Nutrient improvements in Chesapeake Bay: Direct effect of load reductions and implications for coastal management
Environmental Science & Technology
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Abstract
In Chesapeake Bay in the United States, decades of management efforts have resulted in modest reductions of nutrient loads from the watershed, but corresponding improvements in estuarine water quality have not clearly materialized. Generalized additive models were used to directly link river flows and nutrient loads from the watershed to nutrient trends in the estuary on a station-by-station basis, which allowed for identification of exactly when and where responses are happening. Results show that Chesapeake Bay total nitrogen and total phosphorus conditions are mostly improving after accounting for variation in freshwater flow. Almost all of these improving nutrient concentrations in the estuary can be explained by reductions in watershed loads entering through 16 rivers and 145 nearby point sources. These two major types of loads from multiple locations across the watershed are together necessary and responsible for improving estuarine nutrient conditions, a finding that is highly relevant to managing valuable estuarine resources worldwide.
Suggested Citation
Murphy, R.R., Keisman, J.L., Harcum, J., Karrh, R., Lane, M.F., Perry, E.S., and Zhang, Q., 2022, Nutrient improvements in Chesapeake Bay: Direct effect of load reductions and implications for coastal management: Environmental Science & Technology, v. 56, p. 260-270, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05388.
ISSN: 1520-5851 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Nutrient improvements in Chesapeake Bay: Direct effect of load reductions and implications for coastal management |
| Series title | Environmental Science & Technology |
| DOI | 10.1021/acs.est.1c05388 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Publication Date | December 21, 2021 |
| Year Published | 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society |
| Contributing office(s) | Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 260 |
| Last page | 270 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland, Virginia |
| Other Geospatial | Chesapeake Bay |