Maryland Coastal Bays report card 2013

Maryland Coastal Bays report card 2013The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2013 Coastal Bays health. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. These six indicators are combined into one overarching Coastal Bays Health Index, which is presented as the report card score. Detailed methods and results are available on the EcoCheck Coastal Bays report card website. The overall score for the Coastal Bays was a C+ in 2013, with a slight improvement since 2012.