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Browse History: Biotic Index (2008) | Chlorophyll a (2008) | Water Clarity (2008) | Elizabeth River (2008)

Chesapeake Bay - Reporting Region Summary:

Scores & Conceptual Diagram

Bay Health Index

19%*

Elizabeth River: 2010

Incomplete assessment. Phytoplankton community condition continues to be very poor with a 0% for the fourth year in a row. Water quality indicators remained steady from last year.

*Based on the average of four indicators, grade not provided.

Water quality: Water clarity was very poor, scoring a 0% in 2010, which is consistent with the majority of water clarity scores over the last 20+ years. Chlorophyll a (27%) and dissolved oxygen (50%) both increased slightly compared to their respective scores from 2009 (24% and 49%).
Biotic indicators: Two of the three biotic indicators (benthic community and aquatic grasses) do not have data at this time, leading to an incomplete assessment. Aquatic grasses are not measured in the Elizabeth River because they do not naturally occur in this region. The phytoplankton community condition score in 2010 was 0% for the fourth year in a row, meaning none of the samples collected passed the threshold level.

Index/Indicator	Score	Index/Indicator	Score
Chlorophyll a	27%	Aquatic grasses	No Growth Zone
Dissolved oxygen	50%	Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity	Insuff. Data
Water clarity	0%	Phytoplankton Index of Biotic Integrity	0%

Water Quality Index	26%	Biotic Index	Insuff. Data

Excel Spreadsheet

Dynamic Conceptual Diagram

Editable Vector Diagram (SVG)

Maps

This indicator map is already zoomed to the area of this region. You can pan and zoom and also change to another indicator map.

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Trends Graph

This graph is dynamic, you can: a) show and hide items by clicking them in the legend, b) select year range (click and drag), and c) export as an image.

Excel Spreadsheet

Region Info

The Elizabeth River watershed drains approximately 200 square miles of land and flows into the mouth of the James River. The main branch of the estuary is approximately 5 mi long and 2 mi wide at its mouth. Land use on the watershed is predominantly urban with the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth flanking the main tributaries.

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Editable Vector Version (SVG)

Additional Info

Relevant Websites

The Elizabeth River Project
Virginia Tributary Strategies
Chesapeake Bay Program - Tributary Strategies

The EcoCheck report card has three main sections: Overview, Region Summaries, and Indicators/Indices.

Click the next (>>) button above to get a guided tour of some of the key features of the report card card website.

This map shows the Health Index grades for all the reporting regions, but mousing over each region also provides a text summary and clicking will direct the user to the region summary page with more details about the health of that region.

The region rankings table provides an easy way to visualize the Water Quality Index (WQI), Biotic Index (BI), and overall Bay Health Index (BHI) for all regions. Once again, mousing over provides extra information - try it yourself and see what is displayed. Region names, and indicator icons also serve as navigation links.

The comparison graph allow users to compare the current report card to previous year's scores. Mousing over provides actual percentages and bars provide a direct link to the region's summary page.

Now you're at the region summary page for the Overall Bay. This page details the scores for all the individual indicators, as well as a dynamically generated conceptual diagram (please scroll down the page to view). Even this diagram has more information onmouseover, and has direct links to the detailed indicator pages. There is also a vector (SVG) version of the diagram available for download so you can edit this in your favorite illustration software.

The trends graph shows all the indicators and indices for the selected region since 1986. You can dynamically turn on and off each of the indicators to show only the data you are most interested in. Mousing over the graph shows percentage scores and you can zoom in for finer detail in certain time periods. There is also a fully editable vector (SVG) version of the graph available for download, along with an Excel spreadsheet of the data.

This is the threshold map for Chlorophyll a. This map is zoomable and panable and also available in fully editable vector (SVG) and JPG versions.

The trends graph on the indicator pages shows the indicator and indices data for each region since 1986. By default, only the Overall Bay region is displayed, but you can turn on as many of the other regions as you wish.

The watershed stream health page has several tabs, but the key one is the interactive Google maps version of the data.

Please wait while the map loads and then test out the ratings toggle options and the "zoom to area" functionality (click on the magnifying glass and then click and drag to select the are to zoom to).

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Chesapeake Bay - Reporting Region Summary:

Scores & Conceptual Diagram

Maps

Trends Graph

Region Info

Additional Info

Report Cards

IntegratedAssessments

Citizen Science

About EcoCheck

New@EcoCheck

Report Card | Summer Review | Forecast

Chesapeake Bay - Reporting Region Summary:

Scores & Conceptual Diagram

Maps

Trends Graph

Region Info

Additional Info

Integrated
Assessments