Lesson: Water of the Chesapeake Bay

Warm Ups, etc:

Lecture Notes: #content

Objectives and Vocabulary: #content

Study Guide Answers-

1. Higher salinity during summer/fall -more evaporation and decreased river flow

Lower salinity during winter/spring - less evaporation and increased river flow

2. Because saltwater is more dense in mixes underneath the less dense fresh water. This creates circulation along the area they mix, which stirs up the water and creates greater turbidity.

3. Increase pollution (chemical, sewage/waste, sediment runoff), agriculture runoff creates algae blooms

Urbanization - increased sedimentation as topsoil disturbed, loss of natural spaces, increased human activities

Industrialization - pollution from spills, exhaust, rubbish, shipping, decreased biologic activity (oysters & overfishing)

Crop Fertilization - excess Nitrogen and Phosphates from runoff can cause algal blooms and anaerobic conditions

Activities, Assignments, Etc.

Intro/Extension Idea- Pose questions about how we prevent erosion, costs of permitting and often restrictively expensive regulations, Chesapeake Bay Act

Map - COLORING ACTIVITY - Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

Maps- Chesapeake Salinity in Spring and Fall - factors include spring rains and meltwater in watershed that supplies the Bay "from Cooperstown, NY to Richmond, VA" (including northern parts of Surry)

Diagram - vertical circulation Chesapeake Bay: A Field Guide, Christopher White, Tidewater Publishers, 1989. pg17