Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network 2005-2014: Average Yields

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 nine Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring (RIM) stations for the period 1985 through 2015. 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). Yields (represents the mass of constituent transported from a unit area of a given watershed) are used to compare the export loads from one basin to another. Yield results are obtained by dividing the annual load (pounds) of a given constituent by the respective watershed area (acres) from which the constituent was transported. Yield results presented represent the average annual per-acre loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment exported from each of the Chesapeake Bay nontidal network stations for the period 2005-2014.