Session Lead: Isabella Bertani, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program
Session Co-lead: Qian Zhang, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program, Jeni Keisman, U.S. Geological Survey / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program, Joel Blomquist, U.S. Geological Survey, MD-DE-DC Water Science Center
Session Format: Oral presentations
Abstract:
Restoration of complex aquatic ecosystems such as Chesapeake Bay requires continual input from the science community, including innovative monitoring and modeling approaches that provide feedback on restoration progress as well as direction for future management actions. The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed have been monitored systematically and modeled with incremental enhancements over three decades of coordinated restoration. This session aims to highlight water-quality patterns and trends along the land-river-estuary continuum, as well as empirical and mechanistic approaches that help understand how various drivers have triggered such responses. Specific topics may include but are not limited to: (a) innovative approaches that enable enhanced monitoring of the estuary and watershed at higher temporal and spatial resolutions; (b) approaches that integrate monitoring data collected at different frequencies and locations to describe finer-scale variability over time and/or space; and (c) applications of novel empirical and mechanistic tools to understand watershed and estuarine responses to land changes and management actions. We also welcome contributions that highlight progress, challenges, and prospects for research, monitoring and modeling efforts that are relevant to the management and restoration of Chesapeake Bay.