Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card Released

Ocean City, MD, USA. Bill Dennison and Heath Kelsey presented the 2018 Coastal Bays Report Card on Monday, September 23, at the Marlin Club in West Ocean City, Maryland. Data for two of the six indicators were unavailable for the 2018 Report Card, which meant that the Coastal Bays received an Incomplete this year. Water quality results declined from 2017, because of very high rainfall, which was the third highest on record, and increased nutrient input to Coastal Bays. The problems in collecting seagrass data also illustrate the challenges of monitoring under climate change influences. Seagrass information is collected by aerial imagery, which requires specific conditions that were hampered by increased cloud cover.

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