Session Lead: Qian Zhang (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program)
Co-Lead(s): Kaylyn Gootman (USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program), Peter Tango (U.S. Geological Survey / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program), Breck Sullivan (U.S. Geological Survey / USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program)
Session Format: Oral presentations
Session Description:
Restoration of complex aquatic ecosystems such as Chesapeake Bay requires sustained collaboration between the science and management communities. Over more than three decades, systematic monitoring and progressively refined modeling tools have provided critical feedback on restoration progress. While these efforts have supported significant gains in water quality, new challenges are emerging as we confront a rapidly changing natural and human environment. One of the most pressing is how to harness a new generation of monitoring and modeling tools to sustain progress in this dynamic future. This session focuses on the development and deployment of tools that expand our ability to observe and simulate water quality. Topics include high-resolution in situ sensors, remote sensing platforms, satellite applications, and innovative modeling frameworks. Special attention will be given to how artificial intelligence and machine learning are being applied to enhance or emulate mechanistic models. Presentations will highlight advances that improve how we collect, integrate, and simulate data to better track restoration progress and anticipate future challenges. This is Part I of two connected sessions organized by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Integrated Trends Analysis Team.
Presentations (Session 2 Abstracts)
- Richard Zimmerman, Victoria Hill, David Ruble, Chandler Slater, Jason Boynewicz, Isabella Chandler: A Low-Cost Spectroradiometer for Aquatic Sciences and Water Quality Monitoring
- Victoria Hill, Richard Zimmerman, Jacob Gallagher, Damien Taylor, Maria Guardado, Anamika Kona, Mary LePere, Alexandria Rhodes: Mapping Seasonality in Submerged Aquatic Vegetation growth in the Chesapeake Bay Using Planet Satellite Imagery
- Maria Guardado, Victoria Hill, Richard Zimmerman: Quantifying Seasonal Variability in Seagrass Extent and Density Using Physics-Based Remote Sensing Models
- Jacob Gallaher, Victoria Hill, Richard Zimmerman: Using Satellite Imagery to Map Seasonal Variation of Seagrass Meadow Area and Blue Carbon in Chincoteague Bay
- Max Ruehrmund, Jay Lazar: Leveraging Collaborative Infrastructure for Monitoring Dissolved Oxygen in Chesapeake Bay
- Weston M. Slaughter: Sensor networks reveal salinity-dependent controls on hypoxia, diel extremes, and productivity–alkalinity coupling in a Chesapeake Bay tidal tributary
- Claire Welty, Mary McWilliams, Andy Miller, PJ Terhune, John Lagrosa, Bob Bathurst: Evaluation of pollutant removal effectiveness of stormwater facilities using high-frequency water quality sensors
- Alexander Soroka: Large sediment yield after mitigation projects, then development: The story of Foster Branch
- Shuyu Y. Chang, Robert C. Walter, Mia Aaronson, Michael Rahnis, Dorothy Merritts: Cooler Waters, Reconnected Valleys: Restoration Gains from Milldam Legacy Sediment Removal
- Greg Noe: Watershed controls and Chesapeake-wide predictions of streambank erosion rates
- Andrew Sekellick, Alexander Soroka: Modeling Nutrient Sources, Fate, and Transport in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Using an Updated SPARROW Framework to Support Stakeholder Decision-Making
- Qian Zhang, Gopal Bhatt, Kaylyn Gootman: Are we on track? Integrating monitoring and models to track load reduction progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Thomas Fisher, Judith O’Neil, Anne B. Gustafson, Paleena Amy: Assessment of phytoplankton nutrient and light limitation in Chesapeake Bay in response to nutrient management strategies over the last 25 years
- Kelly Kosiarski: Evaluating Riparian Buffer Zone Effectiveness at Mitigating PFAS from Surface Runoff of Biosolids Amended Fields
- Kathryn Dixon, Claire Barlow: Rapid Water Quality Evaluation of the Potomac River Sewage Overflow