Publications about Potomac River

IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

2022 Potomac River and Watershed Report Card (Page 1)

2022 Potomac River and Watershed Report Card

Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, Bill Dennison, Lili Badri, Sidney Anderson, Joe Edgerton ·
6 June 2023

The first-ever Potomac River and Watershed Report Card was released in tandem with the 2022 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card this year. Every year, the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed are graded on a variety of ecological, social, and economic indicators. For 2022, the COAST Card Project took a closer look at the Potomac Watershed, a sub-watershed of the Chesapeake, to help inform decision-making in more focused areas throughout the watershed.

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Middle Potomac Listening Session (Page 1)

Middle Potomac Listening Session

Advancing the Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation Project in the Chesapeake Bay

Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, Sidney Anderson, Lili Badri, and Bill Dennison ·
15 December 2022

IAN Staff and the visiting Global Sustainability Scholars hosted a Middle Potomac Listening Session in July 2022 to begin developing the upcoming Potomac Watershed COAST Card.

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Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in three tributaries of Chesapeake Bay: Detecting responses following nutrient reductions (Page 1)

Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in three tributaries of Chesapeake Bay: Detecting responses following nutrient reductions

Zhang Q, Fisher TR,Buchanan C, Gustafson AB, Karrh RR, Murphy RR, Testa JM, Tian R, Tango PJ ·
2022

Many coastal ecosystems suffer from eutrophication, algal blooms, and dead zones due to excessive anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). This has led to regional restoration efforts that focus on managing watershed loads of N and P. In Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, dual nutrient reductions of N and P have been pursued since the 1980s.

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Potomac Tributary Report: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2018 (Page 1)

Potomac Tributary Report: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2018

Keisman J, Murphy RR, Devereux OH, Harcum J, Karrh R, Lane M, Perry E, Webber J, Wei Z, Zhang Q, Petenbrink M ·
18 December 2020

The Potomac Tributary Report summarizes change over time in a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the time period 1985 – 2018, and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes.

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Upper Potomac Headwaters Report Card 2015 (Page 1)

Upper Potomac Headwaters Report Card 2015

Bill Dennison, Suzanne Webster, Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, Jane Hawkey ·
10 December 2015

This report card was produced in December 2015 by The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and represents a joint effort of graduate students and faculty in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences program at the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg and the Integration and Application Network. The report card provides an assessment of stream health in the Upper Potomac Headwaters region upstream of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

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Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan: Chapter 8 Adaptation (Page 1)

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan: Chapter 8 Adaptation

Caroline Donovan, Marcus Griswold ·
24 July 2013

Climate change will affect Maryland in a variety of ways. More obvious impacts could include an increased risk for extreme events such as drought, storms, flooding, and forest fires; more heat-related stress; the spread of existing or new vector-born disease; and increased erosion and inundation of low-lying areas along the State’s shoreline and coast. Adaptation, together with mitigation, is necessary to address climate change.

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Resiliency and water resources management: Water supply in a changing climate (Page 1)

Resiliency and water resources management: Water supply in a changing climate

Marcus Griswold, Caroline Donovan ·
23 July 2013

Maryland citizens are blessed with an abundant supply of water. However, many water systems are already stressed during droughts, and infrastructure damage and water contamination occurs during floods. Future population growth will combine with increasingly variable weather patterns to place more communities at risk of property damage, regulatory liabilities and uncertain access to drinking water.

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Best Management Practices: Preserving clean water in a changing climate (Page 1)

Best Management Practices: Preserving clean water in a changing climate

Marcus Griswold, Caroline Donovan ·
22 July 2013

Risk management is critical in any restoration project. Risks include those associated with climate patterns, such as more intense storms, as well as those associated with land use change, site selection, and design. Addressing these risks in conjunction with ongoing restoration efforts will prepare communities for greater variability and may result in cost savings and reduced risk. Best Management Practices (BMPs) should be sited and designed with climate change impacts in mind.

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Watershed Management: Conservation in a changing climate (Page 1)

Watershed Management: Conservation in a changing climate

Marcus Griswold, Caroline Donovan ·
12 July 2013

Maryland’s extensive aquatic ecosystems range from freshwater swamps and bogs to freshwater rivers and marshes to coastal bays and salt marshes. These ecosystems are influenced by precipitation, temperature, tropical storms, and human activity. Human development and pollution have degraded their natural resilience, leaving them more vulnerable to climate change and extreme events.

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2012 Chesapeake Bay Report Card (Page 1)

2012 Chesapeake Bay Report Card

Caroline Donovan, Bill Dennison, Heath Kelsey, Alexandra Fries ·
3 July 2013

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Chesapeake Bay. In 2012, the methods for the report card have changed to include five water quality indicators and two biotic indicators. In 2012, the overall grade for Chesapeake Bay is a 47%, a C. This means the Bay is in moderate health. Fisheries indicators as well as trajectories of reporting region health are also presented. For further details, visit the Report Card website .

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