Chesapeake Bay Maryland (CBM) NERR Water Quality Metadata January 2004-December 2004 Latest Update: August 16, 2005
Entry ID:
CDMO_cbmwq01-12.04m
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Summary
Abstract:
Water quality monitoring is conducted at 26 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR)
at four locations within or adjacent to the reserve. The following parameters are collected at
least every 30 minutes: water temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, percent saturation,
dissolved oxygen concentration, water depth, pH and turbidity. All water quality data loggers
will be deployed from a known depth from the bottom at each site.
Purpose:
One of the objectives of the monitoring program at CBM NERR is to conform to the NERR System Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP)where the overall goal is a long-term dataset providing baseline water quality information capable of tracking trends and identifying changes in water quality over temporal and spatial scales. In addition to the aforementioned ... NERR wide research objectives, reserve specific
objections include understanding how anthropogenic activities affect water quality and examining
the effects of submerged macrophyte communities on water quality. To accomplish this, monitoring
sites were selected that characterize the variety of habitat and water quality conditions
existing at two of the three components that makes up the CBM NERR, the Jug Bay and Otter Point
Creek Component. At the Jug Bay component, three sites were selected that span the range of
conditions thought to be typical of this site. These sites include a reference site, an impaired
site and a mainstem site; where the reference site is thought to have little anthropogenic
induced affect on water quality, an impaired site where anthropogenic activities strongly
influence local water quality and a mainstem site-thought to be highly representative of
mainstem water quality conditions at the Jug Bay Component. The fourth and final site is located
at the Otter Point Creek Component, a much smaller component, and is thought to represent
typical water quality conditions at this site. All four sites span the range of habitat
conditions at these components to include varying abundances of submerged macrophyte communities
as well as varying depth and energy regimes from shallow tidal creeks to proportionately deep
tidal river systems to shallow open water embayments. Additional monitoring, outside the scope
of this effort, is being done at both the Jug Bay and Otter Point Creek Component. These efforts
use comparable field sampling methods, with high spatial resolution to better understand the
spatial variability between and around the sites monitored in this effort.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
The Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary staff collects weekly to monthly temperature,
salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient samples at four additional sites throughout the Jug Bay
marsh in an effort to explore the affects of marsh processes on nutrient cycling. This data
provide additional spatial coverage at this component. Additionally, the Anita C. Leight Estuary
Center at Otter Point Creek, in conjunction with CBNERR/MD staff, collects bi-weekly
temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, chlorophyll a, and nutrient
samples at the same location as datalogger OC, as well as 5 other sites throughout the OPC
marsh. The goal of this effort is to provide enhanced spatial coverage at this component as well
as provided ancillary data useful for submerged macrophyte related research. YSI vented depth
sondes were also installed at sites RR and OC during 2004. This data can be made available via
contacting the Principal Investigator. Additional spatially explicit data is available through
the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), who conduct dataflow
cruises throughout the Bush and Patuxent Rivers (OC and JB components) in support of their
Continuous Monitoring Program. These cruises employ the same YSI 6600 sondes that provide high
resolution spatial data within these tributaries and include areas around the four CBM NERR
stations (RR, IP, MC, OC). Cruises are conducted once monthly from April-October. In addition,
MDNR also maintains nearly 32 other similar fixed stations throughout the Maryland portion of
the Chesapeake Bay monitored and maintained in a similar fashion to CBM NERR sites from April
1-October 31. For more information about these additional sites or dataflow cruises, see
