Water for Virginia Master
Naturalists:

Estuaries & Coasts

Francis J. Reilly, Jr.
 http://advancedmastergardener.org/water.htm

Frank@TheReillyGroup.net

Webmaster@VMGA.net

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Types of surface water

Ephemeral streams – vernal pools

Puddles

Streams

Ponds

Lakes

Rivers

Estuaries

Oceans

Pollution Sources

Point Source

Name some sources

Non-Point Source

Name some sources

Pollution Types

Sediment

Nutrients

Animal Waste

Pesticides

Salts

Toxicants

Thermal

Pollution Sources

Sediment

Nutrients

Animal Waste

Pesticides

Salts

Toxicants

Thermal

Nutrients

N-P-K

Sources?

Air is the major source!

Sinks

Which are the Biggies for us?

Sediment

Nutrients

Animal Waste

Pesticides

Salts

Toxicants

Thermal

Chesapeake Bay Pollutants
CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM - ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
Nitrogen Trends in Rivers
Entering the Bay:
Flow Adjusted Concentrations
Monitoring data from major rivers entering tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay show that nitrogen concentrations are decreasing in the
Susquehanna, Potomac,
Patuxent, and James rivers.
The Pamunkey (a tributary to the York) shows an increasing trend.
The remaining rivers show no trends.
1980s – 2002
Decreasing
Source: USGS and Susquehanna River
Basin Commission, PA. Results are shown for flow adjusted trend analyses using the earliest complete data set collected since 1985.
CBP 7/22/03 TRACK 1: NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT INDICATOR
No significant trend
Increasing

Chesapeake Bay Pollutants
CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM - ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
Phosphorus Trends in Rivers
Entering the Bay:
Monitored Loads
Monitoring data from major rivers entering tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay show that phosphorus loads are decreasing in portions of the Susquehanna and in the
Patuxent, Mattaponi, James and Appomattox rivers.
The remaining rivers and the rest of the Susquehanna show no trends.
Source: USGS and Susquehanna
River Basin Commission, PA.
Results are shown for trend analyses using the earliest complete data set collected since
1985.
CBP 7/22/03 TRACK 1: NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT INDICATOR
1980s – 2002
Decreasing
No significant trend
Increasing

Types of Toxicity

Acute

Cancer

Birth Defects

Endocrine Disruptors

Chronic

Bioaccumulation

Biomagnification

Measuring Pollution

Chemistry/Laboratory/Bioassay

Effects

Global effects
 Less fish landings – global warming

Ecological assays

Macroinvertebrate assays - surveys

Secondary effects

Low DO – Cloudy water

Chesapeake Bay - How’s It
Doing

Lets look at some systems indicative of condition:

SAV submerged aquatic vegetation

Striped Bass

Blue crabs

Oysters

Chesapeake
Bay - How’s It
Doing

SAV IS recovering

Chesapeake
Bay -
How’s It
Doing
 Striped Bass

Chesapeake Bay -
How’s It Doing

Blue
Crabs

Chesapeake Bay -
How’s It Doing

Oysters

Impacts of Pollution

Toxicity

Food contamination

Habitat destruction

Habitat degradation

Cascading Effects

Habitats at risk

Clear water habitats

SAV

Wetlands

Oyster reef

Healthy
Oyster
Reef
Healthy
Sunlight
Water Quality vs. Unhealthy
Minimal Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and
Sediment Inputs
Excessive Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and
Sediment Inputs
Sunlight
Healthy
Bay Grasses
Balanced
Algae Growth
Healthy
Habitat
Unhealthy
Habitat
Algal Bloom
Reduced
Bay Grasses
Algae Die-off
Benthic Community
Adequate
Oxygen No Oxygen
Algae
Decomposition
Barren
Oyster
Reef
Lack of Benthic
Community


?

?

?
What is an Estuary?

What is an Estuary?

Where salt water blends with fresh

Where the river meets the sea

?

What is an Estuary?

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 the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary
The thin zone along a coastline where freshwater systems and rivers meet and mix with a salty ocean (such as a bay, mouth of a river, salt marsh, lagoon).
www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/append/glossary_e.htm
A semi-enclosed body of water which has a free connection to the open sea and within which seawater is measurably diluted by fresh water derived from land drainage.
www.estuaries.gov/glossary.html
An inlet or arm of the sea, especially the wide mouth of a river, where the tide meets the current.
www.floridadep.net/evergladesforever/about/glossary.htm
A semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and where fresh water derived from land drainage (usually mouths of rivers) is mixed with seawater; often subject to tidal action and cyclic fluctuations in salinity.
biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm
the part of the wide lower course of a river where it is met by the sea www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/short_series/lakereservoirs-2/glossary.asp
an environment where terrestrial, freshwater, and seawater (saline) habitats overlap www.nwrc.usgs.gov/fringe/glossary.html
A complex ecosystem between a river and near-shore ocean waters where fresh and salt water mix. These brackish areas include bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, wetlands, and lagoons and are influenced by tides and currents. ...
www.nsc.org/EHC/glossary.htm
a place where fresh and salt water mix, such as a bay, salt marsh, or where a river enters an ocean.
mvhs1.mbhs.edu/riverweb/glossary.html
The broad lower course of a river that is encroached on by the sea and affected by the tides.
usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/geography/glossary.htm
Semi-enclosed coastal waters at the junctions of rivers with ocean habitats, for example littoral basins, bays, inlets and harbours. Estuaries have a high biological productivity due to nutrient delivery and mixing processes. ...
www.eubios.info/biodict.htm
A place where freshwater and salt water meet (ie where a river meets the ocean or the Gulf of Mexico).
sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/glossary.html

What is an Estuary?
 the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity.

A semi-enclosed body of water which has a free connection to the open sea and within which seawater is measurably diluted by fresh water derived from land drainage

A semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and where fresh water derived from land drainage (usually mouths of rivers) is mixed with seawater; often subject to tidal action and cyclic fluctuations in salinity.

Old Woman Creek Reserve, Ohio
What is an Estuary?
•First NERR –
1980
•Smallest – 571 A
•No salt water
•Tides?
•So what dies it have in common with the
Chesapeake?

What is an Estuary?
 the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity.

A semi-enclosed body of water which has a free connection to the open sea and within which seawater is measurably diluted by fresh water derived from land drainage

A semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and where fresh water derived from land drainage (usually mouths of rivers) is mixed with seawater; often subject to tidal action and cyclic fluctuations in salinity.

Chesapeake Bay

Largest in US

Maybe largest in the world


Spring
Tide

Neap
Tide

Daily cycle

High and low tide
Tides

Lunar Tidal Day

Tides So What?

Tidal Action


Intertidal zone

Tidal flats

Tidal wetlands
Tides So What?

Intertidal Zone - Vertical

Zonation

Tidal Marsh – Sea Level Rise

Intertidal Zone Horizontal

Salt Water

Shoals
•Point No Point Light
6 miles north of
Mouth of Potomac

Depths

Benthos/ Soft
Bottoms

Eel Grass Beds

Shell Fish Beds

Oysters

More Oysters

Oyster Reef

Fisheries

You can’t eat ‘em all

Other Important Bay Denizens

Blue Crabs – Callinectes sapidus

Waves – the Beach

Waves
“break” at
1/7 th Lambda

Build or erode beaches
 “decide” what is on the beach

The Beach

Barrier Island Ecology

Dune Change Shape

The Dune

Inter Dunes

Back Side