Short-interval Criteria Assessment in Chesapeake Bay

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Short-interval Criteria Assessment in Chesapeake
Bay
Implementation of continuous monitoring stations
to determine temporal and spatial variability in
water quality criteria and forcing conditions
Gary Shenk1, Jeni Keisman2
1 EPA Chesapeake Bay Program (EPA CBP) 2
University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science at EPA CBP
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Background

• Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributaries are listed
  as impaired waters under the Clean Water Act
• Dissolved oxygen criteria have been established
  that require assessment at very fine temporal
  scales
• Existing monitoring data are inadequate for
  assessing these criteria

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Background

• Dissolved Oxygen criteria for Chesapeake Bay and
  its tidal tributaries

Designated Use Dissolved Oxygen Criteria Protection Provided Temporal Application
Open Water 30-day mean 5.5 mg/L ( 0.5 ppt salinity) 30-day mean 5.0 mg/L (gt 0.5 ppt salinity) 7-day mean 4 mg/L Instantaneous minimum 3.2 mg/L Growth of larval, juvenile, and adult fish and shellfish protective of threatened/endangered species Year-round
Deep Water 30-day mean 3.0 mg/L 1-day mean 2.3 mg/L Instantaneous minimum 1.7 mg/L Survival and recruitment of bay anchovy eggs and larvae June 1 Sept 30
Deep Channel 1 mg/L (instantaneous minimum) Survival of bottom-dwelling worms and clams June 1 Sept 30
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Objectives

• Describe the temporal variability and vertical
  structure of the CBP water quality criteria and
  associated parameters at selected long-term
  monitoring fixed stations in the tidal mesohaline
  section of the Potomac River
• Relate temporal variability in water quality
  criteria to the temporal variability in forcing
  conditions associated with each fixed station.
• Use findings above to develop an observational
  and analytical strategy that is suitable,
  reliable, and cost-effective for adequate
  monitoring of short-interval water quality
  criteria

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A Collaborative Effort

• NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) will provide
  continuous monitoring equipment and deployment
  and maintenance expertise for deployment of a
  buoy at the eastern end of the mesohaline section
  of the Potomac River
• Maryland DNR will deploy their YSI water quality
  profiler in the upper western end of the Potomac
  mesohaline section
• University of Maryland Horn Point Lab will
  provide meteorological and surface data from
  their mid-bay buoy
• Additional hydrodynamic forcing data will be
  provided by NOAA and USGS platforms for waves,
  tidal currents, and freshwater streamflows.

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MD DNRs YSI Vertical Profiling System Mark
Trice, Matt Hall
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A Collaborative Effort

• Chesapeake Bay Observing System (CBOS)
• A consortium of federal, academic, private, and
  non-profit sector organizations working to
  develop an integrated observing system for
  Chesapeake Bay
• Several CBOS partners will provide resources for
  the proposed study

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Timeline

• Oct 1 2008--March 1, 2009 Project Pre-Deployment
  Preparations
• March 1, 2009--November 30th, 2009 Observational
  Equipment
• Deployment and Live-Data Collection and
  Dissemination
• March 1, 2009--March 1, 2010 Data analysis and
  Interpretation
• March 1, 2010--October 1, 2010 Summary Data and
  Monitoring

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Logistics

• Funding vehicle IAG to NOAA NCBO (whats an
  IAG?)
• ORD Lab Sponsor Atlantic Ecology Division
  Narragansett Lab we need to integrate them
  somehow into the effort as a partner?
• Project lead people
• Region 3 Gary Shenk (need to emphasize that
  were heavily involved and engaged in project)
• EPA AED Narragansett Lab Don Cobb, Monitoring and
  Assessment Branch Acting Chief (still need him on
  board).
• NOAA NCBO Doug Wilson deployment logistics
• Note Doug Wilson is working on trimming project
  down to a 50-100K ballpark

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How is Doug W going to do that? Needs TMAW
advice (08 Demo, 09 Operations) Develop
Collaborative Opportunities (Acrobat? AUV?
Enhanced in situ sampling?) Analysis
support Integration into CPB monitoring