Description
Main TitleMid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA) Estuaries 1997-98: Summary Report
PublisherUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Date Created2002-12-01
Subject (Geographic - Hierarchical)
Country: New York
State: New Jersey
County: Delaware
Subject (Topical)biology; chemicals; contaminated sites; contamination; conservation; ecology; ecosystems; environmental data; environmental monitoring; environmental regions; fish; habitats; land use; plants; toxins; EMAP; probabilistic sampling design; estuary; eutrophication; nitrogen; phosphorus; chlorophyll a; organic carbon; Secchi depth; dissolved oxygen; ERL; ERM; benthic community index; species diversity; Index of Environmental Integrity
DescriptionDuring the summers of 1997-98, a consortium of federal and state environmental agencies conducted the Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment Estuaries program to characterize the environmental condition of the four major estuaries in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The assessed estuaries were the Delaware Estuary, Chesapeake Bay, the coastal bays in Maryland and Virginia, and the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System. Twelve smaller estuaries were also monitored to focus attention on systems at the local scale. Over 800 stations were selected at random and key properties were measured in three estuarine components - the water column, the sediments, and the biological community. This summary report examines thirteen measured or calculated parameters that serve as indicators of estuarine conditions. Three important environmental issues are emphasized: eutrophication, contamination of the sediments, and the impairment of the biological communities in the estuaries.
NoteThe Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA) is an
interagency, multi-disciplinary research, monitoring and
assessment program to develop high-quality scientific
information on the region's natural resources: current
condition, stressors, trends, and vulnerabilities. MAIA
results and information are intended to satisfy a broad
group of stakeholders' needs, convey important
information relevant to their assessment questions and
issues, and be useful in making management decisions.
NoteEPA/620/R-02/003: Environmental Conditions in the Mid-Atlantic Estuaries
Genrereports
Organization NameRutgers University Libraries
RightsThis object has been provided by Rutgers University Libraries after a copyright, permissions, and usage rights evaluation. You may make use of the information under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 license (see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/). If undeclared, you may need to contact the rights holder for permission for further use.