Note: This session combines proposed Session 7 “Coupled human-natural systems in Chesapeake Bay” and Session 21 “General: Estuarine and Watershed Processes.”

Session Lead: Raleigh Hood (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)

Co-Lead(s): DG Webster, Patrick Bitterman, Victoria Coles, Peter Claggett, Sevgi Erdogan, Theodore Lim

Session Format: Oral presentations

Session Description: 

This session invites abstract submissions related to the general topic of estuarine and watershed processes, which includes a wide range of research disciplines (physical, chemical, biological and ecological) and trophic levels (from plankton to living resources). Submission of management- and social science-oriented abstracts is also encouraged.

The grand challenges confronting management and decision making in Chesapeake Bay airshed, watershed and estuary result from the interaction of humans with their environment. Commercial and recreational fisheries, air quality, agricultural and energy production practices, population growth, and land use change all impact the function of the land and water systems that together comprise the Chesapeake Bay socio-environmental system. In turn, the health and quality of the environment affect humans and decision-making at multiple spatial and temporal scales – from individuals up through the state and federal levels, today and decades into the future. Models – from the conceptual to the mathematical – are representations of how we understand this critical nexus of interacting issues. Yet, coupling social, economic, policy and governance models with environmental models to assess the impact of strategic management and policy actions remains challenging. This session invites research relevant to conceptual, theoretical or numerical models of socio-environmental systems or that identifies gaps and challenges hindering the integration of social and environmental models, to better understand their combined impact.

Presentations (Session 21 Abstracts)

  1. Matthew Gray, Jeffrey Cornwell, Cindy Palinkas, Owen Skirtich, and Stephen Tomasetti: Balancing Interests: improved understanding of shellfish aquaculture production and submerged aquatic vegetation through studies and synthesis
  2. Gulnihal Ozbay: Assessing Interactions Between Shellfish and Seagrass Beds and Macroalgae to Promote Sustainable Aquaculture in the Delaware Inland Bays
  3. Elka T. Porter, Lawrence P. Sanford, Jeffrey C. Cornwell: Denitrification in the STURM Resuspension Mesocosms, Part 1: Particle Dynamics
  4. Amy Hamilton, Catherine Wazniak: Hidden Neurotoxins in Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Mats in Maryland
  5. Qubin Qin, Xun Cai, Jian Shen, and Lewis Linker: Quantifying Inter-Tributary Freshwater Connectivity and Its Implications for Flushing Time in Chesapeake Bay
  6. Kehinde Bosikun, Joel Moore and Claire Welty: Quantifying urban versus natural contributions to stream chemistry in a Chesapeake Bay tributary using reactive transport modeling
  7. Harry Wang, Breanna Maldonado, Derek Loftis, Zhengui Wang, Joseph Zhang, and David Forrest: Three-dimensional, non-tidal three-layered circulation in Baltimore Harbor – Insights into harbor-bay exchange
  8. Rebecca Hale, Megan Stallard, Katrina Lohan, Maureen Mitchell, Derek Shea, Alyssa Freedman: Combining incubations, sensors, and molecular approaches to understand E. coli sources across the Anacostia Watershed
  9. Patrick Bitterman: Leveraging CHANS Science for Chesapeake Bay Restoration: Findings from a 2026 State of the Science Workshop
  10. Amalia Deloney: The Amphibious Council: Experiential Futures and More-Than-Human Governance in the Baltimore Harbor
  11. Patrick Bitterman, Jason Yoo: A Novel Integrated Framework for Simulating BMP Prioritization and Governance Dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
  12. Raj Cibin, Kalra Marali: Impacts of a warming climate and increased land use changes on crop productivity and water quality: a case study in the Susquehanna River Basin
  13. Farshad Hesamfar, Teresa Culver: Assessing the social footprint of coastal groundwater variability under CMIP6 scenarios in Virginia’s Eastern Shore