Monitoring results show little effect of late summer storms on Susquehanna Flats bay grasses

Aerial photos show that the upper Chesapeake Bay’s underwater grasses mostly survived the muddy plume of water that flowed from the Susquehanna River after heavy late summer rainstorms from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

Scientists with the Chesapeake Bay Program acquired the imagery in early November. It appears that some grasses in the large bed on the Susquehanna Flats were lost, particularly on the eastern edge. The image above shows a comparison of the bay grass bed between 2010 and 2011.

Visit the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s SAV blog to view an interactive version of this image and learn more about bay grass monitoring in the Chesapeake Bay.