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    • NCCOS Assessment: Coastal Ecosystem Assessment of Chesapeake Bay Watersheds, Land Use Patterns and River Conditions from 2007-04-30 to 2012-09-27 (NCEI Accession 0303961)

    Metadata Updated: December 1, 2025

    This data collection comprises six years of estuarine monitoring for an assessment of coastal ecosystem health in relationship to watershed characteristics, principally land use. This investigation began in 2007 with three mesohaline (moderate salinity) rivers in the upper Chesapeake Bay, each dominated by a unique land use pattern. The Corsica, Magothy, and Rhode rivers were chosen to represent systems dominated by agricultural, residential, and mixed-use lands, respectively. Assessment of these three rivers continued annually through 2011. From 2010 to 2012, three additional oligohaline (low salinity) rivers were studied. These three--the Sassafras, Middle, and Nanjemoy Rivers--demonstrated the health effects of predominantly agricultural, urban, and forested lands, respectively. The health of each riverine ecosystem was assessed using a suite of observations focused on water quality and aquatic organism health. Standard water quality metrics such as dissolved nutrient concentrations, water clarity, and indicator bacteria loads were measured. Organismal health measurements included metrics of blue crab health, fish abundance, dominant fish species, fish parasites, fish disease, and the abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). A complete description of the project can be found Leight et al. (2015).

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date 2025-11-13T13:09:10Z
    Metadata Created Date June 1, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 7, 2025 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-11-13T13:09:10Z
    Metadata Created Date June 1, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 7, 2025 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0303961
    Access Constraints Cite as: Leight, Andrew (A.K); Trippe III, Rick; Jacobs, John; McLaughlin, Shawn; Messick, Gretchen (2025). NCCOS Assessment: Coastal Ecosystem Assessment of Chesapeake Bay Watersheds, Land Use Patterns and River Conditions from 2007-04-30 to 2012-09-27 (NCEI Accession 0303961). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/2a4q-6985. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -75.6851
    Bbox North Lat 39.546
    Bbox South Lat 38.2557
    Bbox West Long -77.3248
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0303961
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id e037cd67-bf68-4b8e-b177-cfa4fef338dd
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-77.3248, 38.2557], [-75.6851, 38.2557], [-75.6851, 39.546], [-77.3248, 39.546], [-77.3248, 38.2557]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2007-04-30
    Temporal Extent End 2012-09-27

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