Modeling Water Quality Variables of the Potomac River at the Entrance to Its Estuary. Phase 1. Trend and Seasonality

摘要

The Potomac River is the second largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac originates in the Appalachian Mountains and flows southeasterly to its Fall Line at Great Falls, Virginia, below which the river is tidal. The Washington metropolitan area has a direct influence on the state of the Potomac estuary in general and water quality conditions in particular. Beginning in the late 1940's and early 1950's, the use of the estuary has been hampered occasionally by the occurrence of low level dissolved oxygen (DO) and nuisance blooms of macroscopic and microscopic plants. The present research project sought to improve the accuracy in modeling of nonpoint source water quality and flow in the Potomac River basin.