Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network 1985-2018: Short- and long-term trends

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads, and changes in loads, in rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been calculated using monitoring data from the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network (NTN) stations for the period 1985 through 2018. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WRTDS (Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season). The load results represent the total mass of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment that was exported from each of the NTN watersheds. To determine the trend in loads, the annual load results are flow normalized to integrate out the year-to-year variability in river discharge. The trend in load is [...]