Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Chesterfield County And The Cities Of Colonial Heights, Petersburg, And Richmond, Virginia - Shoreline Inventory Report: Summary Tables, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Chesterfield County And The Cities Of Colonial Heights, Petersburg, And Richmond, Virginia - Shoreline Inventory Report: Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Karen A. Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The 2017Inventory for Chesterfield County and the Cities of Colonial Heights, Petersburg, and Richmond was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® -ArcMap v10.4.1while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and2013imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP).Four GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (Chesterfield_lubc_2017). The second portrays the presence of beaches (Chesterfield_beaches_2017). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines(e.g. riprap)(Chesterfield_sstru_2017). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers)(Chesterfield_astru_2017).The metadata file accompanies the shapefiles and defines attribute accuracy, data …

Spotsylvania County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Summary Tables, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia: Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2015-2019 Progress Report 1 September 2016 - 31 November 2017, Philip W. Sadler, Lydia M. Goins, John M. Hoenig, Savannah Michaelsen, Maya L. Groner, Robert E. Harris

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 September 2016 through 31 August 2017. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2017 spring spawning run and estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging. Also included is an investigation on the potential use of close-kin analyses to determine the size of the spawning stock in the Rappahannock River and an evaluation of mortality rates associated with the bacterial dermal disease mycobacteriosis in relation to water …

Improving Modeled Light Attenuation (Kd) In A Land-Estuarine Ocean Biogeochemical Model For Chesapeake Bay, Jessica Turner, Carl T. Friedrichs, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Marsh Persistence Under Sea-Level Rise Is Controlled By Multiple, Geologically Variable Stressors, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner

VIMS Articles

Introduction: Marshes contribute to habitat and water quality in estuaries and coastal bays. Their importance to continued ecosystem functioning has led to concerns about their persistence.

Outcomes: Concurrent with sea-level rise, marshes are eroding and appear to be disappearing through ponding in their interior; in addition, in many places, they are being replaced with shoreline stabilization structures. We examined the changes in marsh extent over the past 40 years within a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, to better understand the effects of sea-level rise and human pressure on marsh coverage.

A Brief Guide To Striped Bass Ecology & Management In Chesapeake Bay, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey, Susanna Musick

Reports

Chesapeake Bay striped bass support important recreational fisheries along the US Atlantic coast; in the late 1970s, the population of striped bass collapsed as a result of overfishing and poor water quality in rivers used for spawning and rear-ing of young. Informed by stock assessments, strict management regulations were enacted in the mid-1980s and early 1990s; these highly effective regulations resulted in the recovery of the population in 1995. A key to the successful recov-ery of the Atlantic coast striped bass was the wide range of ages of spawning females and the associated differences in spawning behavior among ages. Age …

Living Shoreline Design Guidelines For Shore Protection In Virginia’S Estuarine Environments, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Karen Duhring

Reports

The Chesapeake Bay has about 10 million people living along its shores (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 2017) and about 150,000 new people move into the Bay watershed each year. For communities along the shore, the continual shore retreat may be a problem. When land along the shore shows signs of erosion, property owners tend to address it.

In the past, shore stabilization strategies generally were stone revetments or wood bulkheads. Though these strategies are effective at shore stabilization, they can create a disconnect between the upland and the water and typically provide few natural habitats along the shoreline. In the past …

Assessment Of Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Impacts For Channel Deepening In The Thimble Shoals, Norfolk Harbor, And Elizabeth River Channels : Final Report On The “Hydrodynamic Modeling”, Yinglong J. Zhang, Harry V. Wang, Fei Ye, Zhengui Wang

Reports

For over twenty years, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Virginia Port Authority (VPA), representing the Commonwealth Secretary of Transportation, have collaborated on projects key to port development that also preserve the environmental integrity of both Hampton Roads and the Elizabeth River. The USACE and the VPA are working to investigate channel deepening in this region to provide access to a new generation of cargo ships (e.g., Panamax-class). The main goal of this project is to investigate the feasibility for Norfolk Harbor channel deepening in the lower James and Elizabeth Rivers and assess the environmental impact …

Assessment Of Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Impacts For Channel Deepening In The Thimble Shoals, Norfolk Harbor, And Elizabeth River Channels, Jian Shen, Rico Wang, Mac Sisson

