Boesch also cautioned against relying solely on computer projections, but said a more compelling case emerges as those forecasts are combined with a growing scientific consensus on climate change and observed trends. I think there is a compelling reason that we need to begin taking these changes into account as we plan our future. Many recent years appear strikingly similar to what is predicted regionally. In 1997 and the second half of 1998, there were droughts. No one can say for sure whether that is a signal of global climate change.
Nutrients cause excessive algae blooms.
When there's more algae than can be consumed by predators, the excess die, sink to the bottom and are decomposed by bacteria in a process that depletes the water of oxygen. The amount of nutrients entering the Bay is strongly tied to precipitation. Rains flush large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus off fields, lawns, golf courses and other land and into waterways. U.S. Geological Survey figures show just how strongly nutrients and flows go together. High flows present a sort of one-two punch to the Bay.