www.eyesonthebay.net. In addition to the sampling described above, several other data sets were
collected. These include chlorophyll and fluorescence data collected with the YSI6600EDS
datasonde, using a 6025 optical probe. Photosynthetically active Radiation (PAR) was also
collected using a LiCor 1400 display two sensors: one underwater quantum sensor and one ambient
quantum sensor along with secchi depth. Additional nutrient samples were also collected during
the months of April through October. This data is available through the Maryland Department of
Natural Resources. Visit www.eyesonthebay.net for more information. EQWin Rainfall Data: The
following rainfall data is being reported prior to our scheduled meteorological submission date
and should be considered as provisional data. When this data has undergone the NERR recommended
QA/QC procedures it will be updated. Daily and monthly rain totals for the dates of October
through December are not representative of true daily and monthly values. Malfunction of CR10X
and software is attributed to loss of data collection and data storage for these dates. Daily,
Monthly, and Annual Precipitation Totals 1/1/2004-12/31/2004 cbmjbmet Jug Bay Weather Daily
Precip Totals (mm) 01/03/2004 2.8 01/06/2004 7.9 01/19/2004 12.4 01/23/2004 0.3 01/29/2004 0.3
01/30/2004 5.8 Monthly Total (mm) 29.5 02/02/2004 0.8 02/04/2004 11.4 02/07/2004 39.6 02/25/2004
1.0 Monthly Total (mm) 52.8 03/03/2004 2.8 03/05/2004 2.5 03/06/2004 0.3 03/07/2004 21.3
03/08/2004 2.3 03/09/2004 0.3 03/11/2004 0.5 03/12/2004 0.3 03/17/2004 10.9 03/18/2004 1.5
03/19/2004 0.3 03/20/2004 5.3 03/21/2004 0.3 03/22/2004 0.5 03/26/2004 1.3 03/28/2004 2.3
03/31/2004 0.3 Monthly Total (mm) 53.0 04/01/2004 3.6 04/02/2004 16.3 04/03/2004 5.6 04/04/2004
0.5 04/05/2004 3.6 04/09/2004 0.5 04/10/2004 0.3 04/12/2004 0.8 04/13/2004 41.7 04/14/2004 6.4
04/15/2004 6.6 04/16/2004 0.3 04/24/2004 13.5 04/27/2004 6.4 04/28/2004 1.3 Monthly Total (mm)
107.4 05/03/2004 14.0 05/04/2004 12.7 05/08/2004 7.6 05/09/2004 0.3 05/11/2004 17.0 05/12/2004
3.8 05/16/2004 2.0 05/17/2004 0.3 05/18/2004 1.3 05/20/2004 3.0 05/26/2004 1.0 05/27/2004 0.5
05/28/2004 0.5 05/29/2004 6.4 05/31/2004 1.0 Monthly Total (mm) 71.4 06/01/2004 4.1 06/02/2004
0.5 06/05/2004 6.4 06/06/2004 74.4 06/07/2004 0.5 06/12/2004 23.4 06/13/2004 0.3 06/17/2004 5.3
06/18/2004 28.4 06/19/2004 0.3 06/20/2004 0.3 06/23/2004 13.2 06/24/2004 2.0 06/25/2004 0.3
06/26/2004 2.8 06/27/2004 0.8 06/30/2004 6.6 Monthly Total (mm) 169.6 07/02/2004 28.7 07/05/2004
4.8 07/08/2004 1.8 07/13/2004 2.0 07/15/2004 1.3 07/18/2004 5.3 07/19/2004 14.0 07/23/2004 3.3
07/25/2004 0.5 07/27/2004 1.8 07/28/2004 50.0 07/29/2004 6.9 Monthly Total (mm) 120.4 08/02/2004
31.0 08/03/2004 4.1 08/04/2004 0.8 08/05/2004 0.3 08/06/2004 0.5 08/07/2004 0.3 08/08/2004 0.3
08/09/2004 0.3 08/10/2004 0.3 08/11/2004 0.3 08/12/2004 0.3 08/13/2004 0.3 08/14/2004 0.3
08/15/2004 0.3 08/16/2004 0.3 08/17/2004 0.3 08/19/2004 0.8 08/20/2004 0.3 08/21/2004 0.3
08/22/2004 0.3 08/23/2004 0.3 08/25/2004 10.2 08/31/2004 1.5 Monthly Total (mm) 53.7 09/06/2004
3.3 09/08/2004 3.0 09/09/2004 1.3 09/10/2004 2.0 09/15/2004 1.5 09/16/2004 23.1 09/18/2004 5.3
09/28/2004 0.3 Monthly Total (mm) 39.8 10/01/2004 1.3 10/04/2004 6.4 10/08/2004 0.3 10/09/2004
0.3 10/14/2004 5.3 10/19/2004 4.1 Monthly Total (mm) 17.7 12/08/2004 10.7 12/09/2004 0.3
12/10/2004 16.8 12/11/2004 4.3 12/12/2004 5.1 Monthly Total (mm) 37.2 Annual Total (mm) 752.5
CURRENTNESS REFERENCE:
Observed
SPATIAL DATA ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:
Indirect Spatial Reference: The Chesapeake Bay Maryland NERR is comprised of three components, Otter Point Creek, Jug Bay
and Monie Bay, which are scattered throughout the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay. All three
components are thought to represent the diverse estuarine environments of the Maryland portion
of the Chesapeake Bay. Otter Point Creek is a shallow, open water embayment located in the tidal
headwaters of the Bush River-on the Upper Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Otter Point Creek
is the smallest and proportionately shallowest of the three components and consists of 672 acres
of open water, tidal marshes, forested wetlands and upland hardwood forests surrounded by major
highways, large residential communities, and heavy commercial and industrial development. The
watershed draining into Otter Point Creek is rapidly being developed and urbanized. As such
sediments are rapidly accreting into the marsh and are very fine and flocculent resulting in
typically high turbidity when submerged macrophytes are not present. The non-native Hydrilla
