By Kate Stoneman

Faculty Mentor: John Tippett

Abstract

The Chesapeake Bay faces significant threats from runoff, sedimentation, and climate change. The Chesapeake Water Watch uses participatory science methods alongside remote sensing technology to monitor water quality changes across the bay. The program seeks to enhance monitoring of tributaries through methods that volunteers can use to measure chlorophyll, turbidity, and color dissolved organic matter (CDOM).

Excessive bacteria presence in waterways threatens water quality and can lead to the spread of infectious diseases. To better assess bacterial contamination, I explore the potential correlation between CDOM, the optically active fraction of dissolved organic matter from the decomposition of detritus in the watershed, and bacterial levels in tidal
tributaries. These efforts could help establish transient increases in CDOM as an indicator of excessive bacteria in the near-shore waters of the Chesapeake Bay.