The State of the Bay report is based on the best available information about the Chesapeake Bay for indicators representing three major categories: pollution, habitat, and fisheries.
What is the grade of the Chesapeake Bay?
C+
(AP) — The Chesapeake Bay watershed received an overall grade of C+ on its latest report card, released Monday by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The Chesapeake Bay health score improved slightly from 45 to 50 last year, for a grade of C, the report said.
What are the 3 main contributors to the poor health of the Chesapeake Bay?
There are three major contributors to the poor health of our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay—nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus fuel unnaturally high levels of algae growth in the water, blocking sunlight from reaching underwater grasses that serve as food and habitat.
What are the indicators for the Chesapeake Bay?
The Chesapeake Bay report card compares 10 indicators (dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll a, water clarity, aquatic grasses, benthic community, stewardship, walkability, heat vulnerability index) to scientifically derived thresholds or goals.
What are 2 pollutants that are responsible for impairing the Chesapeake Bay?
Nitrogen and phosphorus loads from all parts of the Bay watershed have an impact on the impaired tidal segments of the Bay and its rivers.
What was the report card grade for the Chesapeake Bay?
C+
— The Chesapeake Bay watershed received an overall grade of C+ on its latest report card, released Monday by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The Chesapeake Bay health score improved slightly from 45 to 50 last year, for a grade of C, the report said.
What are the three criteria measured on the state of bay report card?
The State of the Bay report is a comprehensive measure of the Bay’s health. CBF scientists measure its health by examining the best available historical and current information for 13 indicators in three categories: pollution, habitat, and fisheries.
What causes poor water quality in the Chesapeake Bay?
Humans are Over Fertilizing the Bay
This nutrient pollution comes from fertilizing lawns, gardens, and farms. Nutrient pollution also comes from urban sources, including exhaust from automobiles, wastewater, septic systems, and stormwater runoff.
What is a major problem with the Chesapeake Bay?
Unfortunately, the Chesapeake Bay faces serious problems due to human activities, including polluted stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes, deforestation, wetland destruction from agricultural, urban, and suburban development, and sea level rise caused by global climate change.
What are the most common polluting substances in the Chesapeake Bay?
The most common chemical contaminants found in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and mercury.
What are the 3 ways that dissolved oxygen gets into the Chesapeake Bay?
Oxygen can get into the water in several ways:
- Oxygen from the atmosphere dissolves and mixes into the water’s surface.
- Algae and underwater grasses release oxygen during photosynthesis.
- Water flows into the Bay from streams, rivers and the ocean. Ocean waters generally have more oxygen.
Which indicators do you believe are the most important for the health of the Chesapeake Bay?
Nitrogen & Phosphorus
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus are the Bay’s two primary pollutants, fueling algal blooms that cloud the water and use up life-sustaining oxygen when they die and decompose, causing the Bay’s dead zone.
What is the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay?
Preliminary data indicates that the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries has reached a record high: an estimated 42 percent is now considered to meet clean water standards. This is a slight improvement over the previous record high of 40 percent reported in 2017.
What are three sources of environmental contaminants?
The source
Most contaminants enter the environment from industrial and commercial facilities; oil and chemical spills; non-point sources such as roads, parking lots, and storm drains; and wastewater treatment plants and sewage systems.
Where do most phosphates and nitrates in the Chesapeake Bay come from?
In general, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous reach the Chesapeake Bay from three sources: wastewater treatment plants; urban, suburban and agricultural runoff; and air pollution. Nutrients can also come from natural sources, like soil, plant material and wild animal waste.
Is Chesapeake Bay a dead zone?
Plant and animal life are often unable to survive in this environment, which is why the area is referred to as a “dead zone”. The main way in which nutrients can enter the Bay is through polluted runoff flowing from its tributaries around the watershed.
What should I write on my report card comment?
The student:
- is a conscientious, hard-working student.
- works independently.
- is a self-motivated student.
- consistently completes homework assignments.
- puts forth their best effort into homework assignments.
- exceeds expectations with the quality of their work.
- readily grasps new concepts and ideas.
Is the Chesapeake Bay healthy?
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gave the overall health of the bay in 2020 a C grade, slightly up from the previous year’s C-minus. The watershed, which includes off-shooting rivers and basins, was rated a B-minus.
What was the current overall grade of health for the Elizabeth River in 2020?
Once presumed dead after four centuries of abuse and neglect, the Elizabeth River scored an overall grade of a “C” in the 2020 State of the Elizabeth River Scorecard by Elizabeth River Project, VIMS and more than a dozen area scientists.
In what state is Chesapeake Bay?
The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary: a body of water where fresh and salt water mix. It is the largest of more than 100 estuaries in the United States and third largest in the world. The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Why is it important to save the Chesapeake Bay?
By protecting the Bay, we are ensuring their survival and thus reaping the benefits they offer. The Bay is also an important economic resource. Seafood, recreation and tourism generate significant revenue for all Chesapeake watershed states, producing jobs and boosting local economies.