MASC Newsletter 2 - Ecological Forecast, Summer 2005

This newsletter summarizes the main findings and methods of a new initiative to forecast ecological conditions of Chesapeake Bay for the coming summer. This year’s forecast focuses on three important elements of the Bay’s health—dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Bay’s mainstem, harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Potomac River, and changes in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) distribution. Additional components of the Bay’s ecosystem, such as fish abundance, will be forecast in coming years. This newsletter focuses on the DO and HAB forecasts only, as the SAV forecast is being released at the end of May, in conjunction with the annual SAV survey results.

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