The Chesapeake Bay Program at Old Dominion University (ODU) collects data to support the objectives of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to restore the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program, initiated in 1985, is a multi-purpose program that includes long-term studies conducted by ODU. The objective is to characterize the present state of the Bay, determine long-term trends, and provide insights into ecological interactions. The program provides information necessary to measure effectiveness of point and non-point source programs in reducing nutrient input to the Bay and determine progress towards achievement of living resources and water quality habitat goals. This program also provides data for calibration/validation/verification of computer simulation models used for developing Chesapeake Bay restoration strategies.

The primary goals of the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program are:

To characterize the environmental health of regional areas of the Lower Chesapeake Bay. To conduct trend analyses on long-term data to relate temporal trends in the living resources to changes in water and/or sediment quality. To warn of environmental degradation by producing an historical data base that will allow annual evaluations of biotic impacts. The Chesapeake Bay Program at ODU provides technical support for the research community in the form of specialized facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and high quality analytical and operational services. The four research laboratories are the Benthic Ecology Laboratory, Phytoplankton Laboratory, and the Water Quality Laboratory. Moreover, we provide new research opportunities for faculty members and students throughout the University, particularly in the areas of mission-oriented and multi-disciplinary environmental research.

The Chesapeake Bay Program at ODU is currently under the direction of Dr. Daniel M. Dauer.