Nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems, primarily from agricultural sources, presents significant environmental challenges. At the land management decision level, reducing nitrate leaching requires knowledge of nitrate loading over time and location, the complexity of which is amplified by limited data availability, especially in poorly gauged watersheds.

Reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads have been the focus of watershed restoration in many regions for improving water quality, including the Chesapeake Bay. Watershed models and riverine monitoring data can provide important information on the progress of load reductions but do not always generate consistent interpretations.

Coastal environments face unique challenges that profoundly affect human well-being. Stressors such as pollution, rising temperatures, flooding, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and emerging contaminants threaten ecosystems and disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. This report presents the findings from the Fall 2024 Coastal Environment and Community Health course, by graduate students in the Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science program at the University System of Maryland.

Coastal wetlands, including tidal marshes, mangrove forests and tidal flats, support the livelihoods of millions of people. Understanding the resilience of coastal wetlands to the increasing number and intensity of anthropogenic threats (such as habitat conversion, pollution, fishing and climate change) can inform what conservation actions will be effective. In this Review, we synthesize anthropogenic threats to coastal wetlands and their resilience through the lens of scale.

Seasonal hypoxia (dissolved oxygen [DO] levels ≤ 2 mg/l) poses a severe threat to coastal ecosystems globally, including the largest estuary in the United States, the Chesapeake Bay. This V-shaped drowned river valley features shallow flanks, where the deepest waters experience persistently low DO levels typically initiated during the spring and ending in late summer or early autumn. Reports on low DO conditions in the Chesapeake Bay date back over a century.

This booklet explores the rich cultural heritage and economic significance of Baltimore Harbor, a cornerstone of Maryland's and the U.S.'s economic vitality. Historically shaped by its waterfront, Baltimore faces environmental challenges stemming from its industrial past and ongoing issues like wastewater contamination and climate change impacts.

Many coastal ecosystems have suffered from cultural eutrophication and dead zones. In the Chesapeake Bay, water quality degradation is manifested in low dissolved oxygen, poor water clarity, and decreased submerged aquatic vegetation acreage.

Many estuaries, including Chesapeake Bay, have suffered from undesirable conditions of algae blooms, poor water clarity, and low dissolved oxygen (DO). To better understand the status and trends of DO criteria attainment deficit (AD), we conducted a comprehensive assessment using monitoring data in the period of 1985–2022 and focused on the comparison of trends among 13 tidal systems.

This 24-page strategic plan highlights IAN's impact so far, along with the mission, vision, and values by which IAN conducts itself. This document details IAN's objectives for the next five years.

Quantitative assessment of cropland phosphorus (P) loss via surface runoff is essential for developing effective pollution mitigation strategies. In this study, we compiled 812 datasets from 114 peer-reviewed papers for cropland P loss across China.