For the second straight year, smaller Chesapeake Bay dead zone forecast for the summer.
For the second year in a row, researchers are forecasting a smaller than average Chesapeake Bay “dead zone” due to reduced river flows and less nutrient and sediment pollution.
The annual forecast was announced today by scientists at the University of Michigan, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the U.S. Geological Survey. They also credited management actions taken across the watershed to improve water quality.
The bay’s hypoxic and anoxic regions, which are areas of low and no oxygen, respectively, are caused by excess nutrient pollution. Compared to the last 35 years, this year’s Chesapeake Bay hypoxic volume, or dead zone, is predicted to be 14% lower than average, while the volume of water with no oxygen is predicted to be 18% lower than average.
“While this year’s forecast is smaller than the long-term average, the long-term average is not the goal,” said University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Don Scavia, a member of the research team.
“The forecast is still larger than that implied by the targets set under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, implying that enhanced management actions are still needed,” said Scavia, a professor emeritus at the School for Environment and Sustainability.
The levels of pollution reaching the Chesapeake Bay each year vary with the amount of spring rainfall, which impacts river flows. Additionally, efforts by Chesapeake Bay Program partners are gradually reducing the amount of nutrient and sediment pollution entering those rivers and the bay.>>>
https://news.umich.edu/for-the-second-straight-year-smaller-chesapeake-bay-dead-zone-forecast-for-the-summer/?