Reporting fine scale water quality and nitrogen source patterns related to land use in Maryland's Coastal Bays
Following prior studies in Maryland's Coastal Bays, graduate students Ben Fertig and Kris Beckert, and their advisors, Bill Dennison, Tim Carruthers, Judy O'Neil, and Tom Fisher conducted a more detailed assessment of nitrogen sources and linkages with land use. Focusing on St. Martin River, Johnson Bay, and Sinepuxent Bay, oyster bioindicators and a suite of water quality measurements suggest that these coastal bays are vulnerable to nitrogen loads from various land uses. Trends indicated degraded water quality, high turbidity, increasing total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, high natural isotope abundance (δ
15N), and low dissolved oxygen. While terrestrial anthropogenic pressures vary within subwatersheds, water quality in these coastal bays is also influenced by differences in flushing and nutrient cycling abilities.
