Publication

Chesapeake Bay Atmospheric Deposition Study Final Report 1996

Published: August 01, 1996

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems on the planet.  Its 166,000 square kilometer watershed drains farmlands, forests, marshes, and urban areas in six state, and is home to 14.2 million people.  Historically, the Chesapeake Bay has supported a large commercial fisheries.  The wetlands surrounding the bay provide winter habitat for many migratory waterfow.  Dramatic decreases in natural habitat and water quality during the past four decades includes the virtual elimiantion of submerged aquatic vegetation and the substaantial increase in seasonal anoxia in the Bay's channel.  More recent water quality strategies in the Chesapeake Bay region are based on controlling activities within the watershed and tributaries (1991) Amendments to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement).

Download: Electronic Version
Originator: Chesapeake Bay Program
EPA Number: EPA 903-R-96-005
CBP Number: CBP/TRS 146/96