Reports

To investigate the feasibility for Norfolk Harbor channel deepening in the lower James and Elizabeth Rivers, one of the key services of the project is to evaluate the impacts of deepening the Atlantic Ocean Channel to 55 feet (from 50 feet), Thimble Shoal Channel to 55 feet (from 50 feet), Elizabeth River (north of Lambert Point) to 50 feet (from 45 feet) and the Southern Branch (north of the I64 Bridge) to 50/45/45 feet. In general, the shipping channel dredging will result in enhancement of estuarine gravitational circulation, accentuate the tidal and wind wave influence upstream, and affect the ecosystem …

Henrico County, Virginia - Shoreline Inventory Report: Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Kileen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Summary Tables: 2017 Henrico County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Kileen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Sea Level Rise May Increase Extinction Risk Of A Saltmarsh Ontogenetic Habitat Specialist, David S. Johnson, Bethany L. Williams

VIMS Articles

Specialist species are more vulnerable to environmental change than generalist species. For species with ontogenetic niche shifts, specialization may occur at a particular life stage making those stages more susceptible to environmental change. In the salt marshes in the northeast U.S., accelerated sea level rise is shifting vegetation patterns from flood-intolerant species such as Spartina patens to the flood-tolerant Spartina alterniflora. We tested the potential impact of this change on the coffee bean snail, Melampus bidentatus, a numerically dominant benthic invertebrate with an ontogenetic niche shift. From a survey of eight marshes throughout the northeast U.S., small snails …

Chesapeake Bay Hypoxia Coastal Ocean Modeling Testbed, M.A.M. Friedrichs, Carl T. Friedrichs, I.D. Irby, A.J. Bever

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Adapt Virginia: A New Web Portal About Climate Change Adaptations (Www.Adaptva.Org), Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Rivers & Coast is a periodic publication of the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The goal of Rivers & Coast is to keep readers well informed of current scientific understanding behind key environmental issues related to watershed rivers and coastal ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay.

Addressing The Issue Of Microplastics In The Wake Of The Microbead-Free Waters Act - A New Standard Can Facilitate Improved Policy, Jason P. Mcdevitt, Craig S. Criddle, Molly Morse, Robert Hale, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The United States Microbead-Free Waters Act was signed into law in December 2015. It is a bipartisan agreement that will eliminate one preventable source of microplastic pollution in the United States. Still, the bill is criticized for being too limited in scope, and also for discouraging the development of biodegradable alternatives that ultimately are needed to solve the bigger issue of plastics in the environment. Due to a lack of an acknowledged, appropriate standard for environmentally safe microplastics, the bill banned all plastic microbeads in selected cosmetic products. Here, we review the history of the legislation and how it relates …

Multifaceted Biodiversity Hotspots Of Marine Mammals For Conservation Priorities, Camille Albouy, Valentine L. Delattre, Bastien Merigot, Christine N. Meynard, Fabien Leprieur

VIMS Articles

Aim: Identifying the multifaceted biodiversity hotspots for marine mammals and their spatial overlap with human threats at the global scale.

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2016, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2016, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 21-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William and Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation And Outlook Report : Results Of The 2016 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey, Karen Hudson

Reports

The hatchery-based shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow adding significant value to the Commonwealth's seafood marketplace. Today, watermen harvest both hard clams and oysters from the Commonwealth's public resources,albeit at rates diminished from historic levels. At the same time, Virginia's watermen-farmers, utilizing production from a land-based hatchery, are providing additional quantities of quality shellfish to consumers.

This survey, in its 11th year, is intended to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia's hatchery-based shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2017.

