CHESAPEAKE BAY

Chesapeake Bay and the Environmental Concerns

Abstract

The research paper focuses on the Chesapeake Bay, its eco system, and the effects of climate change and human activities on its eco system. The discussion covers a brief introduction of the Bay, followed by the detail discussion of environmental hazard. Finally, issues of Oysters are discussed. The research paper clearly highlights the causes of environmental problems and the effects on marine life.

Chesapeake Bay and the Environmental Concerns

Introduction

The Chesapeake Bay is Located in the US near Atlantic Ocean. The Bay is surrounded by Virginia and Maryland. The drainage basin of the Chesapeake Bay covers 166,533 km2 is parts of 6 states including West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, as well as, in the District of Columbia. Around 160 rivers and streams deplete into the Chesapeake Bay.

The length of the Bay is around 300 km from the Atlantic Ocean in the South to the Susquehanna River located in the North. The width of Bay at its narrowest point is around 2.8 miles from Harford County shore, which is near Romney Creek to Kent County's Plum Point. The width, at its widest point, is around 30 miles, from the mouth of Potomac River. Total shoreline and its tributaries for the bay is around 18,800 km2, and the major tributaries and the surface area is 11,600 km2. The maximum depth of the bay is around 62 m, and average depth is equal to 14 m.

The span of the bay is located in two places. One is located in Virginia connecting cape Charles to Virginia Beach i.e. the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and the other is located in Maryland from Kent Island to Sandy Point. The Bay is famous for its beauty; however, there are certain environmental issues related climate changes. According to certain researches, the bay is getting emptier with fewer watermen, oysters and crabs (Harding & Mann, 2010).

The Effects of Pollution on the Chesapeake Bay and the Global Climate Change

Various evidence from numerical modeling studies, field and laboratory researches, has documented the sensitivity of Bay's biological, chemical and physical processes to climate changes, which is forcing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide concentration, storm intensity and frequency, precipitation, temperature and sea levels. Various scientists have found out significant rise in sea level and warming during the past century. The region may experience large alterations in climatic conditions throughout this century, according to Scenarios. These changes include variability of sea levels, intensity of extra tropical and tropical cyclones, intensity of precipitation, increase in the quantity of precipitation, temperature of water increasing from 2° to 6° C, relative sea level rise of around 07 to 1.5 meters, and increase in the concentration of Carbon dioxide. There is uncertainty in the changes, in annual stream flow, however, spring and winter flows may increase (Majumdar et al, 1987).

The Chesapeake Bay was identified as first Bay containing marine dead zones in the late 1970s. The hypoxic waters of the Bay were found to be depleted of oxygen which resulted in the death of marine life ...