2016 HAB Report
Each year, researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science collaborate with colleagues at other institutions to monitor the algal blooms that typically form in lower Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries between July and September. Here's a summary of general trends and highlights for 2016.
2016 HAB Activity and Monitoring
VIMS researchers use aerial photography and water sampling to help delineate the extent and intensity of algal blooms in lower Chesapeake Bay.
Aerial Photography
Aerial photography helps characterize the geographic extent and density of bloom patches. Overflights on August 29 and September 12, 2016 showed that bloom patches reached from the York River to the mouth of the Potomac River, and across the Bay to Cape Charles.These blooms—likely of Alexandrium monilatum—may be the most extensive ever recorded in the mainstem of Chesapeake Bay.