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
USGS works with academic and CBP partners to summarize science on water-quality
Pollution-reducing practices can improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams, according to new research from the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. In a report released today, a number of case studies show that “best management practices”—including upgrading wastewater treatment plants, lowering vehicle and power plant emissions and reducing runoff from farmland—...
Spatial Capture-Recapture Models to Estimate Abundance and Density of Animal Populations
The Challenge: For decades, capture-recapture methods have been the cornerstone of ecological statistics as applied to population biology. While capture-recapture has become the standard sampling and analytical framework for the study of population processes (Williams, Nichols & Conroy 2002) it has advanced independent of and remained unconnected to the spatial structure of the population...
Hierarchical Models for Estimation of Population Parameters
The Challenge: Much of wildlife research consists of the description of variation in data. Some of the variation results from spatial and temporal change in populations, while some results from biologically irrelevant sampling variation induced by the process of data collection. Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant variation is the first task of statistical analysis, but the job does not...
Managing Free-Roaming Cats at the Patuxent Research Refuge
The Challenge: Free-roaming cats (Felis catus) are nonnative predators of small mammals, songbirds and gamebirds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. They are also competitors of native predators and vectors for diseases to human and wildlife. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to remove cats from National Wildlife Refuges. Presently cat trapping on Refuge lands is conducted...
Development of Computer Software for the Analysis of Animal Population Parameters
Biologists at USGS Patuxent, as well as cooperating agencies are constantly looking for new ways of answering questions about the status of animal populations and how animal populations change over time. To address these questions, data are collected on captures and or sightings of animals which can be used to estimate parameters which affect the population using legacy software. Over time,...
Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building
The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is...
Geomorphic Responses to Stream Channel Restoration at Minebank Run, Baltimore County, Maryland
Urban streams frequently undergo severe incision and erosion due to flashy streamflows caused by impervious surfaces in the watershed. The study was designed to investigate the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of a selected reach of Minebank Run before and after stream restoration, in order to determine the effect that stream restoration had on sediment processes in the stream.
Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrologic (SWaTH) Network in Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia
Many U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Centers have responsibilities for coastal regions within their mission areas. The integrated Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrologic (SWaTH) Network has been developed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to support model development and verification for coastal regions, detection of hydrologic trends, and early warning of hydrologic hazards in the northeast from...
USGS science contributes to "Water quality improves, pollution falls in the Chesapeake Bay"
Data show significant drop in nutrient and sediment loads
Improving Our Ability to Forecast Tidal Marsh Response to Sea Level Rise
Our overall objective is to understand what controls the vulnerability of coastal marshes to risks associated with global change drivers and rising sea levels. Fundamental questions pertaining to coastal wetland vulnerability still need to be addressed. What factors explain spatial and geographic variation in tidal wetland vulnerability? How do short term climatic events (storms) influence the...
Nocturnal Bird Migration through the Central Appalachians
The Challenge: Concerns have arisen about the potential impacts of wind power development in the Appalachians on migrating birds, creating a critical need for information on their distribution and flight characteristics as they pass through the region. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution of nocturnally migrating birds in the Central Appalachians (MD, VA, WV). The...
Vulnerability Assessment of Available Habitat for Wintering Black Ducks within the Refuge System in the Chesapeake Bay
American black duck (Anas rubripes) utilize inland and tidal freshwater and brackish marshes throughout the Chesapeake Bay and are considered to be an indicator species of the ecosystem’s health. Thus, conserving and increasing black duck habitats will subsequently benefit the general health of the bay. The goal of this study was to create a mechanistic model to determine the amount...
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
A manatee spotted this week in Calvert County, Maryland is the same one that first made waves 17 years ago when he appeared in Chesapeake Bay just before the onset of winter and later had to be rescued.
The most recent USGS Earth as Art exhibit, the third in the series of award-winning Landsat satellite images, will be on display at the Library of Congress beginning May 31.
Wild migratory birds may indeed play a role in the spread of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.
More than one-third of the nation’s population uses drinking water from public water systems that rely on groundwater pumped from public wells. The U.S. Geological Survey has collected data nationwide on water-quality in public wells.
In the United States, 1 in 4 people live with the risk of earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey and its partners are designing innovative tools to better detect earthquakes and share critical information. The involvement of citizens is key, as decisions made before and immediately after an earthquake can save lives and protect property.
Large amounts of nitrogen are stored in the soils of agricultural areas in Nebraska and Maryland, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Once in the soil, nitrogen can be converted to nitrate, which can readily move to groundwater.
U.S. Geological Survey conservation geneticists will showcase their science at the Department of the Interior on March 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (South Interior Building, South Interior Auditorium, 1951 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.)
During the next 15-20 years, the reservoirs behind all three dams of the lower Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and Maryland may be filled to capacity with sediments from upstream. If this happens, sediment and nutrient loads entering the Chesapeake Bay are expected to increase. These are among the recent findings of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report.
The rain last week did little to alleviate the dry conditions affecting parts of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Hydrologic conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region remain abnormally dry, and streamflows continue to decline, according to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (see national map figure below).
Editors and Reporters: The conference runs from March 23-25 at the Baltimore Inner Harbor Marriott, 110 S. Eutaw St. For more info, see the Ecosystem Based Management in the Chesapeake and Other Systems Web site.
Presidential Rank Award -- Top Federal Honor -- Given to USGS Deputy Director Robert Doyle (archive)
U.S. Geological Survey Deputy Director Robert Doyle has been selected as a Distinguished recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, a prestigious award that commends outstanding leadership and long-term accomplishments.
Low levels of certain man-made chemicals remain in public water supplies after being treated in selected community water facilities.
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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