how a degraded headwater ephemeral gully in a residential area was retrofitted with sand seepage and step-pool systems to reduce erosion and improve water quality as well as aquatic and riparian habitat. Trees
Special stormwater outfalls (bubblers) used in stream restoration projects to reduce erosive energy, Carriage Hills Outfall, Maryland
Faith Fitzpatrick (U.S. Geological Survey) and Joe Berg (BioHabitats, Inc.) describe bubble up inlet structures that help to reduce erosive energy for stormwater outfalls where they discharge into rehabilitated streams.
The "Best Report" for 2014 is "Hydrogeologic characterization and assessment of bioremediation of chlorinated benzenes and benzene in wetland areas, Standard Chlorine of Delaware, Inc. Superfund Site, New Castle County, Delaware, 2009-12"
Hydrogeologic characterization and assessment of bioremediation of chlorinated benzenes and benzene in wetland areas
Threats to groundwater availability and sustainability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain are dependent to a large degree by the type of aquifers used for water supply, according to a new regional assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey.
A fish pathogen similar to one previously found in the United States only in Pacific salmonids -- salmon and trout species -- has been identified for the first time in the eastern United States and in a non-salmon species, according to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Vital coastal storm-tide information needed to help guide storm response efforts following major storms affecting Maryland will be more accessible than ever due to a new monitoring network the U.S. Geological Survey is currently building.
For more information, see http://md.water.usgs.gov/usgs-news.html
Recent scientific work has confirmed the source, composition and origin of methane seeps on the Atlantic Ocean seafloor, discovered in 2012, where scientists never expected them to be.
New USGS models help predict storm effects on beaches
As the 2016 hurricane season opens, weather forecasters, emergency managers and coastal residents have access to tools developed by the U.S. Geological Survey that predict, more precisely than ever, where beach erosion and beachfront flooding will take place during hurricanes and other storms.
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
The world's largest breeding population of ospreys is coping well with the long-lasting residues of toxic chemicals that were banned decades ago but remain in the Chesapeake Bay food chain at varying levels, such as the pesticide DDT and insulating chemicals known as PCBs.
Much of the coast from Maine to Virginia is more likely to change than to simply drown in response to rising seas during the next 70 years or so, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announce Visualize Your Water, a citizen science challenge for high school students who live in the Great Lakes basin and Chesapeake Bay watershed.
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
As the path of Hurricane Joaquin continues to move farther offshore, making landfall in the U.S. less likely, U.S. Geological Survey coastal change experts say there’s still a high probability of dune erosion along parts of the Atlantic coast, from the North Carolina Outer Banks to Cape Cod.
BALTIMORE -- Forests worldwide are vulnerable to growing risks of drought- and heat-induced tree mortality and forest die-off because of a rapidly warming Earth, according to just-published research in the scientific journal Ecosphere. The paper is an invited “ESA Centennial Paper” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ecological Society of America.
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Locations
Chesapeake Bay Program
Phone: (800) YOUR-BAY (968-7229)
Fax: (410) 267-5777
MD-DE-DC Water Science Center
information@usgs.gov
Phone: 443-498-5500
Fax: 442-498-5510
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
webmaster@patuxent.usgs.gov
Phone: 301 497-5500
Chesapeake Bay Activities
Phone: 443-498-5552
Fax: 443-498-5510
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center - Beltsville Lab
Office of External Research
Phone: (443) 498-5505
Fax: (703) 648-5002
Contacts
Maryland - Delaware - Washington D.C. Water Science Center
5522 Research Park Drive
Catonsville, MD 21228
Phone: 443-498-5500
Fax: 442-498-5510
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
12100 Beech Forest Road
Laurel, MD 20708-4039
Phone: 301-497-5000
Patuxent Research