Publications

This document has been prepared to assist with requests for funding under Public Law 105-312, the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998. Funding will be awarded to projects submitted to the 2000 Demonstration Project Grant Program for implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and WaterTrails Network.

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This study examines the relative importance of food versus hypoxia and other factors as limitations on biomass and production of benthic macrofaunal communities in shallow (2m) and deep (>12m) stations of the mesohaline regions of Chesapeake Bay

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A predictive model of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) biomass is coupled to a eutrophication model of the Chesapeake Bay. Domain of the model includes the mainstem of the bay as well as tidal portions of the major embayments and tributaries. Three SAV communities are modeled: Zostera, Ruppia, and freshwater. The model successfully computes the spatial distribution and abundance of SAV for the period 1985-1994. Spatial distribution is primarily determined by computed light attenuation. Sensitivity analysis to reductions in nutrient and solids loads indicates nutrient controls will enhance abundance primarily in areas that presently support SAV. Restoration of SAV to areas in which it does not presently exist requires solids controls, alone or in combination with nutrient controls

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The validation and subsequent application of the current three dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model of Chesapeake Bay is presented. The numerical model solves conservation equations for water mass, momentum, salinity, and heat on a boundary-fitted grid in the horizontal plane. The vertical grid is Cartesian. A finite-difference solution scheme is employed such that vertically-averaged equations are first solved to yield the water surface elevations. These are then utilized in the computation of the barotropic portion of the horizontal pressure gradient in the internal mode. Model validation was accomplished by demonstrating the model's ability to reproduce observed data over times scales ranging from tidal to seasonal periods. After validation, the model was applied to simulate bay hydrodynamics for the 10 years of 1985-1994. These results were used to drive the three-dimensional water quality model of Chesapeake Bay, which is discussed in a companion paper.

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This document summarizes the ideas and goals from this working session. These ideas and goals will be considered for the Toxics Strategy (2000) and the Chesapeake Bay Agreement(2000).

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This report highlights the Federal activities for Bay restoration and stewardship from April 1992 to April 1999. This report is the third biennial report of the progress made by Federal agencies on the commitments made in the 1994 and 1998 Federal Bay agreements

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During the past several years, considerable attention has been directed at the potential environmental impacts of agriculture in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. A primary focus has been on the potential nutrient loadings to surface and groundwater resulting from animal agricultural sources. There is an emerging body of science-based information on the formulation of animal rations that have the potential to cost-effectively achieve the objectives of producers and also result in potential reductions in the nutrient content of manures at the point of excrement. The Chesapeake Bay Program's Agricultural Nutrient Reduction Workgroup planned a technology exchange of the latest advances in animal nutrition and the ability of these advances to provide cost-effective tools to reduce the nutrient content of animal waste at the point of excrement.

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This work contains the following themes as they relate to the Chesapeake Bay: Watersheds

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The distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SSV), principally rooted vascular macrophytes in the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and the coastal bays of the Delmarva Peninsula, was mapped from 1,728 black and white aerial photographs. These were taken between May and October 1997, at a scale of 1:24,000, encompassing 141 flight lines covering 1,808 miles of shoreline.

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The distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), principally rooted vascular macrophytes in Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and the coastal bays of the Delmarva Peninsula, was mapped from 1,987 black and white aerial photographs. These were taken between May and October 1998, at a scale of 1:24,000, encompassing 169 flight lines covering 2,290 miles of shoreline.

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