Science Serving Maryland's Coasts

On the Bay

A blog from Chesapeake Quarterly magazine

Sign up to receive email alerts about new posts

cecil county watershed steward academy participants install a rain garden near Fair Hills Maryland to soak of stormwater runoff

Stormwater Saviors: How These Volunteers Are Becoming Master Watershed Stewards

Daniel Pendick • August 8, 2016

Meet the people accepted into the Cecil County Watershed Steward Academy. The extended training program equips Marylanders with the knowledge to launch projects that improve water quality in their own communities and the Chesapeake Bay beyond. Why do they want to become Master Watershed Stewards? And do they have what it takes to make it through the rigorous training?
Read more . . .

photo showing aerial view of Hart-Miller Island

Photo Essay: An Island for Dredged Sediment Becomes a State Park for People

Jeffrey Brainard • June 9, 2016

Hart-Miller Island has slowly risen in the Chesapeake Bay over the past 30 years. Now the state is expanding public access for hiking and biking there. Read more . . .

Bernie Fowler Honored for his "Cornpone Campaigns"

Michael W. Fincham • June 2, 2016

In 1969, Bernie Fowler gave a short speech to the Parents and Teachers Association of Prince Frederick County. His message: he would be resigning as president of the PTA. Then he wrote a short letter to Governor Marvin Mandel. Read more . . .

photo of spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Teaching Science on TV: A Search for Salamanders

Adam Frederick • April 29, 2016

When Maryland Sea Grant's education leader Adam Frederick appeared in a recent episode of the “Aqua Kids” TV show, he highlighted an unusual outdoor teaching tool — the yellow-spotted salamander. Changes in the abundance of this "indicator species" can signal declines in water quality. Read more . . .

Rita Colwell was the first director of Maryland Sea Grant

The Woman Who Launched Maryland Sea Grant

Michael W. Fincham • April 12, 2016

Rita Colwell likes to say that Sea Grant helped launch her career in marine microbiology. It's more accurate, however, to say she launched Sea Grant's career in Maryland. Read more . . .

Program Announcements

Previous Pause Next

Seafood safety training opportunity: Maryland Sea Grant will offer a Seafood HACCP Segment Two Course on October 26, 2017. Register by October 20. See details and pre-registration form.

Maryland Sea Grant is seeking a qualified candidate for our Chesapeake Bay Sentinel Site Cooperative Coordinator position. Applications will start to be reviewed Sept. 22. Learn more details here.

Maryland Sea Grant has program development funds for start-up efforts or strategic support for emerging areas of research. Apply here.

On the Bay - Blog Archive

On the Bay - Blog Topics

Featured Research Project

Salt Water Intrusion and Legacy Nutrient Release Across Coastal Farmland

As the world’s climate changes, rural coastlines are becoming more vulnerable to sea level rise. Consequently, these ecosystems are undergoing major disruptions in nutrient cycling. Tidal salt marshes, riparian forests, and farmland converge on coastlines, forming ecotones, or unique transitional ecosystems. With centuries of farming and fertilizer additions, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in excess of plant demand can accumulate in soils (known as legacy nutrients).