The Interconnectedness of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Karen Sondak

1. The Interconnectedness of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Karen Sondak CREST Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD 21853 How can we solve the environmental issues facing our Bays? Investigating past research through a literature search, applying current research being done in the field by research scientists and partnering with community agencies, students will be able to effect solutions for environmental issues facing our Bays. LABS and OBJECTIVES Goals TOPICS What is the History of Chesapeake Bay Watershed? The Chesapeake region probably started 35 million years ago when an asteroid hit what is now the lower tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. This unit of instruction provides students with a practical understanding of processes that negatively affect the quality of water that enters the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and provides practices that can be implemented to offset them. It may also serve as ground work for which students may delve further into questions of how they might improve the quality of the environment in which we live. • Through these investigations students will: • Critically observe environmental systems • Analyze the relationships between humans and the Earth’s resources • Develop and conduct well designed experiments • Utilize appropriate techniques and instrumentation • Analyze and interpret data, including appropriate statistical and graphical presentations • Make conclusions and evaluate their quality and validity • Propose further questions for study • Communicate conclusions For hundreds of years, the Chesapeake Bay and MD Coastal Bays have had significant commercial, ecological, and recreational importance to the inhabitants of these areas. Where in the Watershed Are You? In this activity, students will become familiar with the terms, runoff, watershed, and land use, understand how topography influences the overland flow of water, and understand how runoff accumulates various materials (including pollutants) and collects into a larger body of water. Watershed Mapping In order to understand the various watershed profiles, students will analyze data to determine the relationships between land uses and nutrient concentration, interpret geographic information system (GIS) images to calculate the percentages of land use in a watershed, and create a nutrient profile for each watershed based on their interpretation of the land use. Water Quality Lab Students will be able to set up a monitoring program by choosing an appropriate sampling site, collect samples, and analyze the quality using a variety of testing parameters including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates and turbidity. What is a Dead Zone? Students will understand the biological processes associated with dead zones, as well as how human activities impact the severity of dead zones. What is a Watershed? A watershed is an area of land and waterways that drain into a larger body of water.  Watersheds can vary in size and shape depending on the contour of the land. All of the activities that take place within your watershed eventually affect the oceans. TAKE ACTION Join Eco-Exist- Paint Branch High School’s Environmental Club Participate in a Chesapeake Bay Field Experince Volunteer with Adopt a Highway- Roby Road Help out with the Rainscapes program Take an Environmental Science class Be an Advocate for where you live • How has land Use in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed changed over time? • Resource managers and policy makers use maps to monitor land use changes that could contribute to increased amounts of runoff flowing into a river or stream. Land use changes can have significant impact on the water resources of a region. • How clean are the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays? Water quality and nutrient levels are a direct reflection of different land uses and characteristics.  Agriculture and land development are two major sources of the pollutants that enter our waters. What is the species diversity in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and how can you use that as an indicator of over health of the system? The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is the largest estuary in the United States that is an extremely productive and complex system. RESOURCES www.umes.com?CREST www. Nationalgeographic.com.expeditions hppt://teachoceanscience.net/ Google Images Wynn W. Cudmore, Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources • What are some of the anthropogenic causes of pollution in our Chesapeake Bay and MD Coastal Bays? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the following: Dr. Andrea Johnson, CISCEP Associate Director Dr. Paulinus Chigbu, CISCEP Director Kerrie Bunting Program Coordinators Christopher Daniels, CISCEP Boat Captain Faculty Mentors Dr. Eric May, Dr. Joseph Pitula, Dr. Madhumi Mitra, Dr. Patricia Goslee, Dr. Waguespack Graduate Students Fred Oseji, Henry Xavier,Baruch Volkis,Efe Oghenekaro, Heather Wolfer, ett National Park Service, NASA, and all the participants of CMARS 2013 • Determining major environmental issues such as eutrophication, hypoxia, pollution sources, and land use dynamics can help us to better understand how these are affecting the Bays. Build a Photobioreactor Students will learn how to assemble a simple algal photobioreactor