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Data

The USGS collects multiple types of data in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Data Catalog contains a list and links of all the types of Chesapeake information from USGS. Some of the most relevant data related to streams and rivers is highlighted in the “tracking status and trends indicators of stream health”. Land cover, use, and change data are also highlighted.

USGS Chesapeake Bay Studies - Data Catalog

New High-Resolution, Land-Use and Change Data Improves Decision-Making

Three side-by-side panels to show land-use-land-change in Charles County, MD

With support from the CBP, the USGS, Chesapeake Conservancy and the University of Vermont developed an improved 1-meter resolution land use/land cover (LULC) data set for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Freshwater Flow into Chesapeake Bay

The USGS provides estimates of the monthly and annual amounts of freshwater flow into the Bay so scientists and managers can better understand effects on ecosystem conditions.

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Tracking Status and Trends in Seven Key Indicators of Stream Health

Identifying and tracking the status of, and trends in, stream health within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is essential to understanding the past, present, and future trajectory of the watershed’s resources and ecological condition.

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Filter Total Items: 118

Biological Indicators and Mercury Concentrations in Smallmouth Bass

Biological indicators including morphometric (length, weight), age, sex and health indicators including organismal (health assessment index, condition factor), organ (hepatosomatic index, gonadosomatic index), cellular (intersex, parasite density, macrophage aggregate density), subcellular (plasma vitellogenin, estradiol, testosterone, 11-keto testosterone) and molecular (hepatic transcript abunda
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Depth grids for floodplain flood attenuation baseline and counterfactual scenarios in the Schuylkill River watershed, Pennsylvania

As part of a study to quantify floodplain flood attenuation ecosystem services, datasets were developed representing a baseline (current floodplain condition) and counterfactual (floodplain flood storage removed) scenario for 18 sites in the Schuylkill River Watershed, Pennsylvania. This data release contains rasters (3-m resolution) of baseline and counterfactual flood depth grids for the 0.5, 0.
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

“ChesBay 24k – LU": Land Use/Land Cover Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of land use/land cover related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as land use/land cover related contain all land use and land cover data including datasets that are split off or combined from those data (eg. agriculture or impervious classes only datasets). Outputs cons
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

“ChesBay 24k – NE": Natural Environment Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of natural environment related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as natural environment related include topography, soils/geology, hydrology/geomorphology, and other physical aspects of surface waters (temperature, flow, etc.). Outputs consist of tabular comma-separated
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

“ChesBay 24k – CL": Climate Related Data Summaries for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Within NHD Plus HR catchments

These tabular data are summaries of climate related variables within catchments of the Chesapeake Bay watershed using the Xstrm methodology at 1:24,000 scale. Variables being counted as climate related include temperature and precipitation by both annual and monthly values. Outputs consist of tabular comma-separated values files (CSVs) for the local catchment and network summaries linked to the Na
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Fish communities in Delmarva Peninsula streams, 2022

From 31 May to 29 June, 2022, a Virginia Tech team of 4-5 sampled the fish community in 30 Delmarva Peninsula streams (Maryland and Delaware, USA) as part of a larger stream-health study including other teams who surveyed geomorphology, water quality, flow, temperature, macroinvertebrates, and fish health at the same 30 streams. These 30 Chesapeake Bay Watershed tributaries had upstream drainage a
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Compilation of multi-agency water temperature observations for streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed

This data release collates stream water temperature observations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), Water Quality Portal (WQP) and the USGS Aquarius (AQ) Time-Series database. Data retrieved from NWIS consists of aggregate (minimum, maximum and mean) daily values and continuous data from USGS monitoring stations. Values from the WQP contain
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Selected inputs for examining the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States

Streams provide water for human activities and consumption in much of the world. Streamflow is largely controlled by climate forces, therefore it is likely sensitive to climate changes. We analyzed daily air temperature (AT), precipitation (P), and stream discharge (Q) metrics for 124 watersheds in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, United States, from 1981 through 2020. Spatial-raster datase

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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads and trends measured at the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring stations: Water years 1985-2022

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads, and changes in loads, in major rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been calculated using monitoring data from the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring (RIM) Network stations for the period 1985 through 2022. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WR
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Compilation of multi-agency specific conductance observations for streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Freshwater salinization is an emerging issue for freshwater environments in the Chesapeake Bay, USA region. Salinization is often described by measurements of specific conductance (SC). This data release contains specific conductance observations collected by multiple regional agencies for streams within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This inventory compiles and harmonizes data from the Water Quali
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Immune Function of Wild Smallmouth Bass Collected from Sites within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 2016-2021

Adult and young of the year smallmouth bass from the Chesapeake Bay watershed have faced health issues (mortality events, disease by a variety of pathogens, endocrine disruption in male fish, evidence of oxidative damage to tissues, and signs of exposure to chemical contaminants) at multiple sites within the Susquehanna and Potomac River basins. Functional immune assays were added to long-term com
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Summary data on the forage base and critical forage taxa for Chesapeake waterbirds

We collated existing quantitative data on avian dietary composition of 58 waterbird species that make use of the Chesapeake Bay. From this database, we quantified the relative importance of forage taxa to the diets of each waterbird species. This data will enable us to develop a comprehensive suite of forage taxa indicators whose abundance and distributions can be monitored as a proxy for Chesapea
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center