Chirp seismic reflection and navigation data collected in Chesapeake Bay during USGS Field Activity 2022-020-FA
In July 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory conducted a study, USGS Field Activity Number (FAN) 2022-020-FA, in Chesapeake Bay to quantify greenhouse gas fluxes from the largest estuary in the United States. The team investigated the environmental factors that control the distribution and exchange of methane and carbon dioxide in the sediments, water column, and fluxes across the atmospheric boundary layer(sea-air interface) during the annual summer occurrence of widespread anoxia that threatens the health of the bay. As part of this study, chirp seismic-reflection profiles were collected along a series of transects to characterize the sediments, stratigraphy, and acoustic signatures of gas in the sediments.