ABSTRACT
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary within the U.S.A.[1] Fresh water flows to the Chesapeake Bay from a watershed that covers an estimated 166,709 km2, including portions of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia (Fig. 1). The ecological productivity of the estuary has made it an important resource for Native Americans, European immigrants, and current residents in the region.[2] The population in the contributing watershed in recent years has swelled to over 15 million people, resulting in extensive direct and indirect impacts that are now a focus of a large-scale restoration effort led by the US Environmental Protection Agency.[1]
DISCUSSION
Located along the Mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S.A. within the limits of Maryland and Virginia, the Bay is approximately 304-km long, has an estimated surface area of 11,603 km2, a width that ranges from 5.5 to 56 km, and an average depth of approximately 6.4m.[1] Salinity in the tidal portions of the estuary transition from ‘‘fresh’’ conditions (i.e., 0-5 parts per thousand (ppt) salt concentration) at the northernmost end to ‘‘marine’’ conditions (30-35 ppt salt concentration) at the southern boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.