While these …

Estimation Of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay: Annual Progress Report 2016-2017, Brian K. Gallagher, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The 2016 Striped Bass juvenile abundance index was 5.15 and was not significantly different from the reference mean of 7.77 observed in 1980-2009. Abundance indices in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in 2016 were not significantly different than their historic averages (1967-2015). Juvenile White Perch abundance indices in 2016 were near historic averages in the York and Rappahannock rivers, but below the historic average in the James River. Because a new seine net was used during the 2016 survey, catches of Striped Bass and White Perch were adjusted using preliminary calibration factors derived from paired hauls of the old …

Hypoxia Forecasts As A Tool For Chesapeake Bay Fisheries, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, A. J. Bever, Carl T. Friedrichs, R.R. Hood

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2016 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the nineteenth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2016, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on a new fishery-independent monitoring program using staked gillnets to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in the Rappahannock River. Data are also reported from two separate fishery-independent monitoring …

Kepone In The James River Estuary: Past, Current And Future Trends, Michael A. Unger, George G. Vadas

Reports

In late 1975, a manufacturing facility in Hopewell, VA had not only exposed workers to the chlorinated pesticide, Kepone, but had also severely contaminated the James River estuary. To assess the potential risk to the public, Virginia initiated a finfish-monitoring program in late 1975. Over the next 40 years over 13,000 samples were collected from the James River and Chesapeake Bay and analyzed for Kepone. Kepone production was eventually banned worldwide. The average Kepone concentrations found in most species began falling when the production of Kepone ended, but the averages remained over the action limit of 0.3 mgkg^-1 until …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-The-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay, Spring 2016, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. In the U.S., harvests have declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). An average of 62% of the annual landings of U.S. commercial harvest since 1993 have come from the Chesapeake Bay (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, 9 February 2015). In 2013, Virginia commercial landings were approximately 100,298 lbs; since mandatory reporting began in 1993, average annual landings in Virginia have been 193,200 lbs or 19% …

Shore Zone Management Planning For Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority Properties, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

No abstract provided.

Tracking Decadal Changes In Striped Bass Recruitment: A Calibration Study Of Seine Surveys In Chesapeake Bay, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey, Olivia M. Philips, Brian K. Gallagher

Reports

In this study we estimated calibration factors necessary to maintain the long‐term integrity of the juvenile striped bass surveys in the Chesapeake Bay region. These surveys provide annual indices of recruitment (estimated as juvenile fish abundance in summer) and are used by fisheries managers in Virginia and Maryland to inform adjustments of annual harvest limits for striped bass from the commercial and recreational fisheries in Chesapeake Bay. During the multi‐decadal history of the survey, a potentially influential change occurred: VIMS deployed a net (the VA net) with a mesh material that differed from the standard net that MD DNR continued …

Hypoxia Forecasts As A Tool For Chesapeake Bay Fisheries, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, R.R. Hood, Carl T. Friedrichs, David R. Forrest

Presentations

The Estuarine Hypoxia component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (COMT) is evaluating existing hydrodynamic and water quality models used, or likely to be used, for operations in the Chesapeake Bay. As a proof-of-concept, an implementation of the Regional Ocean Modeling System in the Chesapeake Bay (ChesROMS) is linked to a simple respiration model for hypoxia (Hypoxia_SRM). The modeling system is presently being used to produce real-time nowcasts and short-term (3-day) hypoxia forecasts for the Chesapeake Bay, which are currently available on the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) website. Workshops with citizen stakeholders …

Bacteria Tmdl Development For Lower Chickahominy River Watershed Located In Charles City, James City, And New Kent Counties, Va, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Water Quality Planning and Management Regulations (40 CFR Part 130) require states to develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies that are exceeding water quality standards (WQSs). TMDLs represent the total pollutant loading that a waterbody can receive without violating WQSs. The TMDL process establishes the allowable loadings of pollutants for a waterbody based on the relationship between pollution sources and in-stream water quality conditions. By following the TMDL process, states can establish controls based on water quality conditions to reduce pollution from …

Hampton Roads Crossing Study Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Evaluation Of Potential Impact On Surface Water Elevation, Flow, Salinity, And Bottom Shear Stress, Yinglong J. Zhang, Harry V. Wang, Zhuo Liu, Mac Sisson, Jian Shen

Reports

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed alternatives for the highway crossing in Hampton Roads on physical characteristics of surface water elevation, flow, salinity, and bottom shear stress. The analysis is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Federal Highway Administration, and other stakeholders’ Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Hampton Roads Crossing Study (HRCS).

Partners In Natural Resource Management: The Virginia Institute Of Marine Science And The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

Produced by the Office of Research and Advisory Services, Partners in Natural Resources Management identifies all of the sections of Virginia legislation in which the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is named in relation to our advisory mandate.