An oceanographer talks about how climate change might affect Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Bay lies at the heart of the U.S. East Coast . . . And the nation's capital is deep within its watershed.
Fishermen depend on the Bay for their livelihood, and it's a source of recreation for millions.
Dr. Ray Najjar of Penn State University is a member of a team looking at possible future effects of climate change on rivers emptying into Chesapeake Bay. Some computer climate models predict more rain in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the future, which means more water in rivers. And rivers carry nutrients into the Bay . . . Generally you'll see in the Bay, during periods of high stream flow, elevated plankton concentrations. Because they're the base of the food chain, that means that ultimately things like fisheries depend on stream flow.