verticillata submerged macrophyte recently invaded the marsh in 2002 and has colonized most
bottom substrates less then one half meter depth at low tide. There is one station (OC) located
at the Otter Point Creek Component. Jug Bay is a located in the upper tidal reaches of the
Patuxent River and represents a river dominated tidal freshwater marsh with expansive emergent
vegetation communities. The Patuxent River is located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay
and drains highly urbanized areas of the Washington Metropolitan area. Jug Bay is a 722-acre
tidal estuary providing a narrow transition zone between brackish marshes and upland freshwater
wetlands. The broad, shallow waters of Jug Bay support a profusion of freshwater plants and
animals. Emergent and submerged vegetation crowds the river channel and forms an interlaced
pattern of tidal and nontidal marshes, swamps and forested wetlands surrounded by upland woods
and fields. The component has deep water river dominated areas (10m depth) as well as an
extensive shallow water (1m depth) network of tidal creeks and flooded mud flats.
Submerged macrophytes are persistent along the shoreline of these creeks and within the flooded
mud flats and the emergent marshes are extensive. There are three stations (MC, RR, IP) located
at the Jug Bay Component. Monie Bay is located on the lower Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay
at the mouth of the Wicomico River. The Monie Bay Component represents a mesohaline bay with
primarily three tidal creeks representing a variety of agricultural input. The local area is
largely undeveloped with varying agriculture and rural residential land use. The component is
dominated by salt marshes with tidal fresh marshes in the upper tidal reaches of the
tributaries. Shallow water habitats give way to fringing submerged macrophyte communities.
Currently no monitoring sites are located at this component. The following is a list of the 4
sites as well as site characteristics Mataponi Creek (MC) 38° 44.599'N, 76° 42.446'W (NAD83)
38.74331667, -76.70743333 (GIS format) Site MC is located in a small tributary off the upper
tidal headwaters of the Patuxent River, Maryland. MC is 2.4 km upstream of the mouth, midchannel
in the creek, which is approximately 7m wide. The southern bank is steep and covered mainly with
hardwood trees while the Northern bank is tidal marsh. The sonde was deployed vertically in a
perforated PVC pipe. Average depth at this site is roughly 0.7 meters with a mean tidal
fluctuation of approximately 0.6 m.. The YSI is deployed 0.25 m off of the creek bottom.
Salinities at this site rarely exceed 0.1 ppt. The bottom habitat is soft sediment, and SAV
grassbeds are abundant during the summer months. Because this site is located along the main
channel of the Mataponi Creek, water quality is reflective of the general quality of water
flowing along the main portion of the creek. The SAV community as this site is seasonally very
dense and thus water quality is thought to be strongly influenced by the presence of SAV during
the summer months. Freshwater inputs not quantified. Any pollutants would most likely be due to
agricultural runoff. Railroad Bridge (RR) 38° 46.877'N, 76° 42.822'W (NAD 83) 38.78128333,
-76.7137 (GIS format) Site RR is located in the mainstem of the upper tidal headwaters of the
Patuxent River, Maryland. The site is slightly upstream (roughly 0.3km) from Jackson's Landing
at the Patuxent River Park (previous PR site 2002). This section of the Patuxent River is
approximately 70m wide and average depth at the site is 1.4m. The YSI is deployed 0.25 m off of
the river bottom. Bottom habitat is soft sediment, and grassbeds are evident in the area during
summer months. Mean tidal fluctuation is approximately 0.6 m. Salinities are typically less than
1 ppt at this site throughout the year. In 2003 this site was moved from 38° 46' 50.6" N, 76°
42' 29.1" W (Jug Bay) to its present location because of the shallow nature of the old site. The
new site location (RR) is at the end of the old railroad bed and is deployed vertically in a
perforated PVC pipe near midchannel of the Patuxent River. Because this site is located along
the main channel of the Patuxent River, water quality is reflective of the general quality of
water flowing along the main portion of the river. The site is roughly 1km downstream of the
confluence of the Western Branch tributary and the Patuxent River Mainstem, thus water quality
is influenced by Western Branch. A large wastewater treatment plant (averaging 10-20 mgd )
discharges directly into the Western Branch tributary of the Patuxent River just upstream of IP.
USGS streamflow stats for closest gauge (Latitude 38°57'21.3", Longitude 76°41'37.3" NAD83):
yearly mean of approx 200 350 cfs. Iron Pot Landing (IP) 38° 47.760'N, 76° 43.248'
W (NAD 83) 38.796, -76.7208 (GIS Format) Site IP is located 2.09km from the mouth of Western
Branch. IP is attached vertically off of a small pier near midchannel of the river and has an
average depth of 1.6m. The YSI is deployed 0.25 m off of the river bottom. The site is roughly
1km downstream of a large (10-20 mgd) wastewater treatment plant effluent. The river is
approximately 15m wide and flows through extensive riparian buffers. Both banks of the river are
flanked by hardwood flora. Tides are semi-diurnal and mean tidal fluctuation is approximately
0.6 m. Salinity at this site is generally 0.1 ppt. Bottom habitat is soft sediment, and
grassbeds are evident during the summer months. USGS streamflow stats for closest gauge
(Latitude 38°48'51.2", Longitude 76°44'55.4" NAD83): yearly mean of approx 50 100
cfs. In addition, a wastewater treatment plant discharges approx 15 30 cfs about 1
km upstream of the site. Otter Point Creek (OC) 39° 27.047'N, 76° 16.474'W (NAD 83)
39.45078333, -76.27456667 (GIS Format) Site OC is located approximately 0.3km from the Anita C.
Leight Estuary Center. OC is deployed vertically in a perforated PVC pipe and has an average
depth of 0.7m. The YSI is deployed 0.25 m off of the creek bottom. Bottom habitat is extremely
soft sediment, and grass beds inundate the site during summer months. Salinity at this station
rarely rises above 0.1 ppt. Tides in Otter Point Creek are semi-diurnal and have a mean range of
about 0.3 m. The average water levels are generally lower in the winter due to north and
northwest winds that increase the egress from Chesapeake Bay. The sonde was periodically exposed
to very low tides, and sediments at the site are extremely fine and flocculent. Because of the
shallowness of the tidal marsh, coupled with the dramatic daily changes in the depth and width
of the stream, deployments at the site presented many problems. These problems included periodic
exposure of the sonde, very high turbidity and sedimentation rates associated with tidal
infiltration and wind and wave generated resuspension which caused severe fouling of the probes.
Water quality at the site represents extreme shallow water habitats. Thus it is not uncommon to
see very large fluctuations in temperature and dissolved oxygen at this site ranging from
complete anoxia to full saturation, due in part to the shallow nature of the site and the
effects of marsh processes on water quality. Additionally, the site was seasonally dominated by
dense SAV communities from June-October 2004 and thus water quality conditions were likely
influenced by the presence of these macrophytes. USGS streamflow stats for closest gauge
(Latitude 39°26'21.4", Longitude 76°18'21.7" NAD83): no yearly mean available but daily means
for 2004 range from 20 over 1000 cfs. Site is in relatively urban environment which
accounts for its flashiness. Pollutants would be mostly urban run-off, with some industrial
discharge possible. 
Geographic Coverage
(Click for Interactive Map)
Spatial coordinates
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N: 39.45
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S: 38.19
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E: -75.79
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W: -76.71
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Data Set Citation
Dataset Originator/Creator:
Julie Bortz, Chris Trumbauer, John Zimmerelli,
Dataset Title:
Chesapeake Bay Maryland (CBM) NERR Water Quality Metadata January 2004-December
2004 Latest Update: August 16, 2005
Dataset Release Date:
2006-02-08
Data Presentation Form:
Unknown
Other Citation Details:
NA
Online Resource:
http://cdmo.baruch.sc.edu/
Parent DIF
This data set description is a member of a collection. The
collection is described in
noaanosnerr_d_nerrparent
Temporal Coverage
Start Date:
2004-01-01
Stop Date:
2004-12-31
Publications/References
Allen, J.R.M., et. al., 1999. Rapid environmental changes in southern Europe during the last glacial period. Nature 400, 740–3.
Extended Metadata Properties
(Click to view more)
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date:
2008-09-04
Last DIF Revision Date:
2012-12-13
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